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It's all come down to this. Trey vs Ace Austin. The winner will challenge Tessa Blanchard for the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship. Or...if Moose has anything to say about it, they'll look to challenge for the TNA World Championship.
Before tonight's show, IMPACT sent out an important message.
Kiera Hogan developed a new relationship with newcomer Tasha Steelz, leading to the two of them taking out Kylie Rae and Susie backstage on IMPACT Wrestling last week. Tonight, Rae and Susie looked for revenge.
Kylie Rae & Susie vs Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz on IMPACT Wrestling
Kylie Rae and Tasha Steelz kicked off the night, trading control over a wrist lock. Rae attempted to escape but was dropped with a hair pull. Susie waved at Rae, getting tagged in...maybe not what she expected.
Steelz taunted her, leading to a slap from the former Su Yung. Kiera Hogan asked for the tag and was dropped with a snapmare headlock takedown. Rae tagged, leading to a double bulldog. Hogan kicked out at one.
As Susie tagged back in, Hogan escaped and rushed to her partner. Steelz demanded a handshake, forcing Susie into Steelz's corner. As Susie walked out, Hogan yanked her hair, slamming her on her head.
A double whip into the turnbuckle knocked the air out of Susie. Hogan and Steelz tagged in and out, tearing apart the former Knockouts Champion. A superkick/running neckbreaker gave Hogan a nearfall, but Rae broke up the pin.
Steelz rocked Susie with a striking combination, but her final shot was countered with a facebuster. Hogan and Rae tagged in, with the Smiling One lighting up both Stelz and Hogan. Suse tore Rae's stolen bow from Steelz hand, giving Rae some much-needed motivation.
Rae dropped Hogan with the Kylie Special, but couldn't pick up the win. Susie was in next. Steelz put a stop to her, however, with a Codebreaker. Rae took out Steelz, and was knocked out by Hogan.
The palm strike from Susie connected, but Hogan shook it off. She took Susie up for Steelz to drop with a top rope headscissor takedown. Hogan finished up with the swinging fisherman's backbreaker for the win.
Results: Kiera Hogan defeated Susie via pinfall.
Grade: B-
Backstage, Ace Austin was interviewed about his upcoming match against Trey tonight. Well, he was asked about his loss to Willie Mack, actually, but ignored the question. Moose came in to congratulate him on getting two big wins over Rhino and Hernandez.
The "TNA World Champion" said that, if Austin did win tonight, he shouldn't go after the IMPACT World Title. It's a secondary belt. Instead, go after Moose. Go after the TNA World Title.
Ace considered it before walking off.
Last week on IMPACT Wrestling, Jake and Dave Crist were struggling to find their path. With Sami Callihan and Madman Fulton both leaving the group, they seemed lost. Last week, though, Joseph P. Ryan intervened, asking the two to join him this week for his match with "Unwell Steve."
Considering their "sins" from before, one had to wonder if Ryan would accept the former IMPACT Tag Team Champions.
Joseph P. Ryan w/oVe vs Crazzy Steve on IMPACT Wrestling
A right hand from Joseph P. Ryan lit up Crazzy Steve, who took down Ryan with some clotheslines and flying kicks. Ryan responded with a dropkick, halting his opponent's momentum in its tracks.
Ryan took Steve to the corner for some shoulder thrusts. A scoop slam set up for a knee drop for a two-count. Ryan pelted Steve with some shots before setting up for the "greatest suplex ever." The Crists called him a hero, fully behind their possible new leader.
Steve countered it, however, leading to a trade of blows between the two. Steve bit Ryan's hand to gain control. A schoolboy into the bottom turnbuckle set up for the cannonball senton. Jake Crist distracted Steve while Dave attempted to knock Steve off the turnbuckle.
Steve sent Dave down to the ground, but missed his dive. The superkick put Steve away for the three.
Results: Joseph P. Ryan defeated Crazzy Steve via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: C
Following the match, Ryan asked Jake and Dave Crist if they'd like to join Cancel Culture. They agreed. Ryan demanded a signal of his "virtue." What did that mean?
It meant that Jake Crist had to leave behind his brother. A roundhouse kick knocked out Dave. Jake left with Ryan, effectively ending oVe for good. With that, one of the final stables in IMPACT Wrestling has come to an end.
On IMPACT last week, Chase Stevens tricked Rohit Raju into a match, setting up the contest this week. Would he come to regret it?
Rohit Raju vs Chase Stevens on IMPACT Wrestling
Rohit Raju really took it to the Natural in this match. Lighting the former 3-time NWA World Tag Team Champion early, a modified Russian leg sweep and an elbow to the throat earned him a two-count.
