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We're a little more than a month away from IMPACT's next PPV, Rebellion. The North may have already found their next contenders in Fallah Bahh and TJP. Tonight, we'll see what's next for Tessa Blanchard. Will she have to take on former IMPACT World Champion Eddie Edwards or one of the most dominant forces in pro wrestling today, Michael Elgin?
We kicked off the night with a hoss fight. oVe's monster, Madman Fulton, faced off against the 'War Machine' Rhino. Since Sami Callihan lost the IMPACT World Championship to Tessa Blanchard back in January, oVe has been somewhat lost. There's been some arguments regarding who was the new leader of the group as Callihan was nowhere to be seen.
Madman Fulton w/oVe vs Rhino
Before the match began, Jake & Dave Crist were immediately ejected from ringside. Rhino dumped Fulton to the floor with a clothesline and bounced his head off the apron. However, Rhino missed another lariat, driving his shoulder into the ring post.
Fulton brought Rhino back inside for a splash and a near fall. He continued to hammer the former world champion, leaving Rhino gasping for air in the ropes. Fulton was able to cut off any attempts at building momentum, smashing Rhino square in the jaw with back elbows and right hands.
Rhino's comeback came from avoiding a diving headbutt and a running splash in the corner. He followed up with a series of elbows and clotheslines, putting the big man on his back. The Gore was countered by a boot to the face, but Fulton couldn't put Rhino away.
A missed diving clothesline allowed Rhino to capitalize and finally hit the Gore.
Results: Rhino defeated Madman Fulton via pinfall
Jake & Dave Crist rushed the ring after the match, taking out Rhino. However, the lights went out. When they returned, Sabu took out the former IMPACT Tag Team Champions with a series of chair shots. DDT to a chair took Fulton down for good.
Over the past month, we've seen vignettes for Chris Bey, one of the most exciting signees to come through IMPACT in quite some time. Next week, Bey will make his debut.
Tonight's main event was the final match of the best of five series between Eddie Edwards & Michael Elgin. The winner would go onto Rebellion to challenge Tessa Blanchard for the IMPACT World Championship. Blanchard stated that she was calling her shot tonight. Regardless of who wins tonight, the Undeniable One will walk out of Rebellion still the IMPACT World Champion.
Desi Hit Squad (Mahabali Shera & Rohit Raju) w/Gama Singh vs The Rascalz (Dez & Wentz)
Rohit Raju took Dez to the mat with a shoulder tackle, but Dez hooked his foot to drop him face first. A back elbow set up a moonsault on a standing Raju that earned Dez a near fall.
The Rascalz tagged in and out, keeping the pressure on Dez, but Raju was able to send Dez over with a dragon screw leg whip. Mahabali Shera tagged in, and clobbered Dez with massive punches and chops.
Dez was able to escape when Raju tagged back in, bringing Wentz in for a striking combination. Raju was rocked with a lifting knee and a penalty kick, but kicked out at two. Dez tagged in for Hot Fire Flame but Shera brooke it up, overpowering the Rascalz. A backbreaker/knee combo from the Hit Squad earned them a two-count.
Shera shot Dez into Raju, but Dez countered with a spinning back kick to both members of the Hit Squad. The Rascalz connected with a series of kicks that wiped out Shera. A Swanton from Wentz and a Spiral Tap from Dez put the big man away in an exciting tag team match.
Results: The Rascalz defeated the Desi Hit Squad via pinfall
Backstage, Rob Van Dam was with Katie Forbes, who was upset at the "nasty comments" that she'd been receiving for her natural curves. Cody Deaner, overhearing, stated that he thought she looked quite nice.
Joey Ryan came in to berate the Deaners for demeaning Katie. This led to the announcement of a tag team match between Ryan & RVD against the Deaners.
We saw another vignette for Tenille Dashwood, who seems to be attempting to enjoy the finer things in life. After a rough start in IMPACT in 2019, Dashwood may have found a new mindset that could help push her to the top.
IMPACT Knockouts Championship: Lacey Ryan w/Madison Rayne vs Jordynne Grace (c)
Next up was the IMPACT Knockouts Championship match..
The challenger seemed to match Grace pretty well when it came to power. Tying up at the beginning of the match, it looked like Ryan actually had the advantage. Eventually, Grace caught Ryan going for a dive and tossed her across the ring.
As Ryan recovered on the apron, she hung Grace up on the ropes, following up with a springboard elbow drop. A flatliner dropped Grace, but she was able to block a cross armbreaker. A boot to the face shook Ryan, allowing Grace to drive her into the corner for a double knee strike/running hip attack combination.
The Vader Bomb gave Grace a two-count. Ryan fought out of the Grace Driver and lit up Grace with a series of spinning back kicks and a running single leg dropkick. Grace kicked out. Ryan looked for a dive again, but like before, Grace blocked it. The Knockouts Champion set up for a superplex.
Ryan fought it off, but a Muscle Buster would connect. Ryan kicked out again. She traded Grace's powerslams with her elbow strikes, and hit a rolling fireman's carry slam to set up a frog splash.
Grace kicked out at two-and-a-half. After avoiding another dive, the champ was able to plant her challenger with the Grace Driver.
Results: Jordynne Grace defeated Lacey Ryan via pinfall
Fallah Bahh and TJP were backstage, with TJP playing on his phone while Bahh seemed to be going through some kind of crisis. He stated that they could become the first-ever Filipino World Tag Team Champions. While he was nervous about the situation, TJP was as cool as a cucumber, stating that they could handle it.
