IMPACT WRESTLING HITS & MISSES 4/27: Purrazzo vs. Wilde in main event, Swing vs. El Dineroco, PCO vs. Singh, Grace vs. Slamovich, more

IMPACT WRESTLING HITS AND MISSES
APRIL 27, 2023
TORONTO, ONT. AT THE REBEL ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX
AIRED ON AXS TV (RECORDED)
REPORT BY JOHN LASLO, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

(1) JORDYNNE GRACE vs. MASHA SLAMOVICH – HIT

This was a great opening match, it helped re-establish Jordynne Grace as one of the top stars. Unfortunately, it was at the cost of Masha Slamovich. Masha had a great build up until she got the world title picture, where she lost to Mickey James, and hasn’t had the same ‘monster in the ring’ vibe since. This match was actually pretty long for an opening match, so Masha isn’t a nothing opponent, but she needs to regain something before she goes for a belt.

(2) PCO vs. CHAMPAGNE SINGH – MINOR HIT

This match was a bit of a surprise to me, to be honest. I was expecting a total squash of Champagne Singh, but he managed to go for a bit longer than I expected.

IMPACT FLASHBACK MOMENT OF THE WEEK – MINOR HIT

A flashback to a ‘Magnus’ match, which I felt was another great way to re-introduce Nick Aldus.

DESIGN (Deaner & Angels & Kon) SINGLE CAMERA BACKSTAGE – MINOR MISS

We get it, Callahan betrayed you. We were all expecting that to happen, and it finally did. This has already been built up, let’s move to the next stage.

THE COVEN VIGNETTE (Taylor Wilde & KiLynn King) – MINOR MISS

I really don’t know how to feel about The Coven’s vignettes. I like both Taylor Wilde and KiLynn King, but I’m just not sure what to think about these vignettes.

(3) JOHNNY SWINGER (w/Zicky Dice) vs. EL DINEROCO – MISS

I really like Zicky Dice and Johnny Swinger. This left me with a bad taste in my mouth, I think the joke was supposed to be that Zicky went a bit broad with a luchadore impression, but eek. It’s more something I would have expected back in the Attitude Era.

KENNY KING & SHELDON JEAN – MINOR HIT

I would really like to see a mentorship from Kenny King to Sheldon Jean. That could have a lot of potential. Jean showed that he could go last week against Joe Hendry, so I really want to see where this could go.

(4) ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) vs. THE DESIGN (Kon & Angles w/Deaner) – HIT

I really like that ABC got their own version of the Bullet Club logo. While Ace Austin and Chris Bey have been proven talents for a long time, I feel like Angels has been really overlooked. The last few weeks, he has been the go-to in any match with the Design. This match was really the first one where we got a lot of Kon.

SANTINO MARELLA & DIRTY DANGO VIGNETTE – MINOR MISS

So Santino is going home? I really don’t get it. Dirty Dango as a detective, sure I’ll buy that bit for a little while.

DEATH DOLLZ SINGLE CAMERA VIGNETTE (Rosemary & Jessicka & Crazzy Steve) – MINOR HIT

I hadn’t realized that Crazzy Steve hadn’t interacted with Rosemary or Jessicka since they became the Death Dollz. I think that he has really matured in his promos recently, especially as the mouthpiece for Black Taurus. I feel like bringing in Father James Mitchell might be leading somewhere.

(5) JODY THREAT vs. SELEZIYA SPARX – MINOR HIT

A short little match to give more of a highlight to Jody Threat. Consider my appetite whetted, I want to see Jody in something with an Impact regular. Threat dominated the match throughout, and Seleziya Sparx was basically a rag doll getting tossed around.

KILLER KELLY VIGNETTE – HIT

I’m very glad that Impact has chosen to build up something with Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich. Get the rest of the locker room out of the way, and throw the two of them into a Monster’s Ball Match.

FRANKIE KAZARIAN SIT DOWN INTERVIEW – HIT

Frankie Kazarian sat with Gia Miller to talk about coming back to Impact. A nice little review of Kazarian’s career. Kazarian talked at length about the things that he learned throughout.

(6) DEONNA PURRAZZO (c) vs. TAYLOR WILDE (w/KiLynn King) — Impact Wrestling Knockouts Title match – HIT

Deonna Purrazzo had a good match to start her title reign, and Taylor Wilde has really knocked the ring rust off in the last month or so. After having a slow start back, Wilde has started to look like she did during her original title reign. Lots of interference from KiLynn King, leading to a beat down post match. I was most surprised by Jordynne Grace coming to the rescue of Purrazzo, I really think the two of them are building a long term career spanning rivalry that has them working together and working against each other in turn.

FINAL THOUGHTS – HIT

Overall, a solid show, with lots of things starting off, which is exactly what you want for the show immediately following a PPV. Good all around, and lots of foundation for the next month or so was laid down.