The more Stevens kicked out, however, the more frustrated The Last Desi became. Stevens began to light up Raju with some rights, but a back elbow knocked him out. Some trash talk, though, allowed Stevens to get in with a big boot and a German suplex. A Scissors Kick nearly gave Stevens the win.
Raju feigned a low blow, forcing the ref to prevent an attack by Stevens. Raju followed up with a flash knee strike to the jaw. The double stomp to the back put Stevens away, giving Raju a much needed win.
Results: Rohit Raju defeated Chase Stevens via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: C
After the match, Raju called himself the most underrated wrestler in the world. However, as he turned around, he was met with a Gore from Rhino. Raju was cut in half as Rhino sent a message to man that had been verbally tearing down TNA Originals for quite some time.
Backstage, Nevaeh finally revealed why she'd turned up at IMPACT Wrestling. After what happened to Father James Mitchell, she knew she had to check in on her longtime friend, because Havok is a terrifying and unstoppable force on her own.
Instead, IMPACT Wrestling's Knockouts Division has to deal with the horrifying duo of Havok and Nevaeh.
This week's edition of Locker Room Talk on IMPACT Wrestling, hosted by Madison Rayne and co-hosted by Johnny Swinger, featured the Ultimate Finesser Chris Bey. Bey and Swinger had formed a friendship recently, with Bey using Swinger to get the best of X-Division Champion Willie Mack.
Rayne asked why Bey came to IMPACT Wrestling, but was interrupted by Swinger, who said he had the talent to get all the "rizzats" the "scrizzats" and whatever else he wanted...whatever that meant. Rayne brought up Mack, but again, Bey was cut off by Swinger, who called the host "Madison Square Garden Rayne" for some reason.
Bey, according to Swinger, is "Amphibious" and named their new tag team the "Finesse and Bench Press Express." Next week, they'll face Willie Mack and Cousin Jake in a tag team match. Bey agreed as long as Swinger helped him win the X-Division Title down the line.
Both Jordynne Grace and Taya Valkyrie returned to IMPACT Wrestling, appearing backstage with Jimmy Jacobs. Valkyrie teased challenging for the Knockouts Championship, leading to Grace flat out throwing down the gauntlet. Next week, they'll go one on one, something Valkyrie wasn't exactly looking for. At least, not this early.
The Rascalz and TJP & Fallah Bahh have been two of the most impressive teams in IMPACT Wrestling for a while. Which duo would go on to challenge The North for the IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Titles?
IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team #1 Contenders Match: The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz) vs TJP & Fallah Bahh
They went to shake hands, but Bahh stopped it, instead of saying that they bump elbows with The Rascalz. Ya know, COVID and all. TJP wanted to start the match, but Bahh demanded he starts. TJP did his best to get him out of the ring but just couldn't overpower him.
TJP was afraid because Dez was so much faster than Bahh. The big man, however, since losing some weight last year, is sneakily agile. Bahh managed to keep up with Dez's speed and avoided a handspring double back kick.
Bahh, knowing he was lucky, tagged in TJP. Wentz came in as well, leading to Wentz escaping a wrist lock and sending TJP down with a shoulder tackle. Two headscissors connected, but Wentz landed on his feet from the second one.
Wentz trapped TJP with a headlock, but the former X-Division Champion broke away and landed a dropick. Dez was in again and dazed TJP with his speed. The Rascalz teamed up on TJP but were manhandled by Fallah Bahh.
Bahh cut Dez in half with a cross body and set TJP up for a Poetry in Motion onto Wentz. Now back in the match, JP slowed it down. suplex/back suplex combo nearly connected, but Wentz broke away.
The Rascalz regained momentum when Dez tagged in, leading to a striking combination ending with a mushroom stomp. TJP struggled, as he was repeatedly lit up with tandem strikes. However, he was able to avoid a double splash in the corner, spiking Wentz with Tornado DDT.
Bah tagged in and tossed Dez into the corner for a splash. Wentz was next. Dez set up for a tilt-a-whirl DDT but was caught mid-spin and was lawn darted into Dez. A Samoan Drop connected, but Dez kicked out at two.
With TJP on is back, Bahh dropped on Dez with a body splash. The suplex/back body drop connected, and TJP tore Dez's leg away with a dragon screw.
Dez caught TJP with an open palm strike combination and a cutter before making it to Wentz. Wentz knocked Bahh off the corner wit a superkick. A leaping enziguri knocked TJP into the corner where he was met with a running knee. A penalty kick and a standing moonsault earned him a near fall.
