7/21 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Chris Sabin vs. Alex Shelley, Bailey vs. Deaner, more

IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
JULY 21, 2022 (RECORDED)
LOUISVILLE, KY AT OLD FORESTER’S PARISTOWN HALL
AIRED ON AXS TV
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Impact Wrestling Announcers: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

-Video package on Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley.

-Footage of Sabin and Shelley arriving at the building.

-Weekly video intro.

(1) JORDYNNE GRACE & MIA YIM vs. CHELSEA GREEN & DEONNA PURRAZZO

Grace and Deonna started the match. Grace took Deonna to the mat. Grace ran Deonna’s head into the turnbuckle, followed by a clothesline. Mia rolled up Deonna for a one count and had two more pin attempts. Mia arm dragged Green and booted her in the face. Grace slammed Green and got a two count. Green threw Grace out of the ring. Deonna attacked her and threw her back in.

Green stomped Grace into the turnbuckle. Fans chanted for Grace. Green and Deonna kept the advantage on Grace. Grace suplexed Green and Deonna and fought them off. Deonna put Grace in a sleeper, but Grace powered out. Grace gave Green a German suplex. Mia made the hot tag and ran wild. Green tripped Mia from the outside.

All four wrestlers fought in the ring. Grace and Mia did a double dive to the floor on Green and Deonna. Back in the ring, Deonna gave Mia a flatliner. Green stomped Mia and Deonna got a two count. All four wrestlers were in the ring again and traded moves. Grace was thrown out of the ring by Deonna. Mia gave Green and Deonna a double stunner. Deonna and Green double teamed Mia and Deonna pinned Mia for the win. [c]

WINNERS: Chelsea Green & Deonna Purrazzo in 9:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Good opener that served multiple purposes: it got the show off to an exciting start, it helped to re-build Deonna, and the seeds of dissension were sewn between Mia and Grace ahead of their title match.)

-Honor No More promo in a stairwell. Matt Taven talked about them not getting title shots. Mike Bennett said it was typical of Impact. Kenny King said Impact was playing games and they were coming after Heath. Vincent said they aren’t the bad guys here and talked about Heath attacking him from behind. Eddie Edwards asked where was PCO when Vincent was being attacked. Eddie faced PCO and said mistakes would not be tolerated. Maria Kanellis said there couldn’t be failure in tonight’s tag team match.

-Rehwoldt and Hannifan appeared on camera and ran down the matches for the rest of the show.

(2) MIKE BAILEY (c) vs. DEANER (w/Joe Doering) – Impact Wrestling X Division Title Match

Deaner charged Bailey at the start, but Bailey chopped him. Deaner got the upper hand and took Bailey to the mat. Bailey missed Ultimo Weapon, but chopped Deaner. Bailey dropkicked Deaner, then put him in a Boston Crab. Deaner reached the ropes to break the hold. Bailey booted Deaner to the outside. Deaner trapped Bailey in the ring apron. Joe Doering shoulderblocked Bailey down. [c]

Deaner had the upper hand after the break. Bailey fought back with chops. Deaner gouged Bailey’s eyes and slammed him. Deaner gave Bailey a neckbreaker. Bailey made a comeback with rapid-fire kicks. Bailey gave Deaner a twisting shooting star press for a two count. Deaner gave Bailey a knee to the ribs, followed by a powerbomb for a two count.

They exchanged chops. Bailey kicked Deaner to the mat. Bailey gave Deaner a delayed kick and Deaner rolled to the apron. They battled on the apron. Bailey missed an Ultimo Weapon on the apron. Deaner gave Bailey a neckbreaker in the ropes. Bailey avoided a charging Deaner and gave him a moonsault from the apron.

Bailey kicked Deaner and delivered the knees. Deaner rolled up Bailey. Bailey gave Deaner a spinning kick and got the Ultimo Weapon for the pin.

WINNER: Mike Bailey in 13:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Good match and more competitive than I thought. Match was a good showcase for Bailey, but Deaner held his own.)

-Ric Flair Moment of the Week: Ric Flair vs. Sting from 2011.

-Deonna and Chelsea were talking backstage and were interrupted by Gail Kim. Chelsea said that since Deonna pinned Mia, that Deonna should be the number one contender. Gail said they were both the number one contenders — for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles and would get a title shot at Emergence. Deonna and Chelsea celebrated after Gail left. [c]

-Violent By Design promo. Eric Young faced off with Deaner and Doering in a staircase. Deaner said they didn’t have the sickness. Eric said to prove it by curing the sickness. This was very well shot and edited.

(3) MADISON RAYNE (w/Gisele Shaw) vs. MASHA SLAMOVICH

Madison wore a face guard because of her recent nose injury. Masha grabbed Madison and threw her in the corner. Madison tried for a sunset flip. Masha ripped off the face guard and slammed Madison to the mat. Masha stomped the face guard and threw it out of the ring. Masha gave Madison the snowplow and got the pin.

WINNER: Masha Slamovich in 2:00.

After the match, as Gisele was helping Madison, Masha got back in the ring and gave Gisele an envelope that had a picture of Gisele with a red X through it.

(D.L.’s Take: Not much to it. Another dominating win for Masha over a name opponent.)

