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IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
AUGUST 3, 2023
CHICAGO, IL AT CICERO STADIUM
AIRED ON AXS TV (RECORDED)
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR
-Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt
-Recap of last week’s events.
-“We own the night” open.
-Trinity walked to the ring as fans cheered and waved glow sticks. She took the mic and addressed the Chicago crowd. She said that Chicago has a special place in heart because it’s where she made her Impact debut. She talked about being at her lowest and considering giving up her wrestling career. Fans booed and chanted “no.” She said debuting in Impact was like going from her lowest to her highest. Fans cheered. She talked about accomplishing her goal of winning the Knockouts Title.
Deonna Purrazzo’s music hit and she walked to the ring. She said if we are recreating Trinity’s debut, it’s fitting that she would come in and interrupt. Fans chanted “You tapped out.” She congratulated Trinity on winning the title. They traded words. Deonna said that no one beats her twice. Trinity said “I bet you I can.” They were interrupted by The Coven, who walked to the stage.
KiLynn King complained about them and said it’s the Trinity and Deonna Show, not the Knockouts division. She said that no one wanted to hear from Trinity or see Deonna’s “stupid face.” The Coven got in the ring. King mentioned that she was Trinity’s opponent in her debut. Fans chanted “You lost.” King called them idiots and said that Trinity got lucky. She said that night didn’t sit well with her. Taylor Wilde insulted the Chicago crowd. She said that she hated that The Coven was beaten by Trinity. Trinity told her to do something about it. King told Wilde to give Trinity a card reading. The Coven attacked Trinity. Deonna went after The Coven. Security came out and broke them up. Santino Marella walked to the stage. He told everyone to take it easy. He made a tag team match for later. Deonna wanted to do it right now. Santino asked the fans and they said they wanted it right now. Santino called for a referee. [c]
(1) TRINITY & DEONNA PURRAZZO vs. THE COVEN (KiLynn King & Taylor Wilde)
Trinity and King started the match. Trinity took King to the mat and got an early two count. King came back with a clothesline and threw Trinity into the corner face-first. Trinity escaped the double-team. Trinity gave Wilde a series of punches. Deonna (wearing street clothes) tagged herself in. Wilde threw Deonna into the corner and got a two count. King suplexed Deonna. The Coven tagged in and out to keep the advantage on Deonna. Trinity made the hot tag and ran wild on The Coven. Trinity got a two count on Wilde. King used a distraction to rake Trinity’s eyes. Wilde put Trinity in a chinlock. King tripped and kicked Trinity and scored a two count. Wilde punched Trinity.
Trinity made a comeback and sent Wilde headfirst into the canvas. Trinity tagged Deonna, who clotheslined King and gave her a Russian legsweep. Deonna put King in an armbar, but it was broken up. King DDT’d Deonna and got a two count. Deonna caught King with a pump kick. All four wrestlers got in the ring and traded moves. Everyone was down. Fans chanted “This is awesome.” Deonna and King traded punches. King kicked Deonna down. Deonna escaped a suplex and put King in an armbar. Wilde broke it up. Trinity went to kick Wilde but accidentally kicked Deonna. Wilde threw Trinity out of the ring. The Coven hit their finisher and King pinned Deonna.
WINNERS: The Coven in 10:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Excellent match and it was good to see King get the pin, which bodes well for her future. Good setup for the upcoming rematch.)
-Rascalz backstage promo. Trey Miguel complained about not getting a title match. Zachary Wentz talked about facing Mike Bailey and Jonathan Gresham tonight and about winning the titles. Scott D’Amore interrupted. He said they could continue to be in the tournament, but they would be suspended if they did any further shenanigans. [c]
-Eddie Edwards and Alisha Edwards backstage promo. Alisha bragged about running Traci Brooks out of Impact. Jody Threat confronted them. She said called Traci a legend and said that she left because Alisha wasn’t worth it. Alisha and Jody argued. Alisha said she would run Jody out of Impact. Jody challenged her to a match next week.
