IMPACT! Wrestling Review - March 9, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Bhupinder Gujjar def. Bully Ray by Disqualification

Bully started the show addressing his attack on Tommy Dreamer at No Surrender. Santino Marella put him in this impromptu match against Gujjar, and I'm glad Gujjar's quick loss to Bully a few weeks ago wasn't just forgotten about. Granted, this wasn't much of anything, but at least he wasn't beaten like a loser this time. Bully getting himself intentionally disqualified leaves the door open for an eventual rematch. Dreamer made the save afterward, and then Mickie James made the save for him after Bully and Masha Slamovich attempted to attack.

Rhino def. Callihan

You can't expect/ask for much out of a Rhino vs. Callihan match at this point. Both guys have been around forever and Rhino isn't going to blow everyone away at this stage of his career. Thus, I don't think they needed as much time as they got, but it was solid for what it was. Kon costing Callihan the win by hitting him with a chair was in response to Callihan costing Kon his match against Frankie Kazarian at No Surrender. I understand what they're going for with this storyline, but it's not for me, personally.

Jordynne Grace def. Alex Gracia

Grace has secured her rematch for the Impact Knockouts World Championship at Sacrifice, so this served as a simple warm-up for her before then. Gracia has made plenty of appearance on the AEW Darks shows in the past and is an impressive prospect, but she didn't have a chance to do much before Grace beat her. I wish we got a longer build to Grace vs. Mickie James II at Sacrifice, but I suppose the story of Grace believing James tapped out at Hard to Kill when she actually didn't sells itself.

Kushida def. Jonathan Gresham

The commentators noted that Gresham had won almost every singles match he's had in IMPACT prior to this point, so it meant more once Kushida beat him. It would have been silly for Kushida to lose before he challenges Josh Alexander for the Impact World Championship at Multiverse United, so this had the right result. This was the great, excellently-wrestled match you'd expect from these and I appreciated that it was given an ample amount of time. 

Taylor Wilde and KiLynn King Attacked Killer Kelly

It's rare that undercard feuds in the women's division get talking segments in the ring, so that was refreshing. Unfortunately, I didn't think any of this was good. Kelly and Wilde are both skilled, but I don't care about them feuding and some of the dialogue and acting in this segment got no reaction from the crowd. King showing up and aligning with Wilde was somewhat notable, but she didn't get too loud of a reaction, either. This furthered the feud, but like the stuff with The Design, it's a feud I don't have a ton of interest in.

Impact Knockouts World Champion Mickie James def. Gisele Shaw

These two previously met early on in James' Last Rodeo run, but this was better because Shaw has come more into her own since then. She's certainly improved and working with someone as seasoned as James is only going to help her in the long run. There was no way James was losing the belt before her rematch with Grace at Sacrifice, but Shaw came close on a few occasions and was made to look credible in defeat. In fact, she only lost because Deonna Purrazzo thwarted interference from Jai Vidal and Savannah Evans and broke up her pin attempt behind the referee's back, so that sets up Purrazzo vs. Shaw in a rematch for Sacrifice as well.

Overall Show

There was also a cinematic brawl between Eddie Edwards and PCO which ended with someone hitting PCO with a chair and Edwards riding off with whoever it was. The string of quality shows continues for IMPACT as this was another enjoyable effort. Multiverse United is one week after Sacrifice, so despite the events happening on back-to-back weeks, both cards look promising and both builds have been well done. Even with notable names still leaving, IMPACT is making the most of who they have and not letting that interrupt some of the stories they have going.

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