-Brian Myers was talking to young wrestlers in the back. Bhupinder Gujjar interrupted him and said that Myers was scared to face him. Myers said he couldn’t face everyone. Myers said that he heard Vincent say that Gujjar couldn’t beat him. Myers walked off looking for Vincent. [c]

-Killer Kelly vignette. She was still at the motel. She asked if you ever get the feeling that someone’s watching you. She sat outside and a guy walked up and started talking to her. She looked bored. She said that people just don’t know when to shut the (beep) up.

-Sabin and Shelley were shown warming up backstage.

(4) MATT TAVEN & MIKE BENNETT (w/Honor No More) vs. CHRIS BEY & ACE AUSTIN

Ace and Taven started the match. Ace kicked Taven and put him in a headlock. Taven took Ace to the mat. Ace took Taven to the mat and kicked him. Ace leg dropped Taven. Taven nailed Ace with a dropkick. Ace returned a dropkick. Bey and Bennett tagged in and faced off. They traded chops. Bey gave Bennett a rana and a dropkick.

Taven and Bennett double teamed Bey. Taven fought off Bey and Ace. Ace took out Taven and Bennett. Taven sent Ace out of the ring. They fought on the floor for a bit. Bennett took out Ace on the floor. Back in the ring, Bennett and Taven had the advantage on Ace. Ace finally made the tag to Bey, who ran wild on Taven and Bennett.

Bey gave Taven and Bennett a DDT. Ace and Bey double teamed Bennett. Taven sent Ace to the outside. Bennet super kicked Bey. Taven missed a splash. Bey DDT’d Bennett. Maria got on the apron and distracted the referee. Taven gave Bey a low blow. Heath gave Taven a Wake Up Call. Ace gave Bennett the fold and got the pin.

WINNERS: Chris Bey & Ace Austin in 11:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Solid tag team match that was all action. Bey and Ace worked well together.)

-Gia Miller interviewed Steve Maclin. Maclin said he was worried about Sami Callihan and called him predictable. Maclin said he is always one step ahead. The lights went off and on. Sami appeared and attacked Maclin. They fought backstage. Moose attacked Sami from behind and held him while Maclin attacked Sami. As they were about to hit him with a trash can, Sami pulled out his phone and the lights went off. When they came back on, he was gone. [c]

-Rosemary was trying to force Havok to put on her entrance mask. Havok walked off and said she had something else. Taya said that Havok has now become the happy Jessika persona after losing to Masha Slamovich. Jessika brought back a jacket. Rosemary walked off angry. Havok and Taya laughed and exchanged compliments.

-Josh Alexander and Scott D’Amore talked about the main event backstage. Rich Swann walked in and said he he had his mojo back. He said he never had a rematch for the world title. Scott said he was putting Swann against Kushida next week to prove he has his mojo back.

-Hannifan and Rehwoldt ran down the matches for next week:

• Rich Swann vs. Kushida
• Eddie Edwards vs. Ace Austin

(5) ALEX SHELLEY vs. CHRIS SABIN

This match determined who would be the number one contender for Josh Alexander’s Impact World Title. They traded the advantage early. Alexander was shown watching the match on a monitor backstage. Sabin and Shelley squared off and reached a stalemate. [c]

Sabin and Shelly traded the advantage again. Sabin had Shelley in a submission and turned into a backslide. Sabin put Shelley in a chin lock. Shelley dropkicked Sabin’s knee. [c]

Shelley continued to work on Sabin’s leg. Shelley put Sabin in a leg lock on the mat. Shelley worked Sabin’s arm next and took him to the mat. Shelley put Sabin in a wrist lock on the mat. Sabin fought back with chops. Sabin rolled up Shelley for a two count and followed with a DDT. Both wrestlers were on the mat.

Sabin gave Shelley a crossbody block from the top rope for a two count. Sabin gave Shelley a running kick. Sabin gave Shelley a tornado DDT for a two count. Fans chanted “This is awesome”. Shelley leg whipped Sabin in the corner. Shelley gave Sabin a back suplex and got a two count. Shelley put Sabin in the Border City Stretch. Sabin reached the ropes to break the hold.

Sabin fired back with punches. They traded chops. Shelley worked on Sabin’s arm, but Sabin came back with a kick. Sabin kicked Shelley and both were on the mat. Sabin gave Shelley a German Suplex. Shelley came back, but Sabin superkicked him. Sabin clotheslined Shelley. Shelley gave Sabin the Sliced Bread for a two count.

Sabin rolled up Shelley for a two count. Shelley gave Sabin the Shell Shock for a two count. Shelley put Sabin in the crossface submission and Sabin tapped.

WINNER: Alex Shelley in 25:00.

After the match, Deaner and Doering attacked Shelley and Sabin. Kushida ran in for the save. He cleared the ring of Deaner and Doering.

(D.L.’s Take: This was a great match. It built up and the final few minutes were excellent. Shelley and Sabin are both really in the zone right now. It’s a good call to put them in TV and PPV main events. I’m really looking forward to Shelley vs. Alexander. That was a cool appearance from Kushida too and the fans were into him.)

FINAL THOUGHTS: Another great effort from Impact. They did a great job of building up the main event as a big deal and it delivered. I enjoyed the X Division match and the opening tag team match as well. I like that Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green will be teaming more. I’m also liking the Havok/Taya/Rosemary mix. The Killer Kelly and VBD segments were very well produced. Good show.

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NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK’S IMPACT TV REPORT: 7/14 IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT: Honor No More vs. Bullet Club, James vs. Green, more