IMPACT! Wrestling Review - January 26, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel def. Mike Jackson

Yes, it was completely ridiculous for Jackson to be challenging for the X-Division Championship (and for him to be scoring as much offense as he did), but this was meant to be fun and the crowd was into the action. It worked perfectly with Miguel's new "disrespectful punk" gimmick and Jackson was impressive as always. The post-match angle indicated Miguel's feud with Decay's Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus isn't over yet.

Kushida and Kevin Knight def. The Good Hands

The Good Hands is the new team name for John Skyler and Jason Hotch. I don't know much about Knight other than that he's from New Japan Pro-Wrestling's LA Dojo and that he and Kushida teamed in the Super Junior Tag League last summer. There wasn't much to the match, but Knight did very well for as long as this lasted. It was designed to establish their tandem and Good Hands could easily absorb the loss.

Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champions Death Dollz (Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie) def. Gisele Shaw and Tara

Shaw's mystery partner ended up being Tara, which was a pleasant surprise. The live crowd was certainly happy to see her and I was as well considering she retired a few years ago (or at least I thought she did). The match itself was decent, but it was more about telling the story of Shaw not being about to coexist with anyone and getting laid out by Tara once tension rose. Her finisher has always been awesome.

Bullet Club (Ace Austin and Chris Bey) def. The Major Players

These were two of the teams who unsuccessfully challenged for the Impact World Tag Team Championship at Hard to Kill. It feels like Major Players have been losing a lot lately, so it will be interesting to see if there's anything else to that or if it's just a coincidence. Meanwhile, Austin and Bey are a terrific team and I'm glad they went over. This was an enjoyable affair even with the heel vs. heel dynamic.

Jonathan Gresham def. Sheldon Jean

Gresham fell short in that great match against Eddie Edwards at Hard to Kill two weeks ago, so this served as a simple showcase to get him back on track. He's consistently a treat to watch work. This was kept short and sweet and allowed him to establish what he's capable of. I didn't think the loss to Edwards would hurt his credibility at all and he should have no issue settling into another feud soon.

Rich Swann def. Sami Callihan, Moose, Chris Sabin, Eddie Edwards and Rhino in an IMPACT World Championship No. 1 Contender's Golden Six Shooter Match

This was elimination style and everyone involved was a former Impact World Champion. I honestly didn't know who would win, so the unpredictability surrounding the outcome added to it along with what was at stake. It was well worked, they got plenty of time, and the eliminations weren't rushed. I liked the final few minutes and the end result. Swann going back after the Impact World Championship has been teased for a long time, so I'm happy we're finally getting it. 

Overall Show

This edition of IMPACT! Wrestling was largely built around the number one contender's main event, but this ended up being a quality show on the whole. The main event delivered and everything else either held my interest or at least served a purpose. IMPACT regained some of its momentum following the excellent Hard to Kill pay-per-view, so I'm hoping they can keep it going in the weeks ahead as No Surrender approaches.

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