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IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
MARCH 9, 2023
LAS VEGAS, NV AT SAM’S TOWN
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PW TORCH CONTRIBUTOR
-Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt
-Highlights of last week’s show, including the Chris Bey and Ace Austin beating the Motor City Machine Guns for the tag team titles.
-Bully Ray walked to the ring. They plugged a Bully Ray t-shirt. As if. Bully complained about Tommy Dreamer saying “someone like me” at No Surrender. Fans chanted for Dreamer. Bully talked about his accomplishments. Bully said that Dreamer’s retina was burned from the coffee he threw on him, so he wouldn’t be cleared to wrestle at Sacrifice. Bully said that Dreamer knew their Busted Open match at Sacrifice would never happen.
Santino Marella walked to the stage. He called Bully “Bobby Ray”. The fans chanted “Bobby”. Bully corrected them. This foolishness went on too long. Santino said that Dreamer was healing and would be at Sacrifice. Santino made the match official. Bhupinder Gujjar walked to the stage. Gujjar spoke in his native language. Fans cheered along. Santino said he requested a match, which would happen right now. Bully protested, but Santino insisted.
Bully grabbed a chain, but Gujjar attacked him. Bully dropped Gujjar with a clothtesline. Bully chopped Gujjar. Gujjar fired up. Bully chopped him again. Gujjar made a comeback with a dropkicks. Bully hit the top rope to knock Gujjar off the top rope. Bully grabbed a chain but turned around into a dropkick. Gujjar got the chain, but Bully gave him a low blow and the referee called for the bell. Bully attacked Gujjar with a chain. Tommy Dreamer ran to the ring and attacked Bully.
Masha Slamovich ran in and gave Dreamer a low blow. Mickie James ran in and hit Bully with a kendo stick. Bully no sold it. Bully missed a kick and Mickie tackled Masha. Bully pulled Mickie off of Masha. Dreamer made the save with a chair. Bully and Masha left the ring.
WINNER: Bhupinder Gujjar by DQ in 3:00.
(D.L.’s Take: This was mercifully kept short. Gujjar showed good fire. Looks like we are headed to a mixed tag match.)
-PCO vignette. PCO was outside in the dark with a shovel. He called out Eddie Edwards. He said that Eddie tried to bury him, but he’s alive. PCO screamed and asked Eddie to fight him. [c]
-Josh Alexander and Rich Swann agreed to team up. Steve Maclin walked in and argued. Frankie Kazarian joined up with Alexander and Swann to complete their team.
The action quickly spilled to the floor and they traded punches and chops on the outside. Rhino slammed Callihan on the apron. Callihan gave Rhino a Russian leg sweep on the apron. Heath and the Design faced off on the ramp. [c]
Back in the ring, Rhino gave Callihan a TKO and got a two count. Callihan made a comeback and got a two count of his own. Callihan chopped Rhino. Rhino gave Callihan a belly to belly suplex. Callihan kicked a charging Rhino and followed with a clothesline for a two count. Callihan couldn’t get Rhino up for the piledriver. They traded punches. Callihan bit Rhino. Kon hit Callihan with a chair. Rhino gored Callihan and got the pin. The announcers speculated about what this means.
WINNER: Rhino in 11:00.
(D.L.’s Take: The commercial took out a large chunk of the match. The Design storyline continues to unfold.)
-Trey Miguel approached Santino and Dirty Dango backstage. Trey asked what they were doing for him. Santino said he would have a hand-picked opponent for Trey at Sacrifice. He said there would be a multi-person match at Multiverse United for the X Division Title. Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice approached and asked for a match. Santino told Dango it wasn’t his job to make matches. Dango said it wasn’t a job, it was a lifestyle.
-Johnathan Gresham and Kushida were shown warming up backstage. [c]
-They showed footage during the break of The Design arguing with Callihan. Deaner said this was Step 6 of the plan and appeared to be revenge for Callihan hitting Kon with a chair at No Surrender.
Grace and Gracia traded the advantage. Hannifan noted that Grace is training for a bodybuilding competition. Grace suplexed Gracia and got a two count. Gracia fought out of the Grace Driver. Grace knocked Gracia off the ropes. Grace slammed Gracia to the mat and followed with the Grace Driver for the pin.
WINNER: Jordynne Grace in 3:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Good win for Grace. Gracia managed to get in a little bit of offense and looked decent.)
-Joe Hendry was cracking up the crew backstage. Moose confronted him. Brian Myers attacked Hendry from behind, stomped him, and threw him into lockers. Moose joined in on the attack.
