MULTIVERSE UNITED HITS & MISSES 3/30: Tanahashi vs. Bayley, Moose vs. Cobb, Rush vs. Kushida, Kenta vs. Suzuki

MULTIVERSE UNITED- ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE IMPACT X NJPW
MARCH 30, 2023
LOS ANGELES, CA AT GLOBE THEATREAIRED LIVE ON FITETV
BY JOHN LASLO, PW TORCH CONTRIBUTOR

(1) TREY MIGUEL (c) vs. RICH SWANN vs. KEVIN KNIGHT vs. FRANKIE KAZARIAN vs. CLARK CONNORS vs. ROCKY ROMERO – HIT

Kevin Knight was seriously impressive, he was featured heavily throughout the match. I wasn’t a fan of him before the match, but I am now. I hope to see him more on normal Impact shows, and not just BTI. Clark Connors was also heavily featured, and went on a spat of spearing everyone in the match that was a lot of fun. Continuing his more cheaty aspect, Trey Miguel won by stealing the pin of Kevin Knight from Frankie Kazarian.

(2) EDDIE EDWARDS & TOM LAWLOR & JR KRATOS & JOE HENDRY vs. CALLIHAN & FRED ROSSER & ALEX COUGHLIN & PCO – HIT

I have no idea why the people who were in this match were teamed up the way they were, but great match anyway. Joe Hendry and Alex Coughlin spent some time impressively lifting each other into vertical suplex position before switching places, just an absolute showcase of strength. The spot of the match though, was PCO’s moonsault off the top rope onto everyone on the floor. This match was pure chaos, but in the best way possible.

(3) MOOSE vs. JEFF COBB – MISS

There were some audio problems on the video package leading into this match. A couple of real power houses just making the ring boom with every move. This was a slow moving match, and it took the energy down a bit. There were some impressive strength spots, but overall it felt unlike the rest of the matches on this card.

(4) MASHA SLAMOVICH vs. GISELE SHAW vs. MIYU YAMASHITA vs. DEONNA PURRAZZO – HIT

And another audio problem with a backstage segment before the match, which makes me angry. This type of thing shouldn’t happen. The match though was great. It had a little bit of everything, technical chain wrestling, high flying, and hard hitting. Miyu Yamashita really got to show off her skill, and kept up with Deonna Purrazzo. Miyu came off as someone who could challenge for the Knockouts World Title.

(5) BULLET CLUB (Chris Bey & Ace Austin)(c) vs. MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS vs. TMDK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) vs. AUSSIE OPEN (Mark Davis & Kyle Fletcher) — Impact Wrestling World Tag Team Title match – HIT

A great match that everyone got a chance to show off. All of these teams have deep ties to NJPW, and are probably all in the running for top tag teams currently active. The team spots were frequent, and the whole rest of the match was just as quick. This match was just hit after hit after hit, I didn’t have time to write anything, all I could do is sit back and watch.

(6) LIO RUSH vs. KUSHIDA – HIT

I am really loving the way that commentary keeps playing up Kushida’s hoverboard lock as a contributing factor for Josh Alexander’s tricep injury. The match itself though, was a great mix of grappling and highflying that is becoming the signature of a great Kushida match. Lio Rush was able to keep up really well. It’s been a hot minute since I saw Rush in action, and this match reminded me of just how good he could be. The end show of respect between the two was the icing on the cake.

(7) KENTA (c) vs. MINORU SUZUKI – New Japan Strong Openweight Title match- HIT

This was a match between two masters of the form, and was a textbook example of ring psychology to build the match. Starting slow, basically teasing each other and building to crescendo. Kenta cheating to get the win was the emotional finish that will continue the bad blood between the two.

(8) HIROSHI TANAHASHI vs. “SPEEDBALL” MIKE BAILEY – HIT

Look, Hiroshi Tanahashi is a legend. Mike Bailey isn’t- yet. Bailey is so good it’s hard not to go in thinking he’s going to have the match of the night week in and week out at Impact. It’s rare that I’ve seen Bailey have to step up his game, but this match was one of them. Tanahashi is so good. Just a match that you couldn’t take your eyes off of.

FINAL THOUGHTS – HIT

This was far more of NJPW crowd than an Impact one, but they were having a ball. I really want to go to an event with the woman who was having an absolute blast by the entrance ramp, that’s the exact energy I want to see at an event like this. I keep up with NJPW, but I don’t watch it with anything approaching regularity. I feel like a lot of NJPW fans are the same with Impact. This event gave a glowing recommendation to check out the other’s product. Everyone put their best foot forward. The best shows make you want to see the next show, and this one definitely falls in that category.