 Kenny King def. Frankie Kazarian to Earn the Hardcore War Advantage for Team BullyBoth of these guys are super seasoned and very good, so you knew what you were getting here and that's an enjoyable opener. The winning team getting the Hardcore War advantage gave this some stakes and King winning made sense. It was revealed that Brian Myers and Moose have joined Team Bully in place of The Good Hands, and although they're a welcome upgrade, why would they have an allegiance to Bully? It's not like either of them have major longstanding history with Tommy Dreamer, either. It just felt forced. Kushida and Steve Maclin BrawledThis was from earlier in the night apparently when Maclin interrupted the Canadian national anthem and Kushida emerged to brawl with him. It was simple but effective in building up the Impact World Championship match for Rebellion, which came together at the last minute due to Josh Alexander's injury. However, IMPACT has done a decent job of establishing an issue between Kushida and Maclin in such a short span of time. Laredo Kid def. Black Taurus, Lince Dorado and Rich Swann in a Four-Way MatchKid has a slightly different look than the last time we saw him in IMPACT. That should have been an indicator he was going over. Unlike the opener, there was nothing on the line here, probably because an Impact X-Division Championship match is already set for Rebellion. That said, I assume Kid is next in line for a shot at the strap and this win was necessary in making him feel more like a threat. It was no surprise that this was a fun four-way given the talent involved. Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Taylor Wilde def. JessickaDeath Dollz (what remains of them, that is) are clearly headed for a rematch with The Coven for the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championship at Rebellion. It's not a feud I've particularly cared about, though I could say the same for almost every feud over the tag titles in the last two years. It's certainly better than what WWE has done with the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship since 2019, but the matches for the Knockouts tag titles never feel important and aren't ever anything out of the ordinary. This was pretty basic stuff. Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry and Dirty Dango def. The Design (Angels and Callihan)It will be a four-on-three Handicap match at Rebellion with Hendry and Dango teaming with Santino Marella to take on all members of The Design. It's an undercard program I have no interest in and it feels below Hendry coming off his two wins over Moose, but Marella stepping back in the ring will be a treat for the Canadian crowd (yes, he's actually Canadian and not Italian, as WWE wanted us to believe). This was a fine preview of what's to come at Rebellion, but it did nothing for me, personally. Tasha Steelz def. Gisele ShawThis marked Steelz' first match in IMPACT since disappearing a few months ago before returning at Sacrifice. She's a babyface now, so I'm curious how she'll be in the role because she's a natural heel. This got way more time than it needed and it definitely dragged points, but it was a solid match. Steelz vs. Savannah Evans appears to be what they're building to given their history as partners. Mickie James Relinquished the Impact Knockouts World ChampionshipThis was filmed when the arena was empty, likely because the taping was from a few weeks ago and this was filmed just recently because it was determined James wasn't medically cleared to compete at Rebellion. Thus, she had to relinquish the title and now it will be Jordynne Grace vs. Deonna Purrazzo one-on-one at Rebellion. James cut an emotional promo discussing the Last Rodeo and her injury. She's had a great run these past several months, so hopefully she won't be out too long and she can pick up where she left off upon her return. Overall ShowIMPACT can't catch a break lately with both of their top champions getting injured at the exact same time. That means we're guaranteed two new champions at Rebellion, so at least that makes the pay-per-view must-see. That promo from James at the end was the only eventful part of the episode, and as a go-home show, I can't say I'm any more excited for Rebellion than I was previously. At least the card has potential on paper, not to mention IMPACT tends to have their strongest shows on pay-per-view.
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