-Gisele Shaw and Mickie James were shown warming up backstage. [c]
-The Bullet Club walked in celebrating their title win from last week. Shane Haste threw out a challenge. Alexander, Swann, and Kazarian challenged them to a match.
Fans chanted for Kushida. They had a fast-paced exchange at the start, which the fans applauded. They traded armlocks and wrestled on the mat. Kushida had Gresham in a hammerlock on the mat. Gresham stood up and made the ropes to break the hold. They pushed each other. Gresham took Kushida to the mat with a wristlock.
Kushida got to his feet and they traded the advantage. They went back to the mat and traded the advantage. Kushida stomped Gresham’s hand. Kushida gave Gresham a German suplex, but Gresham came back with an armlock. They went back and forth on the mat. Gresham got his foot on the rope to break the hold. Fans clapped. Kushida dropkicked Gresham’s arm.
Gresham craddled Kushida for a two count. Gresham and Kushida exchanged two counts. Fans clapped. Kushida had Gresham in an armlock. They took it back to the mat. Kushida got the Hoverboard Lock on Gresham and Gresham tapped immediately. They shook hands afterwards.
WINNER: Kushida in 10:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Really strong technical action and the fans were invested in it. A good win to give Kushida credibility headed into the title match at Multiverse United. The finish was very sudden but emphasized that the Hoverboard Lock is an effective hold.)
-Eddie Edwards was shown being driven out to the desert to find PCO. [c]
-Killer Kelly sat in a chair in the ring as fans chanted for her. She said she was sick of Taylor Wilde’s games and called her out. Taylor walked to the stage. She got in the ring and told Kelly to pick a card. Kelly said she makes her own destiny and it doesn’t come from cards. Kelly threw the chair down and stood up. Taylor said she would choose the card for her. She chose the tower, which meant massive change, destruction, and chaos.
KiLynn King got in the ring and hit Kelly with a chair from behind. King gave Kelly a Death Valley Driver and stood over Kelly.
-PCO repeatedly hit a rock with his shovel. [c]
-Killer Kelly was upset backstage. The Death Dollz teleported in. They said that Kelly should have come to them. Rosemary said that witches can’t be trusted and Kelly knew where to find them if they needed her. Kelly said she actually didn’t know where she could find them. She said she wasn’t afraid of two on one situations and walked off. King and Wilde then confronted the Dollz. King said if the Dollz didn’t like them to practice the dark arts, the Dollz could stop them. Rosemary said they would defend the belts if King and Wilde agreed to give up the dark arts if they lost. King agreed. The Dollz laughed and said “witches get stitches”. Wilde said they were annoying.
-Eddie Edwards was in the desert looking for PCO. He had a tire iron. PCO swung a shovel at him and missed. They brawled. PCO knocked Eddie out and threw him in a ditch. As PCO was about to finish him off, he got hit by a car. Eddie pulled himself out of the ditch and got in the car. PCO was laid out. We didn’t see who drove the car. [c]
-Hannifan and Rehwoldt plugged Multiverse United, then ran down matches for next week, including:
- Jonathan Gresham & Mike Bailey vs. Decay
- Steve Maclin vs. Heath
- Death Dollz vs. The Coven
- Bullet Club vs. Time Machine
-Deonna Purrazzo walked down the ramp and joined the commentary team.
Mickie kicked Shaw, but Shaw turned the tide. They traded the advantage. Fans chanted for each wrestler. Shaw started getting the upper hand. Mickie fired back with a series of punches, but Shaw cut her off. Shaw put Mickie in a camel clutch. Mickie caught a charging Shaw with an elbow, then had an offensive flurry. Mickie did a dive from the top rope to the floor on Vidal and Evans, but Shaw hit her from behind.
Back in the ring, Shaw had the upper hand. Shaw caught Mickie with a running uppercut and got a two count. Shaw chopped Mickie. They collided in the middle of the ring. They got up and traded punches. Mickie kicked Shaw and clotheslined her. Mickie caught Shaw with a Thesz Press from the top rope and got a two count. Shaw connected with a kick. Shaw went for the DDT. Deonna pulled Evans off the apron. While the referee was distracted with Evans, Deonna ran in and rolled Mickie over on Shaw, who got the pin.
WINNER: Mickie James in 17:00.
(D.L.’s Take: Really good showcase for both wrestlers. It appears Deonna may be turning face, which opens up interesting possibilities).
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