Cazer’s Impact Wrestling Review 7.21.22

Welcome back to another night of Impact Wrestling on AXS TV. Tonight we are absolutely BLESSED with a stellar match in Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin for the #1 contenders shot at Josh Alexander’s Impact World Championship. Talk about a blockbuster matchup between one of the best tag teams in the world. I generally pull for Shelley, and will be doing that tonight but either guy can win for all I care.

That’s not all on tap as Chelsea Green and Deonna Purrazzo will team to face Mia Yim and Jordynne Grace. That’s not all for tag team action as Matt Taven and Mike Bennett will team up to represent Honor No More against The Bullet Club’s Chris Bey & Ace Austin. There’s championship action lined up as Mike Bailey looks to get revenge on Deaner for his surprise attack a few weeks back. Lastly we’ll see Masha Slamovich continue her run through the Knockouts Division as she takes on Madison Rayne in singles competition.

– Fantastic hype package showcasing the history of The MCMG. They should bring back those Impact documentaries and do one on The MCMG. They cut to Sabin arriving to the arena. I’m a sucker for that shot.

VXT (Deonna Purrazzo & Chelsea Green) vs. Jordynne Grace & Mia Yim

VXT are now a complete tag team unit with matching gear and a tag team theme song. Let’s see if Impact can make women’s tag team wrestling thrive at a time when it’s currently lacking. Not necessarily in Impact but the world of professional wrestling in general has taken a lot of emphasis away from women’s tag teams. If any company can do it it’s Impact honestly. Lockup between Jordynne and Deonna, Purrazzo with a wrist lock, Jordynne attempts to break free and finally does but Deonna right back to the wrist lock. Jordynne breaks free and hits Deonna with a chop, single leg take down, off the ropes into a cartwheel and armdrag, then shoulder block to Deonna. Strong burst of offense from Grace. Grace sends Deonna face first into the corner and follows with a clothesline and cover for two. Jordynne pulls Deonna to the corner and tags in Mia who hits Deonna with a shot and roll up for one, a backslide again one, another roll up and one, not sure that’s gonna work. Chelsea tags in double clothesline attempt Mia ducks sends Deonna outside the ring and nails Chelsea with a series of armdrags then a boot in the corner. Mia with a kick to the back and covers Chelsea for two. Jordynne tags in delayed scoop slam to Chelsea and covers for two. Deonna distracts the referee while Mia tags in so it’s not official. Not even sure what that did in terms of giving the heels an advantage, but Deonna attacks Jordynne from the floor before sending her into Chelsea who covers for two. Chelsea with a curb stomp into the buckle and covers for another two count. So many pinfalls. Chin lock, Jordynne to her feet but Chelsea tags in Deonna they send Jordynne into the ropes Deonna pulls her legs out from under her as she slides out of the ring and sets Jordynne up for a big boot from Chelsea, Deonna covers for two then lays into Jordynne with a few forearm shots before the referee tells her to stop. Deonna attempts a suplex but Jordynne is too strong, Chelsea tries to help but again too weak and Jordynne hits the double suplex. They try to beat down Jordynne as the referee yells at Mia for no good reason. They send Jordynne into the corner she slams Deonna into the corner as she’s on her back, Jordynne attempts to make a tag but Chelsea tries to take Mia off the apron but instead takes a german suplex from Jordynne. Mia tags in, superkick to both women, drop kick to Deonna, she sends Chelsea into a DDT from Deonna as she hits Deonna with a neck breaker, not a fan of spots like that. Mia off the ropes and Chelsea trips her up, Deonna comes in they attempt a double suplex but Jordynne catches her, all four began brawling, Jordynne and Mia send them to the outside and hit the double suicida. Deonna sent into the ring and Mia covers for two. Mia goes for a package piledriver but Chelsea breaks it up, flatliner from Deonna, curb stomp from Chelsea, Deonna covers and Mia kicks out at two. Jordynne with a spinebuster to Deonna, Chelsea drops Jordynne, Mia with a dropkick and she covers Chelsea but Deonna breaks it up. Deonna sends Jordynne out of the ring, Chelsea tags Deonna in and they send Mia into the corner but she makes them headbutt each other, double stunner from Mia she looks to tag Jordynne but she’s obviously not there. Mia runs back into Deonna and Chelsea and they drop her with a sweet double team move and Deonna covers for the victory.
Rating: ***1/2
Review: This was a solid knockouts tag match to kick things off, it would’ve been much better if they didn’t go to so many near falls early. The finish was kind of clunky, I get the idea but it didn’t execute too well. I’m surprised Mia took the loss here but someone had to lose I guess. I really like Deonna and Chelsea as a tag team.

