IMPACT! Wrestling Review - November 16, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact World Tag Team Champions ABC def. Kenny King and Sheldon Jean

Fightful reported tonight that King requested and was granted his release from IMPACT, so this may very well have been his swan song. It's interesting timing in that the TNA rebrand is right around the corner, but perhaps he wasn't happy with how he's been used this year and assumed there were no plans in place for him. We'll see where he ends up, but my guess is that Ring of Honor is a likely landing spot for him because that's where he was before. This was a pretty good opener with the two teams having nice chemistry.

Moose def. Heath

I remember the mini feud these two had over the Impact World Championship back in early 2022 and they worked well together again here. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about it, but it was an average outing. Brian Myers aided Moose to victory and Rhino made the save for Heath afterward. I could've sworn Heath was a free agent, but maybe he'll be sticking around until Final Resolution for the tag team matchup they set up here or possibly beyond that.

Black Taurus, Laredo Kid and Juventud Guerrera def. The Rascalz (Myron Reed, Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel)

Reed is an awesome addition to The Rascalz. Obviously, they can't get Dez/Wes Lee back, but Reed fills his spot well. Unfortunately, they're not off to the strongest start as a trio with their loss here, but I understand the luchadors going over on what was billed as a Lucha Libre Celebration event at the time this was taped. This was a blast, though, and all six stars had their time to shine.

Jordynne Grace and Bully Ray def. KiLynn King and Steve Maclin

Bully seems to be feuding with Maclin while simultaneously doing some sort of a story with Grace. If Bully putting over Grace is the payoff, that's fine, but his feud with Maclin has been strange and feels like a waste of Maclin. This was a solid match with some intergender action and an awkwardly-looking finish. Grace should be made to look strong heading into her Impact Knockouts World Championship clash with Trinity at Hard to Kill and this accomplished that.

Impact Knockouts World Champion Trinity def. Sonny Kiss (Non-Title)

I'm not sure if Kiss is officially under contract to IMPACT as of now, but they'd be a good fit for the promotion if they are or soon will be. This was probably a "dream match" for some fans and it was fun for what it was. They're both amazingly athletic and got to showcase their skills here. Trinity keeps rolling as champ heading into her next scheduled defense at Hard to Kill. There's no clear challenger for Final Resolution as of now, but that could change in the coming weeks.

IWGP United Kingdom Heavyweight Champion Will Ospreay def. Josh Alexander (Non-Title)

I've gone back and forth with the name of the title, but IMPACT has recognized it as the UK Heavyweight Championship, so I'll do the same. Needless to say, this was phenomenal. They had exceptional chemistry together and crafted a wonderfully-wrestled match. I assumed Ospreay was going over, but they had me second-guessing myself toward the end. The crowd knew they were watching something special. Kudos to both men. IMPACT only had Ospreay for a few days this past month, but they absolutely made the most of him.

Overall Show

IMPACT continues to be in a holding pattern for the time being until the TNA relaunch with Hard to Kill in January. Their latest Throwback Throwdown parody show airs in two weeks, so does that mean no new episode next week? Final Resolution is coming up on December 9th, but only the main event has been confirmed so far. At any rate, this was a serviceable show with an above-average main event that made it worthwhile. Definitely make time for that gem when you get a chance.

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