6/29 IMPACT WRESTLING REPORT: Trinity vs. Vidal, Sabin vs. Miguel

IMPACT WRESTLING TV REPORT
JUNE 29, 2023
ATLANTA, GA AT CENTER STAGE
AIRED ON AXS TV (RECORDED)
REPORT BY DARRIN LILLY, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

-Recap video of last week’s show.

-“We own the night” open.

(1) CHRIS SABIN (c) vs. TREY MIGUEL — Impact Wrestling X Division Title match

The action spilled to the floor early and Sabin got the upper hand. Trey made an aggressive comeback. Trey got some two counts, then missed a moonsault. Sabin went on offense and got a two count after a superplex. Trey fought back with kicks. Sabin locked in a crossface. Trey caught Sabin with a rana. Sabin put Trey in another crossface, then went for the Cradle Shock. Zachary Wentz ran in and attacked Sabin. The announcers expressed shock. Trey looked surprised, then they hugged and attacked Sabin. Alex Shelley ran in for the save. Hannifan said that Wentz is back in Impact Wrestling.

WINNER: Chris Sabin by DQ in 10:00.

(D.L.’s Take: Good action to start the show, but the newsworthy part was the return of Trey’s former Rascalz partner Wentz.)

-Trinity was shown warming up in the back. [c]

-Trey and Wentz were backstage. Trey noted they hadn’t been in Impact together in three years. Wentz said he would have his brother’s back. He said he had been through hell and people had abandoned him and Trey. He said no more treehouse and they were all business.

-Deonna Purrazzo walked to ringside and joined the commentary team.

-Trinity and Vidal did their ring entrances. [c]

(2) TRINITY vs. JAI VIDAL (w/Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans)

Trinity chased Vidal out of the ring. Jai attacked Trinity from behind and threw her in the corner, followed by a slap. Trinity made a comeback and returned the slap. Trinity kicked Jai. Trinity rubbed her butt in Jai’s face. Trinity kicked Jai into Evans on the outside. Shaw got on the apron and distracted the referee, so that Jai could get the upper hand. Jai dropped an elbow on Trinity and got a two count. Trinity got a sunset flip for a two count. Trinity dropped Jai with punches and clotheslines. Trinity landed a kick off the ropes and got a two count. Jai ran Trinity into the corner. Trinity connected with a crossbody block off the top rope. Trinity crotched Jai on the ropes, hit a piledriver, and put him in the Star Struck for a pin.

WINNER: Trinity in 6:00.

Shaw and Evans attacked Trinity after the match. Deonna paced and watched at ringside before finally coming in for the save. After clearing the ring, Trinity and Deonna stared at each other.

(D.L.’s Take: Fun match with a predictable, but logical ending.)

-Footage from last week of Moose interfering, allowing Myers to beat OVE.

-Moose, Myers, and the Good Hands were in a dressing room. Myers said that he and Moose would win the tag team titles at Slammiversary. Moose agreed but told Myers to ditch the dead weight and looked at the Good Hands before he left. [c]

-Hannifan plugged Gail Kim and Gisele Shaw appearing on The Amazing Race Canada, starting next week.

-Clip from BTI of Zicky Dice helping Johnny Swinger to get a win over Bhupinder Gujjar.

-Zicky and Swinger gloated in the back about getting a win. Referee Daniel Spencer walked up and said that Santino Marella ruled that the win didn’t count. He warned them not to cheat again.

(3) LIO RUSH vs. JACK PRICE

Fans chanted for Lio. Lio slapped Price. Lio ran the ropes and evaded Price. Price caught Lio coming off the ropes. Lio avoided Price and kicked Price in the head. Lio came back with punches and chops. Lio gave Price a spinning kick to knock him off the apron. They fought on the outside. Lio did a dive to the outside on Price. Lio gave Price a rotating kick, then followed with a frog splash for the pin.

WINNER: Lio Rush in 3:00.

(D.L.’s Take: A brief, but great showcase for Rush, who looked really confident in the ring.)

-A clip from “earlier in the week” of Dirty Dango making excuses about getting caught with the Cobra. He talked about Santino being slapped by Jim Cornette. He said the powers-that-be hired him so he wouldn’t get sued. He said that Santino’s daughter was there now and creepily asked if she was getting slapped around down there.

-Santino responded and was angry about the comments. He vowed to humiliate Dango. He said he would make him pay. [c]

-Footage from last week of Eddie Edwards and Frankie Kazarian having miscommunication and losing to Bully Ray and Steve Maclin.

-Frankie confronted Eddie and Alisha backstage. Frankie wanted an answer for what happened last week. Eddie said that Frankie’s ego was too large for them to be a team and maybe they were better off as opponents.

(4) MASHA SLAMOVICH vs. KILYNN KING (w/Taylor Wilde)

King kicked Masha at the bell and slammed her. Masha fought back and tossed King to the mat by her hair. Masha punched and kicked King, but King took Masha to the mat. Masha sent King to the outside. King decked Masha on the outside. Back in the ring, King had the upper hand. Wilde interfered while the referee was distracted. Masha rolled up King and stomped her. King clotheslined Masha and got a two count. Masha made a comeback with a back suplex. Masha gave King a running boot, a knee, and a spinning kick. King came back with a back elbow and a slam for a two count. They traded punches. Masha kicked King and got a two count. Masha dove on King on the outside. While the referee was distracted, Wilde ran Masha into the post. Killer Kelly came out and wrapped a chain around Wilde’s neck on the ramp. Masha used the distraction to get the Snow Plow on King and get the pin.