(2) HEATH vs. ALAN ANGELS
Fans were solidly behind Heath. Angels slapped Heath, then escaped out of the ring. Angels kicked and punched Heath. Heath slammed Angels to the mat and punched him. Heath hip tossed Angles. Heath hit the steps and Angels attacked him before throwing him back in the ring. Angels went after Heath’s knee. Fans chanted “Angels sucks.” Angels DDT’d Heath and got a two count. Angels missed a moonsault off the top rope. Heath made a comeback with punches and a backdrop. Angels came back with a kick to the head. Angels jumped off the top rope, but Heath caught him and slammed him to the mat for a two count. Heath missed a Wake Up Call, but Angels caught him in a backslide. Heath did get the Wake Up Call and got the pin. Heath celebrated in the crowd after the match. [c]
WINNER: Heath in 7:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Heath is always a treat and the fans are into him. The action was good, but I thought it would have been better served to give Angels the win here, since he needs the momentum after splitting from The Design.)
-Footage from last week of The Design attacking Eric Young.
-Gia Miller interviewed Eric Young. He said he had a feeling The Design would attack him and he would deal with it shortly. She noted that he wasn’t dead and asked where has he been. He said the world that saw that video (of him being stabbed by Deaner) thought they saw the truth, but tonight the world will see what really happened. He said he had new footage.
(3) JAKE SOMETHING vs. DAVEY VEGA
Jake offered his hand at the start, but Vega kicked it away. Vega got a headlock, but Jake threw him off. Jake splashed Vega in the corner. Fans chanted for Jake. Jake threw Vega across the ring. Vega kicked Jake in the head. Jake powered out of a sunset flip and hit Vega with a forearm. Vega tried to leave but Jake caught him and drove him to the mat. Jake did his “What’s my name?” chant and the fans yelled “Something!” Jake hit the “Into the Void” and got the pin.
WINNER: Jake Something in 3:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Impressive squash win for Jake and the fans are really starting to get behind him. Vega is a featured performer on cards here in the Midwest, so I wonder if this was somewhat if a tryout. He performed his role in the squash very well.)
-Kenny King and Sheldon Jean were shown walking backstage. [c]
-Footage from last week of Moose, Brian Myers, and Bully Ray pressuring Lio Rush to join them, then a clip of The Machine Guns, Kushida, and Josh Alexander clearing the ring of the heels.
-Moose, Brian Myers, and Bully Ray approached Lio Rush backstage. Bully said they were proud and happy that he made the right to decision to join them. Lio said he wouldn’t pretend to like this because he doesn’t like it. He stressed again that he is not here to make friends. Moose said they are not friends, they just need him on their team. Lio said they can rely on him until Emergence. Bully said this could be long term. Bully said he wanted Lio with them next week for a six-man tag match. He said they wanted to trust him, as long as he doesn’t give them a reason not to. As they walked off, Brian Myers told Lio to loose the boo-boo face.
(4) KENNY KING (w/Sheldon Jean) (c) vs. JOE HENDRY vs. YUYA UEMURA — Impact Wrestling Digital Media Title match
Fans chanted “We believe.” Hendry did mic work. He said life is short but his title reigns are long. He said sometimes you have to let your friends into title matches. Yuya made his entrance and took the mic. He introduced himself and called himself a champion. King came out last. King pushed Yuya into Hendry, which caused dissension between the friends. Hendry and Yuya double teamed King. Hendry and Yuya shook hands, but Hendry grabbed a headlock. Hendry chopped Yuya and King to the beat of his song. King suplexed Hendry and kicked Yuya. Fans got behind Yuya. Hendry caught King with a neckbreaker. [c]
Hendry got a two count on King. King chopped Hendry. King gave Hendry a spinebuster for a two count. Yuya broke up the pin. Fans continued to chant for Yuya. King gave Yuya a suplex. King and Hendry traded punches. King gave Hendry a powerslam. Yuya caught Hendry and King with a crossbody block. Yuya bulldogged King and suplexed Hendry. Yuya got a two count on Hendry. All three traded punches. King caught Hendry with a kick. Hendry dropkicked King. Hendry caught Yuya with a cutter. King got a two count on Yuya. Hendry clotheslined Jean on the outside. King threw Yuya into Hendry, knocking him off the apron. King caught Yuya with a Royal Flush and got the pin.
WINNER: Kenny King in 13:00.
(D.L.’s Take: This was all action and better than I anticipated. King was the right person to win the match and keep the title. He has the momentum. It looks like Hendry and Yuya are headed to a feud perhaps.)
-Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the Week was “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Jack Evans from last year’s Emergence. Bailey won.
