IMPACT Sacrifice Review - March 5, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel def. Jake Something

Miguel has flown under the radar a bit as champion and hasn't been a featured too much, so I was happy to see him remind everyone how talented he truly is with this awesome opener. Take nothing away from Something, either, who is capable of some crazy things for a guy his size. They worked really well together and kicked off the night on a high note. Something's contract was rumored to be up at one point, so I wonder if he re-signed or if this was meant to be his swan song.

Eddie Edwards def. Rhino

Rhino was a perfectly fine opponent for the newly-turned Edwards on this show because it was easy win for Edwards and they had a quality match. I've been digging all the Honor No More stuff, but I could've done without so much damn interference in this match. Steve Maclin attacked both men and apparently the idea was that he was upset at Team IMPACT for them not believing he wasn't responsible for the backstage attacks leading up to Sacrifice.

The Influence (Tenille Dashwood and Madison Rayne) def. The IInspiration to Win the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship

This match was supposed to happen twice before, so I'm glad we finally got it. There wasn't anything overly special about it, but it was well wrestled and I liked that they got almost 10 minutes. The story was that Kaleb with a K was clearly aiming to aid The Inspiration, but his involvement backfired and led to The Influence becoming champions (unbeknownst to Dashwood and Rayne). I thought this might be it for the feud, but it appears there will be more matches between the two teams. I'm not sure how many women's teams IMPACT has at the moment, so it makes sense to drag the storyline out a bit further.

W. Morrissey Attacked Brian Myers

Myers was at ringside promoting an action figure when Morrissey stormed the table he was sitting at and threatened to put him through it. Myers was able to escape and Morrissey delivered a powerbomb to one of the "security guards" instead. I guess that means the Morrissey vs. Myers mini feud isn't over and I'm not sure why considering Morrissey already beat Myers in a No Disqualification match on an episode of IMPACT! Wrestling a few weeks ago. This was a short and sweet angle, if nothing else.

JONAH def. PCO

I had high hopes for a hoss fight and that's exactly what this was. JONAH has been doing some top-notch work since coming to IMPACT and he especially shines when he's given credible competition. Meanwhile, PCO is an absolute madman, so they matched up well against each other and had a fun match. PCO should probably stop taking the dumb bumps at ringside if he wants to continue wrestling, but regardless, JONAH winning was the correct call. PCO doesn't lose anything as a member of PCO.

Jay White def. Alex Shelley

Shelley hasn't appeared for IMPACT since late 2020. He was supposed to compete in that six-man tag team match against The Elite at Hard to Kill 2021 but had to pull out (I believe due to reasons relating to his health progress). Not only was it cool to have him back, but it was awesome that he got to face someone he's so familiar with. I was expecting a great match, but not the barn burner we ended up getting. This was stellar stuff with strong showings from both men. These two straight up stole the show and the standing ovation they received afterward was well deserved.

ROH Women's World Champion and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Chelsea Green in the Champ Champ Challenge

I don't know if viewers weren't expecting Purrazzo's opponent to be someone from outside of the company, but I was actually satisfied with it being Green given her real-life friendship with Purrazzo. I can't remember them ever having a major televised singles match and I'm sure this won't be their last. This was a very good match and Purrazzo targeting Green's previously injured wrist down the stretch (which ultimately factored into the finish) was a smart touch. The Champ Champ Challenge has been a cool concept thus far.

Tasha Steelz def. Mickie James to Win the Impact Knockouts World Championship

I thought this was a nice improvement over their No Surrender match, which was solid but this told a better story. James had just come out to check on Green, so her mind was on that throughout. There were some cool moments and Steelz was once again made to look like she's on James' level. I didn't think we'd get a title change here, but congrats to Steelz, who has really come into her own these past several months. The long-term storytelling with James and Green has been really well done and that eventful turn from Green is going to mean something.

Violent By Design (Eric Young and Joe Doering) def. The Good Brothers to Win the Impact World Tag Team Championship

Good Brothers promised Violent By Design a shot at their tag titles a while back, so that's why there was a heel vs. heel dynamic. It wasn't a match I was too excited for because of their respective styles (and because Good Brothers have regressed in the ring over the years), but it ended up being better than I was expecting. The title change was also unexpected. Hopefully this reign for Violent By Design is better than their first. At least the titles are off Good Brothers at long last.

Impact World Champion Moose def. Heath

It's a shame we got the Moose vs. Morrissey match at No Surrender instead of on this show where it would have headlined. Heath was never at any point considered a legitimate threat to the title, but the crowd was certainly behind him, I'll give him that. Heath gave it a good effort before falling short. That would have been an underwhelming ending to the show had Josh Alexander not shown up, announced he's officially re-signed with IMPACT and that he'll be getting his long-awaited rematch for the Impact World Championship at Rebellion. I assumed that was when we'd get Moose vs. Alexander and I'm looking forward to it.

Overall Show

No Surrender was significantly stronger, but then again, Sacrifice only had a two-week build, so I'm no too surprised. Was holding off a week or two not an option? However, Sacrifice was certainly newsworthy with three championships changing hands and Alexander returning (following a brief absence) in the final few minutes to set up the Rebellion main event. As is usually the case with these Impact Plus specials, there was plenty of entertaining action and the three hours were worthwhile.

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