WINNER: Masha Slamovich in 8:00.

In the ring, Masha and Kelly went toe to toe. Kelly had the chain around her neck and Masha wrapped the other end around her neck. Masha took Kelly up the ramp. [c]

(D.L.’s Take: Good match. The angle with Masha and Kelly continues.)

-Scott D’Amore video package. He talked about being trained and the veterans that helped him. Old video clips and photos were shown. Tommy Dreamer talked about Sabu recommending Scott. Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin talked about Scott being a good wrestler. They showed clips of people that Scott had trained. Frankie Kazarain said that Scott invented the Canadian Destroyer. Dreamer talked about the people Scott trained. Scott said that 15 world champions had been to his school. Shelley talked about the people that Scott has helped along the way. Kushida (with subtitles) talked about Scott and how he took care of him. Frankie said he treasured Scott’s friendship. Scott said he wasn’t the best wrestler, but he wouldn’t change a minute of it.

-Gia Miller interviewed Scott. Scott said he had been training with the Guns. Gia said that Darren McCarty would be the special referee for the match at Slammiversary. Scott said he didn’t plan on following rules. The Good Hands approached. John Skyler said their run of bad luck started when Scott gave Jason Hotch the Canadian Destroyer. Hotch said Scott deserved a receipt. Scott said he was only doing one match, but PCO was available. He said he would talk to Santino to make the match of the Good Hands vs. PCO. Scott left. The Good Hands were worried.

-Yuya Uemura and Kenny King did their ring entrances. Joe Hendry was shown in the production truck talking to Josh Matthews. [c]

(5) YUYA UEMURA vs. KENNY KING (w/Sheldon Jean)

Yuya had the early upper hand. King got a cheap shot in on Yuya, then stomped him. King kicked Yuya and got a two count. King gave Yuya a spinebuster. King had Yuya in an armlock on the mat. King missed a legdrop and Yuya made a comeback. Yuya gave King a DDT. [c]

Yuya punched King. King gave Yuya the Royal Flush and got the pin. King and Jean celebrated in the ring. They were interrupted by Joe Hendry, who walked on stage. He said he brought a gift. He said it was time that King got more respect and his career should be celebrated. Fans cheered when he said he had a new v video. The video played. Hendry was in a music studio. He talked about King’s career. He sang that the most success King had was when he became a male stripper. Fans cheered and chanted “Stripper Kenny.”

WINNER: Kenny King in 10:00.

-Hannifan and Rehwoldt plugged Slammiversary. Matches for next week include:

*Jonathan Gresham vs. Angels

*Frankie Kazarian vs. Eddie Edwards

They also plugged the Australian tour and Kevin Kelly previewed tonight’s NJPW show.

-Footage was shown of Nick Aldis hitting Alex Shelley with the Impact World Title belt and they plugged that Aldis would be here next. [c]

-Nick Aldis walked to the ring. He took the mic and said that people have been asking him about his actions when he hit Alex Shelley with the title belt. He asked the fans to show him respect. He asked Shelley to come out. Shelley’s music played and he walked to the apron. Shelley said he didn’t want to hear it and threatened to hit Aldis. Aldis called it an unsafe working environment. Aldis said Shelley was a man of the people and offered for him to sit with the fans. Shelley told him to shut up and he agreed to it. Shelley said it would be an honor to sit with the Impact fans. He took a seat in the front row.

Aldis said that Shelley is beginning to believe his own propaganda. Aldis talked about the 10-man tag match. He said that Sabin almost cost them the match, then he was ready for the tag. He said that Shelley tried to tag in and be the hero. He said that Sabin and Shelley were trying to minimize him. He said it was time to put Shelley in his place. Fans booed. He called Shelley a fake revolutionary who was trying to get rid of people like him. He called the fans mouth breathers. He told Shelley to not be mad because he became a World Champion before him. He said he was endorsed by Harley Race and Ric Flair. He said he was here to stop Shelley. He told the fans to shut up and they booed.

He vowed to beat Shelley at Slammiversary. He said he would humiliate Shelley. Shelley finally stood up and told Aldis to shut up and the fans cheered. Shelley challenged Aldis to come to ringside and shut him up. Aldis took off his jacket and went to ringside. They brawled. Aldis raked Shelley’s eyes and sent him into the post. They got in the ring. Aldis was going to hit Aldis with the belt, but Chris Sabin ran in for the save. Lio Rush attacked Sabin and Shelley from behind. Aldis and Lio attacked Sabin and Shelley. Aldis decked Shelley with the belt. Lio decked Sabin with the X Division belt. Aldis and Lio raised the belts then threw them on Shelley and Sabin.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Another good show in the build to Slammiversary. The slow build to Masha Slamovich and Killer Kelly has been predictable, but fun to watch unfold. The return of Zachary Wentz Lio Rush is a good addition to the mix and the show-closing angle was solid.