-Gia Miller interviewed Bailey and Jonathan Gresham. She talked about them being in the tournament to win a tag team title shot. Gresham said he was confident of beating the Rascalz. Bailey said he had to convince Gresham to enter the tournament because Gresham was frustrated that rules were being broken. Gresham noted that Bailey lost last week because of cheating. They agreed to watch each other’s back. [c]
-Video package with Josh Alexander, the Motor City Machine Guns, and Kushida recapping recent events. Alexander said they were the best collection of wrestling talent. Chris Sabin said he couldn’t wait to get his hands on Lio Rush and he would be the first 10-time X Division champion. Kushida, who had the giant X around his neck, said “maybe.”
-Hannifan and Rehwoldt ran down matches for Multiverse United 2 and Emergence. Hannifan said that the Beautiful People and Awesome Kong would be at the Impact 1000 show. Matches for next week include:
*Rich Swann & Sami Callihan vs. ABC
*Samuray Del Sol, Lince Dorado, and Black Taurus vs. Bully Ray, Moose, and Brian Myers
-Kevin Kelly plugged matches for tonight’s NJPW show TV show.
-The Death Dollz were backstage and said they needed to find Santino since they weren’t involved in the Knockout Tag Team Title match at Emergence. They came up with a game plan. They ran into Crazzy Steve. He said they needed to talk. Courtney Rush said they would talk later as her and Jessicka walked off. Steve said “I understand.”
-The Rascalz made their ring entrance. [c]
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(5) “SPEEDBALL” MIKE BAILEY & JONATHAN GRESHAM vs. THE RASCALZ (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz)
This is part of the tag team tournament to determine who gets a title shot against Subculture. Bailey got the best of an exchange with Wentz. Bailey dropped Wentz with a kick. Gresham took Wentz to the mat and worked on his arm. Gresham twisted Wentz’s leg and got a two count. Gresham stomped Wentz’s hand. Wentz dropkicked Gresham after a low blow with the rope. The Rascalz double teamed Gresham and knocked Bailey off the apron. [c]
The Rascalz continued to have the upper hand. Bailey caught Trey with a dropkick from the top rope. Bailey gave Trey a shooting star press for a two count. Trey gave Bailey a back suplex. The Rascalz double teamed Bailey. Bailey and Wentz traded kicks. Gresham and Trey tagged in. Gresham gave Trey a cutter. Wentz broke up a pin attempt with a Swanton. Trey hobbled to the outside. Bailey kicked Trey on the outside and rolled him back in. Gresham gave Trey a forearm for a two count. Trey kicked Gresham into Wentz on the outside. Wentz threw spray paint to Trey, who sprayed Gresham and got the pin.
WINNERS: The Rascalz in 13:00.
(D.L.’s Take: A solid main event, as would be expected with the talent involved. The Rascalz dastardly deeds continue and the storyline with Jonathan Gresham continued to advance.)
-They showed footage from last year’s segment where Deaner and Eric Young were in a jail and Deaner supposedly stabbed Young. New footage showed Eric spit up blood and start coughing and laughing after Deaner walked off. He crawled outside and pulled himself up on a motorcycle. He had a bloody face and put on his helmet and glasses. He was shown driving down a highway as Eric’s voiceover talked about life and death. He asked “Can you die if you never truly lived?” He said death can be beautiful but he ain’t dead yet. He said an idea is eternal and can live forever. He called himself more than life and death. He is an idea and he will live forever. A very well produced segment.
FINAL THOUGHTS: This was an easy and fun show to watch. Things are starting to take shape for the Emergence card. The show delivered good in-ring action with the Knockouts tag team match, the Jake Something squash, the Digital Media title match, and the main event. Good storyline advancement too with the Design/Eric Young footage.
RECOMMENDED NEXT: IMPACT WRESTLING HITS & MISSES (7/27): Swinger vs. Dice, Time Splitters vs. Moose & Meyers, Trinity & Luna vs. The Coven, more
OR CHECK THIS OUT AT PROWRESTLING.NET: Impact Wrestling TV results (7/27): Moore’s review of Eric Young vs. Nick Aldis, Moose & Myers vs. Shelley& Kushida, Swinger vs. Zicky Dice in a loser leaves Impact match, Shaw vs. Slamovich
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