The duo has earned an IMPACT Tag Team Title match against the North in the near future. They've been able to rack up impressive singles and tag victories over the champs in recent weeks. Could they keep the magic going?
Backstage, Chris Sabin was interviewed about the upcoming IMPACT World Title King of the Mountain ladder match at No Place Like Home on April 3rd. Sabin revealed he'd be the special guest referee for the bout. Moose came into view, stating that he'd climb the ladder and retrieve the belt, becoming the new IMPACT World Champion.
Classic TNA and IMPACT fans probably know that this isn't exactly how you win the match, and Sabin took it upon himself to explain the rules. Hanging the belt, pinning someone to be eligible to hang the belt, the penalty box, etcetera. Moose walked off after stating that the match was stupid, and whoever came up with it was an idiot.
Taya Valkyrie was seen drunk, dressed in black, and crying her heart out in a bar. After losing her IMPACT World Title match against Tessa Blanchard, she was apparently taking it hard. Who would be in the bar with Valkyrie? None other than Rosemary, who claimed that she had it worse. The Demon Assassin realized that they had both lost everything, and that made them kindred spirits.
Johnny Swinger & Glen Gilberti vs Willie Mack
Mack took Swinger and Gilberti on easily, forcing both men to tag in and out to save face. As Mack shot off the ropes, Gilberti kicked him in the back, and tagged in for a shot with a roll of quarters. Swinger and Gilberti took Mack down with a double clothesline.
Gilberti kept rocking Mack with the quarters before hiding him in his armpit, forcing a special chant from the crowd. "Check his armpit". Mack escaped a series of elbow drops, but was taken down again by Gilberti, who connected with a Russian leg sweep.
Ace Austin ran down the ramp and got on the apron, hoping to become Mack's new tag team partner. Mack tagged the X-Division Champion, officially making this a tag team match. Austin lit up Gilberti wit a series of kicks and earned a near fall with a rolling senton.
Mack and Austin worked pretty well together, with Austin hitting the fold on Gilberti and Austin setting Mack up for the Six-Star Frog Splash. 1-2-3.
Results: Willie Mack & Ace Austin defeated Glen Gilberti & Willie Mack
Mack was still confused after the match, but shook the hand of the X-Division Champion. Austin praised Mack before leaving the ring.
Havok was attacked backstage by Su Yung, leading to a clash of chairs between the two. Eventually, Havok was taken down when Su slammed her face against the wall. A coffin was left around the corner, and Su opened it before going for her glove.
Havok was unable to stop the Mandible Claw, and was ultimately sent to the Undead Realm.
The Swinging Disco Balls broke up backstage. Glen Gilberti was tired of losing and gave up the dream of a perfect tag team mere weeks after it began. Poor Swinger was left with tons of Disco Ball merch.
Michael Elgin vs Eddie Edwards
Michael Elgin nearly tore Eddie Edwards' head off with an explosive clothesline to kick off the main event. He followed up with a death valley driver on the ramp. Back inside, Edwards kicked out at two.
After enduring some brutal punishment, Edwards popped up for a Blue Thunder Bomb that put him back in the game. He moved to the top but was cut off by Big Mike. They both crashed down to the mat as we cut to commercial.
Back from the break, Elgin rocked Edwards with a stiff elbow strike. Edwards attempted to hit a Tiger Driver, but was shot over the ropes by Edwards, crashing on the floor. Edwards fought out of a fireman's carry position on the apron, however, and rocked Elgin with a big boot and a kick to the knee. A superkick took Elgin to the floor where a plancha took out the big man.
Edwards took Elgin inside for a double stomp. Elgin avoided it and blocked a German suplex. Eventually, Elgin picked Edwards up for a fireman's carry facebuster followed by an impaler DDT. Edwards kicked out. Another strong elbow left Edwards looking concussed.
At some point, those shots seemed to wake Edwards up, as he fired up and took Elgin down with a series of strikes of his own followed by a snap suplex off the ropes. However, that momentum was immediately shut down when Elgin spiked him with a uranage. As Elgin moved up for a dive, Edwards rushed to the top for an avalanche arm drag, nearly sending Elgin into the opposite corner.
The former world champion dropped his long-time rival with a Backpack Stunner, but couldn't get the win. Elgin fired back with an Electric Chair back suplex. With Edwards set up in the corner, Elgin bashed the back of his skull with a nasty lariat. At the top, Elgin took Edwards over with a sky high avalanche tiger suplex!
Somehow, Edwards was able to kick out. The buckle bomb connected, but Edwards bounced off the corner with a clothesline. Avoiding a German suplex, Edwards hit two tiger drivers back to back! Elgin managed to kick out just in time.
Elgin countered the Boston Knee Party with a powerbomb. Following that, a lariat. A buckle bomb and the Elgin Bomb nearly broke Edwards, but he kicked out again. Edwards was able to escape another lariat, which ended up connecting with the referee. He responded with a Boston Knee Party, and even though a second ref ran in, Elgin was able to escape the pin.
Edwards was caught in a vicious package piledriver. As Elgin trapped Edwards in the crossface, it was rolled over for a pinfall. Just as the ref hit three, Edwards tapped out.
Results: Draw
The referees argued over who was the rightful winner. Even Scott D'Amore came out to settle things. However, before a decision could be reached, IMPACT's World Champion came to the stage. Tessa Blanchard said that it didn't matter to her. At Rebellion, she'll leave with the title still around her waist, even if that means she's facing them both.
At Rebellion, Blanchard will defend her title against both Michael Elgin and Eddie Edwards in a three-way-match.
One of Samoa Joe's colleagues had harsh words for him HERE
