IMPACT Wrestling revealed on Tuesday that it would be moving from its current home on Pursuit Channel on Friday nights at 10pm to its new home of AXS TV starting on October 29. But while IMPACT’s flagship show debuts on October 29, the brand itself will be debuting next Tuesday October 1 on AXS, with a series of lead-up events to hype the show’s debut on its new network. Hosted by IMPACT announcer Josh Matthews and IMPACT EVP Scott D’Amore, AXS will be airing IMPACT’s three pay-per-views from this year in their entirely leading up to the relaunch on AXS TV.
October 1 – IMPACT Homecoming
This past January, IMPACT returned to the company’s original home of The Asylum in Nashville, Tennessee, where Total Nonstop Action (TNA) originally debuted back in 2002. The PPV featured Johnny Impact (John Morrison) defending his IMPACT World Championship against Brian Cage and Taya Valkyrie defeat Tessa Blanchard to start her record reign as the current IMPACT Knockouts Champion. Homecoming also featured an Ultimate X Match for the vacant X-Division Championship between Rich Swann, Ethan Page, Jake Crist, and Trey Miguel, and another chapter in the LAX vs Lucha Brothers (Pentagon Jr. & Fenix) feud, among others.
October 8 – IMPACT Rebellion
IMPACT’s second PPV of 2019 came on April 28 from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was headlined by LAX vs Lucha Brothers in the Full Metal Mayhem match for the IMPACT World Tag Team Championships. Brian Cage faced Johnny Impact once again for the IMPACT World title, this time with Lance Storm as the special guest referee, while Taya defended her Knockouts title against Jordynne Grace. Tessa Blanchard faced Gail Kim in a classic, and Sami Callihan and Rich Swann were feuding over their past and the X-Division Championship.
October 15 – IMPACT Slammiversary XVII
This July’s IMPACT Slammiversary XVII was headlined by an intergender slugfest between Sami Callihan and Tessa Blanchard, a feud that continues to this day. Slammiversary also featured Brian Cage vs. Michael Elgin for the IMPACT World Championship, The North taking over the IMPACT Tag Team titles in a three way with LAX and The Rascalz‘ Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz, and Taya defended her Knockouts title in a Monster’s Ball against Jessicka Havok and Su Yung.
October 22 – This is IMPACT
According to IMPACT’s press release, this special preparatory episode “will serve as a launchpad for the promotion’s AXS TV debut, featuring a preview of the weekly series, profiles on IMPACT Wrestling’s biggest stars and exclusive non-televised matches from BOUND FOR GLORY, IMPACT Wrestling’s biggest pay-per-view event of the year to be held on Sunday, October 20 in Chicago.”
October 29 – IMPACT Wrestling Debuts!
The first round of tapings for IMPACT on AXS run at one of the most popular taping locations, from Windsor, Ontario, Canada on October 25 and 26 and will serve as the first offerings on IMPACT’s new home on AXS TV. With Windsor’s rabid fan-base, expect IMPACT to pull out some big surprises for their flagship’s debut.
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