IMPACT! Wrestling Review - April 27, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jordynne Grace def. Masha Slamovich

It was strange to see this match thrown out on the show with no real buildup despite this being a big feud in the Knockouts division six months ago. Slamovich went undefeated for nearly a year and now loses almost often and doesn't feel remotely special. I appreciate the lengths gone to in order to protect Slamovich in defeat here, but whatever mystique she had is gone. If nothing else, this was a very good match and a way to get Grace back on track following her loss at Rebellion.

PCO def. Champagne Singh

Steve Maclin stormed the ring and called out PCO for an impromptu match, only for Singh and Shera to attack PCO on the ramp, proving Maclin's challenge to be a ruse. Singh and Shera are at the bottom of the barrel in IMPACT, so I'm honestly surprised this wasn't a straight-up squash for PCO. Singh scoring as much offense as he did was questionable (especially with PCO soon challenging for the Impact World Championship), and this definitely did not need to be as long as it was, but at least it had the correct outcome.

Johnny Swinger def. El Dineroco

Swinger has been doing a gimmick for a few months now where he believes he should get a title shot (or something like it, I can't remember) if he can rack up 50 straight wins. I believe this was his first win since he started the storyline, but it was quickly nullified once Santino Marella realized it was Swinger's protégé Zicky Dice under the mask. In other words, nothing was accomplished, but if some viewers/fans in attendance enjoyed it, then wonderful. I'm indifferent toward the whole thing.

Impact World Tag Team Champions A B C def. The Design (Angels and Kon)

I hate referring to Chris Bey and Ace Austin by A B C because it's such a stupid name for a tag team (Bullet Club is just so much easier), but oh well. They're such a talented team that they can have a quality match with pretty much any team, including The Design. I couldn't care less about The Design personally, nor do I care about their feud with Sami Callihan, but Callihan attacking Deaner at ringside moved the story along.

Jody Threat def. Seleziya Sparx

Threat did nothing to really stand out in her debut a few weeks ago, and I can't say anything in this match changed my mind. It was a perfectly passable match and she's not bad by any means, but she isn't as excellent as most of the other women in the division. I'll give it more time, though a feud with Alisha Edwards doesn't seem like the smartest idea since Alisha is essentially an enhancement talent and I doubt their match will worth writing home about.

Impact Knockouts World Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Taylor Wilde

No, I have no idea what Wilde did to earn herself an opportunity at the Impact Knockouts World Championship already being one-half of the Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champions, but I can't complain about getting an entertaining main event. I don't know if we ever got this match during Purrazzo's last title reign, so it felt fresh and was worthy of the main event slot. Grace saved Purrazzo afterward, so it appears Grace's pursuit of the title isn't over yet.

Overall Show

This was the second straight uneventful edition of IMPACT! Wrestling following what I thought was a strong Rebellion pay-per-view. I appreciated the emphasis on the women's division and all of the advancements, but this was another forgettable show. The highlights were the opening and closing matches whereas everything else just felt like it was there. Hopefully this down period is only temporary and not a sign of things to come for IMPACT.

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