– Honor No More cut their promo, Vincent says he was attached from behind before correcting himself to say he was attacked. Interesting that he’s on his way back to where the honor was born this Saturday. Eddie asks where PCO was when Heath attacked Vincent from behind. Eddie tells PCO that failure is no longer an option here. Maria says tonight there can be no excuses and there will be no honor.

X Division Championship
Mike Bailey (c) vs. Deaner

Deaner “earned” this shot by attacking Bailey from behind a few weeks ago following Bailey’s open challenge defense against Alan Angels. Bailey laid down the challenge last week setting up this match tonight. Deaner with the early attack but Bailey ducks him and beats the crap out of him in the corner until the referee forces a break allowing Deaner to use some of his heel tactics and get him back into this one. Bailey spears Deaner into the corner but he counters out and runs into a kick from Bailey. Bailey off the ropes and flips over Deaner, then leaps over him, Bailey with an armdrag and dropkick into a kip up. Bailey with a boston crab, Deaner crawls for a rope break, Bailey with a chop then attempts a kick to Deaner who ducks and slides out of the ring Bailey drops him off the apron and attempts a dive but Deaner dodges and Deaner lands on the apron. Bailey chases Deaner and gets caught up in the ring apron before getting shot with a right hand from Deaner. The referee backs Deaner up and he keeps the referee distracted as Joe Doering attacks Bailey. Deaner stands tall over Bailey as we go to commercial. Back from break as Deaner and Bailey exchange chops, Deaner is pissed so he bites at Baileys face and covers for a two count. Deaner sets Bailey in the ropes and hits him with a dropkick to the rear. Bailey in the ropes as Deaner lays into him with forearms. Deaner tries to send Bailey into the ropes but he hangs on Deaner with a forearm and finally Bailey moves, Bailey fights back with his combination strikes dropping Deaner then hitting a twisting shooting star and covers for two. Bailey charges Deaner in the corner and gets set up top, knee strike from Deaner then a modified powerbomb and covers for two. Deaner with a chop to Bailey, Bailey with one of his own, they exchange for a moment Deaner asks for more then blocks one and hits Bailey with a chop so Bailey drops him with a kick. Bailey attempts to kick Deaner, he ducks twice but Bailey waits and catches the scared Deaner with a kick anyways. Bailey with an attempts pump kick but Deaner kicks his legs out from under him. Deaner attempts a DDT on the apron but Doering distracts him long enough for Deaner to move out of the way of ultima weapon. Bailey with a roll up for two, he attempts another roll up then tries to german suplex Deaner into the apron, Deaner with a neckbreaker on the ropes, Deaner to the outside and Bailey with a HUGE moonsault to the outside on Deaner. Bailey sends Deaner back inside and hits him with a kick then a moonsault with the knees, he then goes for a kick and Deaner rolls him up with the ropes for two. Bailey with a series of kicks to Deaner then Ultima Weapon off the top and covers for the victory.
Rating: ***1/2
Review: Yet another good match and this start of Impact has been really good. Deaner isn’t someone I really care for but he and Doering were good in this heeling it up against Bailey. Even though Deaner doesn’t do a lot for me he has some credibility so a decent win for Bailey i’m intrigued who’s next in the open challenge. 

– The Ric Flair moment of the week is a match between Flair and Sting back in the prime Hogan, Sting, Flair days. Such an interesting thing to see back years later.

– Deonna and Chelsea are backstage as Gail walks up, they ask her if she saw what they did out there tonight. Chelsea says Deonna pinned Mia who is challenging for the Knockouts championship at Emergence so she wants it to be a triple threat. Gail says no and tells them that they’ll both get a knockouts tag team title match instead. Gail was kind of rude but they were rude first so I guess it’s fair.