There was a four-way shmooze that lead to TJP's Mamba Splash getting countered. All four men stood up, with Wentz knocking Bahh to the floor. TJP spiked Wentz with a back suplex and caught Dez's double back kick, turning it into the TJP Clutch in mid-air.
Dez eventually made it to the ropes where Wenz pushed him back, giving Dez a pinfall victory.
Results: The Rascalz defeated TJP and Fallah Bahh via pinfall.
Grade: A
Next week, The Virtuosa arrives. Deonna Purrazzo makes her debut with IMPACT Wrestling in seven short days. That Knockouts Division is hard to top, especially with Purrazzo on board.
We saw some footage of John E. Bravo and Rosemary's date. Rosemary, at the end of the night, gave Bravo an interesting proposition on IMPACT Wrestling. Come and work for the Hive. All he had to do was take a bite of the apple. Bravo didn't want to, but Rosemary unzipped a bit, tempting him. He nearly bit, but a call from Taya Valkyrie broke the spell.
Michael Elgin called out Sami Callihan. Big Mike claimed that he was the rightful IMPACT Wrestling World Champion for well over a year, and was only out of the tournament because of Callihan. Elgin demanded that someone come down and raise his hand, making him the de facto No.1 contender or straight up IMPACT World Champion.
However, Ken Shamrock ran down to the ring, making his return to IMPACT Wrestling and lit up Elgin with a series of knee strikes. Elgin struggled to get away, and nearly had his ankle snapped in half. He rolled out just in time, running away from Shamrock.
Elgin was the reason Shamrock was taken out of the tournament last month, and now the Most Dangerous Man on the Planet wants his revenge.
Next up was the main event. Ace Austin vs Trey to determine the No. 1 contender to Tessa Blanchard...or Moose. However, after Austin made his entrance, Trey was found knocked out backstage.
The Rascalz found him, but Wentz figured out quickly that it was Austin, who was in the ring demanding he gets his hand raised. Wentz used the ring, leading to Scott D'Amore coming down to settle things. D'Amore made a decision, putting Wentz in Trey's place.
IMPACT Wrestling World Title No.1 Contender's Match: Ace Austin vs Wentz
Wentz rushed in with a shotgun dropkick and spiked Austin with a snapmare driver. Austin kicked out, but Wentz didn't let up. Austin was battered by the new No.1 contender to the tag titles. He was unable to get out of the starting gate.
Austin was rocked with a superkick but managed to finally put a stop to the outraged Rascalz' member wen he sent Wentz face-first into the middle turnbuckle. Back from the commercial break, Wentz caught Austin's apron running kick, dropping his head first on the apron.
Austin for the longest time could just not get ahead of Wentz. However, a back body drop to the ramp finally gave Austin the break he needed. He rolled back inside, hoping for a count-out victory. Wentz made the count and was sent into the guard rail for his trouble.
Again, Wentz wasn't going to lose by count-out. As he climbed up the stairs, Austin came out and connected with a big kick to the face. Wentz responded, launching Austin into the rail and stomping him out.
However, as Wentz jumped off the stairs, Austin rocked him with a roundhouse, landing right on the button as we cut to the final commercial break.
Back from the final break, Wentz countered an attack on the inside for a boot and superkick. Austin responded with a kick to the gut followed by a spin-out suplex slam. Austin stomped out Wentz in the corner and connected with a decapitator. Wentz kicked out at two.
Wentz countered a suplex with one of his own and struggled to pull Ace in for a two-count. Ace sliced the webbing of Wentz's fingers with his laminated playing card, but that only served to anger his opponent. Wentz clobbered Austin in the ropes before turning his back.
Austin slammed Wentz with a hair pull, but when he set up for the Fold was countered with a handspring rebound knee. Wentz rocked Austin with a kicking combination, firing himself up in the process. A running knee in the corner set up for the penalty kick. The standing moonsault connected, and Austin just barely kicked out.
Following another knee to the jaw, a swing-out full nelson slam barely put Austin down for the count. Wentz slapped the taste out of Austin's mouth. Austin responded with a small package, but after Wentz kicked out was immediately rocked with a superkick. Somehow, someway, Austin kicked out again.
The Swanton Bomb was blocked with Austin putting his knees up. With that, The double leg driver connected. The Fold connected, putting Wentz away, making Ace Austin the No.1 contender.
Results: Ace Austin defeated Wentz via pinfall in the IMPACT Wrestling main event.
Grade: A+
If Wentz hadn't already competed in an incredibly tough tag team match earlier tonight, he may have come out on top.
