IMPACT Sacrifice Review - March 24, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: Eddie Edwards def. Bhupinder Gujjar

This felt like it existed solely to get Edwards on the card. It felt like a demotion for Edwards, who is of course in the midst of a feud with PCO. We saw the two interact later in the show, so I'm not sure this match was necessary. Gujjar continues to look impressive any time he's in the ring with an established star, but the problem is that he has yet to win whenever it has mattered most and thus he isn't really gaining much traction.

Pre-Show: Rosemary def. Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion KiLynn King

Taya Valkyrie was officially written out of IMPACT this past Thursday, but Rosemary and Jessicka (ugh) remain a unit. Based on Rosemary's win here, they're clearly headed for a championship rematch with The Coven. I wouldn't have had King lose her first singles match in IMPACT, but I understand why it happened. It was a well-worked match while it lasted, even if it felt like it belonged on an episode of IMPACT! Wrestling (at least it was slotted on the pre-show).

"Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Jonathan Gresham

This was the perfect choice to kick off the event after they were relegated to the No Surrender pre-show last month. Gresham won their first match, so it made sense for Bailey to avenge the loss here. It's a simple story of the two of them wanting to prove their superiority over the other. It was the excellent match you'd expect from them. It felt fast-paced and chaotic just because, but the crowd was into it and I wouldn't be opposed to an eventual rubber match.

Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry def. Brian Myers

Hendry has already beaten Moose twice as well as Matt Cardona to retain the title. I realize Myers never got a proper rematch, but he hardly felt like a threat here. That said, this was a quality contest. Myers has been really good in IMPACT and always excels at spotlighting his opponents. It will be interesting to see who Hendry moves onto next because he's certainly exhausted everything he can do with Myers and Moose.

Deonna Purrazzo def. Gisele Shaw

This was a rematch from the No Surrender pre-show. Shaw scored the win there, and following her failure to win the Impact Knockouts World Championship from Mickie James on IMPACT! Wrestling soon after, it was logical for Purrazzo to get her win back here. As I've said before, Shaw will only benefit from working with women the caliber of Purrazzo and James, and she was made to look good in defeat once again in this outing.

PCO def. Kenny King

All signs point to PCO and Eddie Edwards finally facing off at Rebellion, so King basically had no chance of beating PCO. I don't know if IMPACT is definitely going with PCO as one of the top babyfaces on their roster, but it sure feels like that's the direction they're headed in. I mean, if the popularity is there, then sure. His no-selling shtick isn't for me at this point, but I must be in the minority. This could have easily happened on IMPACT! Wrestling and it wouldn't have mattered, but I get that they want to stretch out the storyline.

Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel def. Lince Dorado

Dorado was he handpicked opponent for Miguel by Santino Marella. I don't know if he's sticking around in IMPACT or if this was simply a one-off, but he feels like a perfect fit for the X-Division. He's been fun in MLW as of late and this was enjoyable as well. Because of how abrupt this was, there was no story and was more of a spot-fest, but both guys got to shine and they made the most of their time. Miguel is coming into the heel role more and more with each title defense he has.

Impact World Tag Team Champions Bullet Club (Ace Austin and Chris Bey) def. TMDK (Shane Haste and Bad Dude Tito)

I was hoping to see Haste team up with Mikey Nichols (the former TM-61 from WWE NXT), but getting my first exposure to Tito wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Granted, it was a predictable outcome because Bullet Club just became champions a few weeks ago, but as a match, it was solid stuff. TDMK showed what they could do and Bullet Club were wonderful as always. Here's hoping they hold the gold for a while to come.

Bully Ray def. Tommy Dreamer in a Busted Open Match

Personally, I haven't minded most of this feud because both guys have played their roles well, but I'm not a fan of so much television time being devoted to it. Bully vs. Dreamer should not be a prominent program in any promotion in 2023. This was whatever, and although I understand Bully won to extend the program, I really wish it would have ended there. The only saving grace is that it didn't last longer than it did.

Time Machine def. Steve Maclin, Rich Swann and Frankie Kazarian

Maclin filled in for the injured Josh Alexander. It worked out well because Maclin was lobbying to get on the team coming into this event, anyway. I was shocked that he and his partners were able to coexist and even more shocked that he took the losing fall for his team. Then again, I guess it was their way of building toward Kushida vs. Maclin at Rebellion. Nonetheless, this was a treat as I assumed it would be. The action was entertaining and delivered in the main event spot.

Overall Show

Alexander and Mickie James couldn't get injured at a worse time. Alexander was approaching the one-year mark as Impact World Champion and had big matches coming up with Kushida and Maclin, but he will be forced to vacate the belt immediately. James' injury isn't as serious (I believe it was just a broken rib), but her rematch with Jordynne Grace on this show had to be bumped. Those changes to the card, along with the undercard not being overly important, resulted in this being one of the more forgettable Impact Plus specials in recent memory. It was far from bad, but you'd be better off waiting to check out Multiverse United and Rebellion.

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