– Eric Young tells Deaner and Doering that they need to prove themselves by eliminating the sickness.

Madison Rayne vs. Masha Slamovich

Over/Under on this one ending in 1:30, i’d go Under. Somehow Madison is being forced to compete despite having her mask on and still being injured but she’s fine she has Gisele Shaw there to back her up. Madison tries to reason with Masha but she just grabs her by the hair and tosses her into the corner, Masha runs into a boot, Madison attempts a roll up, Masha rips the mask off Madison and slams her to the mat. Masha picks the mat up and rips it up before stomping on it and tossing it at Gisele. Masha with the snowplow on Madison and covers for the victory. Under hit easy. Masha stares down Gisele post match.
Rating: N/A
Review: Masha wins again! ‘Not a lot you can say about her matches at this point it’s never bad but until she gets into a legitimate program it’s just the same.
Post match: Masha hands a picture to Gisele setting up an upcoming match.

– Meyers is backstage and Bhupinder walks up and calls out Meyers for being scared to face him. Meyers says he can’t just fight everyone, he says everyone wants to wrestle Bhupinder too. He tells Bhupinder that Vincent wants a match with him and sets that match up himself.

– Killy Kelly promo, she’ll debut next week. Not sold on these promo packages, the first one had me hyped the last two have been kind of eh.

– We see the MCMG working out backstage ahead of their big main event match. Again i’m a sucker for this stuff.

Mike Bennett & Matt Taven vs. Chris Bey & Ace Austin

I’m just glad it’s not another 8-10 person tag match. Bey and Ace with some weird shoulder shrug thing at Bennett and Taven. Taven and Ace start this one off, I would like to see this singles match. Tavens size shows against a small guy like Ace. Taven with a headlock on Ace, Ace with a shot to the ribs and looks for a suplex but Taven counters, Ace with a kick to the spine and he rolls up Taven for two. Ace with a legdrop to Taven and another two count. Taven sent into the corner but he leaps over Ace and counters with a dropkick. Taven tells us who he is and he turns around into a dropkick from Ace. Ace says he’s Ace Austin, TOO SWEET. Bennett and Bey tag in, they exchange chops, Bennett with a headlock, Bey sends him off into the ropes, shoulder block from Bennett, Bey sent to the apron he counters and leaps over Bennett hitting a cool springboard rana and dropkick to Bennett. Bey covers for two. Bey with a headlock but Taven with the blind tag, they drop Bey with some tandem offense, Taven covers for two. Taven off the ropes and drops a knee looking for Bey but he moves. Ace tags in and sends Taven into the corner. Ace with a springboard kick to Taven. Ace sends Taven into the ropes but Taven counters and Maria helps by pulling the ropes down as Ace lands outside the ring. Taven follows and sends Ace into the ring but he counters with a rana to Taven. Ace counters Taven and hits him with a kick to the face. Bennett and Taven regain control, Bennett tags in, Taven with the purple thunder bomb and tells Bennett to cover he does for two. Bey with the tag in and runs through Bennett and Taven. Bey with a neck breaker and covers Bennett. Ace tags in and this one breaks down as everyone looks to get some offense in. Bey with a superkick to the back of the head of Bennett, Bennett sends Bey to the apron, Bey leapfrogs and drops Bennett with a DDT. Maria on the apron again to distract and Ace comes to confront her. This allows Taven to hit a low blow to Bey but Heath hits the ring and hits Taven from behind. Ace tags in and hits the fold on Bennett before covering from the victory.
Rating: ***
Review: This was solid for what I saw, had to bounce in and out as a few things were going on but Bey and Ace were solid here. Interesting to see Heath with the attack giving Bey and Ace the win. 

– Gia asks Maclin if he’s worried about Sami, he tells Gia he’s not worried he was made for this, he is always one step ahead. Maclin says to him this is war, the lights flicker and Sami arrives and attacks Maclin as Gia calls for security. Moose appears and holds Sami as Maclin nails him with a pipe. They grab a trash can and try to hit Sami with it but he clicks a button on his phone and disappears.

