Welcome to another edition of POINTS OF IMPACT— a breakdown of the top moments of this week's edition of Impact Wrestling.
This segment will fill you in on the most important parts of the show worth checking out or keeping up to date with, in case you missed this episode of Impact Wrestling.
Without further ado, let's inspect the biggest takeaways of the week!
IMPACT WRESTLING: JANUARY 19, 2023 RESULTS
#5 - Intergender Opener
Impact’s first televised segment after Hard to Kill felt a little WWE, if this writer is honest.
Mickie James opened the show, cutting a triumphant promo to fire up the fans, talking about the successful end to Last Rodeo at Hard to Kill. This went on until Mickie was interrupted by, surprisingly, Bully Ray.
Ray, insecure and defeated villain that he is, demanded Mickie leave the ring, and when Mickie refused, it looked like Bully might force James to leave. Interrupting that, however, was the duo of Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans. Steelz demanded a title shot, getting in Mickie’s face, for which Mickie shoved her. Ray demanded Tasha do something about that, which she did, herself and Evans beating down James, until Jordynne Grace and Frankie Kazarian made the save.
This lead to Santino Marella and Erenest “The Cat” Miller (yes really) making a six person tag between the two teams, which while it won’t be anyone’s match of the year, served the characters involved well, the faces picking up the win after Bully walked out.
I don’t want to see this every week. But here, it was fine.
#4 - Second Step
Sami Callahan’s storyline with the Design took more of a backseat this week. On BTI, after the Design faced Yuya Uemura and Delirious, Deaner demanded that Callahan come to the ring and prove he could follow orders, which Callahan did, bailing Delirious with a Cactus Driver 97.
On the show proper, a backstage segment saw a regretful, conflicted Callahan being praised by Deaner, before receiving his next instructions. Next week, in the Golden Six Shooter Match (a six man elimination match) to crown the new Number One Contender to Josh Alexander, Callahan is expected to win that match, and to win the World Title, bringing it home to the Design.
It was simple, but effective. As long as this storyline keeps showing progression, it has potential.
#3 - The Virtuosa Flexes Her Skills
At Hard to Kill, Deonna Purazzo failed to win the Number One Contender’s match to earn a shot at whoever won between Mickie James and Jordynne Grace. Purazzo can eat a loss and not lose credibility, the arrogant nature of her character allowing for upset victories. But it was nice to see Impact give Purrazzo some heat back this week, and showcase a young talent while doing so.
Facing Ashley D’Amboise, the result was never in question. Purazzo dominated most of the match, displaying her trademark aggressiveness and technical skill. The aggressive nature of Purrazzo’s character has been downplayed as of late, so that the danger of opponents like Masha Slamovich (who delivered a death warrant to Mickie James in a great staredown after the mixed tag earlier in the show) could shine. Here, however it was re-established, which made D’Amboise stand out even more during her comeback.
D’Amboise didn’t get much offense in, let’s be clear. This wasn’t an Anthony Greene style match where she was allowed to nearly get one over on Purrazzo. Ashley got an flurry of flashy offense in, and then promptly ate a Queen’s Gambit for the win. But the glimpses she was allowed were promising, and Impact showed they hadn’t forgotten about Purrazzo. Good stuff all around.
#2 - Killer Presence, Killer Match
In the third match of the evening to feature a Knockout, (take note, AEW and WWE,) the recently returned Killer Kely took on Taylor Wilde in singles competition. It wasn’t a perfect match, some spots not quite gelling like they should have, a few whiffed strikes or odd pacing choices here and there. But it was certainly my favourite match of the night.
Wilde has been nothing but refreshing since her new gimmick saw her update her moveset and vastly improve her presence, and paired with the charismatic, captivating Killer Kelly, you get a match between two intimidating forces of the division that wasn’t just silly pantomime. Kelly’s masochistic character allows her opponents to get the majority of the offense in whilst keeping Kelly feeling like the main threat.
Kelly can have a good match with anyone on the roster. If you’re looking for the most entertaining segment on the card, look no further.
#1 - What Happens In the Fight Pit Hopefully Stays In the Fight Pit
The evening’s main event saw Kenny King take on Mike Bailey in a Fight Pit match. For those unfamiliar with the rules, this was essentially a GCW Bloodsport match. For those unfamiliar with that concept, there are no pinfalls, disqualifications or count-outs, with wins coming only via submission or knockout, in a ropeless ring. It was an MMA style match, designed to play to the MMA aspects of Speedball’s character. And it was, in my opinion at least, loads of fun.
This feud’s build has been middling at best, call-out segment after call-out segment making me wonder why anyone cared about Kenny King in 2023. But I was delightfully proven wrong. King played the role of the sneaky heel to perfection, the ropeless ring allowing him to trip Speedball face first onto the ramp, causing Speedball to bleed early.
For his part, Speedball played the resilient face well, recovering from that ramp spot and a vicious knee from King, the embodiment of a Steamboat style babyface, always trying to get back in the match. Bailey needed only enough time to put his deadly strikes to use, and whenever he did, the match went in his favour. The finish, a chair assisted stomp, fit the fun but gritty vibe of the match, and coming out of this, both men looked good.
This felt like a natural end to the feud. I don’t know how much interest I can say I’ll have in this feud should it continue past the Fight Pit. But as a feud ender, and as a main event, this match more than did the job. Speedball’s hot streak continues.
What did you think of this week's episode of Impact Wrestling?
Do you think any other moments stood out on this show?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below!
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