IMPACT! Wrestling Review - August 3, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Coven Interrupted Impact Knockouts World Champion Trinity and Deonna Purrazzo; The Coven def. Trinity and Purrazzo

Trinity addressing the audience before being interrupted by Purrazzo followed by The Coven played out exactly as it did a few months ago when Trinity debuted in IMPACT, just without the impromptu tag team match. It was designed to build to toward Trinity vs. Purrazzo in a rematch for the title coming up at Emergence, and the tag team match showed that they couldn’t coexist long enough to pick up the win. I was fine with the outcome since The Coven are an actual team and needed the victory more.

Heath def. Alan Angels

This bout has been built up over the last week or two with the idea being that they both have rock star-esque personas. Riveting stuff, I know. Joking aside, it’s been a fine use of both guys and I’m glad Angels is away from The Design. Heath is stuck in a holding pattern, but he does win his fair share of matches. It was a nice match for what it was and it didn’t overstay its welcome.

Jake Something def. Davey Vega

Something looked great in his return at Slammiversary and won his first match back on IMPACT! Wrestling, so it’s clear IMPACT is actually going to get behind him this time. This was another straightforward squash with Something completely killing Vega. He came off as dominant and looked great. I have no idea why he couldn't have been booked like this during his previous run, but better late than never. Who will his first feud be with?

Impact Digital Media Champion Kenny King def. Yuya Uemura and Joe Hendry in a Three-Way Match

King just became champ at Slammiversary, so it would have been premature to take the title off him here. These three had a well-worked three-way, and although there was nothing out of the ordinary about it, they picked up the pace in the second half and it featured good action. King pinning Uemura makes me think that his feud with Hendry will continue and they may have another singles match at Emergence.

The Rascalz def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey and Jonathan Gresham in an Impact World Tag Team Championship No. 1 Contender's Tournament Semifinal Match

Unsurprisingly, this was a blast of a main event. The Rascalz have found their footing as heels while Bailey and Gresham have turned into a terrific team. I don't think there was any question who was winning here with The Rascalz currently feuding with ABC, but they delivered an entertaining main event, nonetheless. I'm fine with Bailey and Gresham remaining a team for the foreseeable future, and I can't imagine The Racalz aren't winning this entire tourney.

Overall Show

There was an extended video that closed the episode showing how Eric Young “survived” Deaner attempting to murder him late last year and it was really well produced. Granted, the explanation makes zero sense, but oh well. The rest of the show was solid with storylines moving forward and quality wrestling throughout the two hours. It was refreshing to see some of the fresher faces showcased and the Emergence card is coming together.

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