– Josh is backstage with Scott D’Amore and runs down the list of potential challengers he has as Rich Swann walks up to him. Swann says when he lost his championship he lost his mojo but he’s got his flavor and his mojo back. Swann says you heard Josh, and tells Scott to make the match. Scott makes Swann vs. Kushida next week instead.

Impact World Championship #1 Contender
Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin

Wristlock exchange, grappling early, right into a roll up two count, wow shocked it didn’t end there. Lockup, Shelley steps over into a wrist lock, Sabin counters out into an armdrag then a drop toe hold. Shelley counters with a roll up attempt but Sabin with one of his own and Shelley kicks out before sliding to the outside. Back inside they exchange holds, Shelley with a roll up for two before Sabin escapes and we go to commercial. Sabin backs Shelley back into the corner as we return and attempts a chop but Shelley ducks and nails Sabin with one of his own. Sabin fights back and drops Shelley with a neck breaker and covers for two. Sabin with a kick to the lower back Shelley to his feet and attempts a kick to Sabin but Sabin catches him and locks him in a modified stretch. Shelley gets the ropes and Sabin attacks the neck of Shelley. Sabin with a headlock Shelley fights back and bounces off the ropes but runs right into a knee from Sabin to the mid section. Sabin back to the headlock and Shelley fights back with shots the midsection. Shelley bounces off the ropes and hits Sabin with a shot to the knee as we go back to commercial. Shelley sets Sabin up in the corner and hits him with a dragonscrew. Shelley continues to work over the knee of Sabin locking in a modified figure four until Sabin gets to the bottom rope for the break. Back to their feet and Shelley locks up the wrists of Sabin before slamming him to the mat. Shelley wraps Sabin up in some funky stretch before finally letting him go and rolling him up for a two count. Sabin to his feet but he’s favoring the knee, Shelley right back on the attack and lifts Sabin to his feet but Sabin counters with a chop. Sabin with a pinfall attempt of his own but Shelley kicks out at two. So many pins. Sabin with a DDT. Both men to their feet Shelley twisting the arm looking for control but Sabin returns with forearms to the face. Shelley with some fancy arm snapping move, that I always find interesting because what’s the point of the noise if their bone isn’t broken. Shelley on the outside and Sabin with a kick to the face. Sabin heading up top he hits a crossbody on Shelley and covers for two. Sabin with a kick to Shelley in the corner, he waits for Shelley to get up and drops him with a tornado DDT. Sabin covers for two. Shelley charges Sabin in the corner, Sabin attempts to kick him but Shelley catches him and hits a modified dragon screw out of the turnbuckle. Shelley lifts Sabin up and drops him right on his head with a scary spot. Shelley covers for two and then goes right into a crossface. Sabin crawls to the bottom rope, sheesh they wasted no time after that botch. Sabin to his feet, Shelley drops him with a chop and follows with more Shelley attempts to hyper extend the elbow of Sabin but Sabin immediately counters with an enziguri then a running kick to the face of Shelley. Sabin goes for a clothesline but Shelley ducks, Sabin with a suplex and goes for the clothesline again but Shelley with the superkick, he attempts sliced bread but Sabin shoves him off into a superkick. Shelley with a superkick of his own he charges Sabin but runs into the clothesline from hell Michigan. Sabin attempts the cradleshock but Shelley counters he drops Sabin with the sliced bread, Shelley with the Shell shocked he covers for two, Shelley right into the border city stretch and HOLY SMOKES SABIN TAPS!
Rating: ****1/2
Review: Likely rating heavy due to Shelley winning and i’m bias but it was a damn good match. There were a lot of nearfalls like the earlier match and I wasn’t a fan of them all but the finishing stretch was awesome. These two know each other so well allowing for a great match. The botch was a little scary but they went right to work after so it clearly wasn’t that bad.
Post match: VBD hit the ring and attack both Shelley and Sabin. Kushida’s theme hits and the timesplitter hits the ring to make the save.

7.9

The final score: review Good

The 411

This was a great episode of Impact. Outside of a few matches that kind of slowed the pace of the show down this was great. The longer matches are all must watch as each competitor delivered and that lead to a great show. They didn't even have to lean too heavily on big championship matches, though the main event's title implications lead to a fun match and a great finishing stretch.