This Tuesday, IMPACT Wrestling presents the latest episode of IMPACT! Wrestling, as the future of the IMPACT World Championship will be decided, a contest for the IMPACT Knockouts Championship goes down, a brotherhood dismantled, and the arrival of a much-heralded free agent in Deonna Purrazzo to the “IMPACT Zone” finally happens. Another hot episode of IMPACT Wrestling comes this Tuesday at 8pm EST on AXS TV.
Who Attacked Trey Miguel?
In one of the feel-good moments of the tournament, The Rascalz‘ Trey Miguel made it to the finals of the #1 Contenders tournament, but that’s where the “feel good” ended. Prior to the final match last week, Trey was attacked and he was replaced at the last minute by fellow Rascal Zachary Wentz, who had a barn-burner of a match against eventual winner Ace Austin. But who took out Trey? Was it one of Austin’s lackeys from his enforcers in Reno Scum? Was it payback from an angry Michael Elgin after his loss to Trey in the semi-final? Rohit Raju was looking to break out in this tournament, but Trey stopped him in the first round? Or did it come from within? Or was it someone else entirely?
Ken Shamrock vs. Sami Callihan vs. Michael Elgin
The opening match has already been announced and it’s going to be a slugfest between three of IMPACT’s biggest Alpha Males, and we’re not talking about former TNA Original Monty Brown. Ken Shamrock lost his spot in the #1 Contenders tournament thanks to an attack from Michael Elgin, who also cost former IMPACT World Champion Sami Callihan his own journey to reclaim the World title. Elgin is still mad over losing to Trey Miguel in his own quest for the #1 Contenders title, leading to three very angry men over their current situation in the World title picture. This may seem like its more a battle of egos between these three huge personalities, but there’s much more at stake – like the chance to prove who the top dog in IMPACT Wrestling really is.
Tasha Steelz (w/ Kiera Hogan) vs. Susie
Tasha Steelz has ruffled some feathers since her recent debut with IMPACT Wrestling, especially after teaming with another rabble-rouser in Kiera Hogan. The duo has gone on to bully the likes of Kylie Rae and Susie (the passive alter ego of the Undead Bride, Su Yung), with Steelz & Hogan defeating the two last Tuesday in tag team action. On Tuesday, they switch to singles competition, as Steelz faces Susie one-on-one. The harassment from Steelz & Hogan can only last so long on the fragile nature of Susie – is Su Yung waiting in the wings to unleash her supernatural presence to protect the vessel of her choice?
A Cancelled Brotherhood
Dave Crist will be looking for answers from his brother and longtime tag team partner Jake Crist after Jake turned on him to join Joseph P. Ryan in Cancel Culture last week. The frustrations between the Crist Brothers has been evident the past few weeks as the two original members of oVe in IMPACT saw the faction dissolve in recent months, first with the abandonment from leader Sami Callihan at IMPACT Rebellion, followed by the departure of Madman Fulton only weeks ago. Down to two, Jake Crist has chosen to leave his brother behind and seek new guidance, and it now appears to be in the form of the reformed Joseph P. Ryan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuF48oTb_SM
Johnny Swinger & Chris Bey vs. Willie Mack & Cousin Jake
“The Finesse and Bench Press Express” pairing of Johnny Swinger and Chris Bey have seemed an odd pairing of late, but Swinger is firmly behind Chris Bey in his quest to unseat Willie Mack as the IMPACT X-Division Champion. Over the course of the past few weeks, Bey has been targeting Mack in attacks, but he’s made a few more enemies along the way, including Cousin Jake of the Deaner family. Chris Bey defeated Jake a couple of weeks back on IMPACT television, and Jake became the victim of a post-match beatdown. Willie Mack made the save for Cousin Jake – as his regular partner, Cody Deaner, is still in Canada due to travel restrictions – and on Tuesday, both men will the chance for a little payback as they face both Bey and Swinger in tag team action.
Deonna Purrazzo Arrives in IMPACT Wrestling
We’re only a couple of weeks from the announcement on IMPACT television that former NXT Superstar Deonna Purrazzo, who has also competed for Ring of Honor, Japan’s Stardom, SHIMMER, and plenty of other top promotions in her pre-WWE career, was heading to IMPACT Wrestling. While no opponent has been named as of yet, IMPACT is promising that Purrazzo will finally be arriving in IMPACT on Tuesday night, and “The Virtuosa” will be looking to make a statement early in the Knockouts Division. But while many appear to be excited about Deonna Purrazzo’s arrival, recent addition Kimber Lee doesn’t seem that interested.
EXCLUSIVE: "Being The Virtuosa, you can be that @DeonnaPurrazzo. Doesn't make you anywhere near as good as The Crown Jewel."
@Kimber_Lee90 isn't exactly welcoming Deonna Purrazzo to IMPACT with open arms. #ImpactonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/mbhAxhWDyb
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) June 8, 2020
The Future of the IMPACT World Championship
The state of the IMPACT World Heavyweight Championship has been a hot topic for the past few months since the COVID-19 pandemic put a lot of wrestler’s travel plans on hold, which includes the current reigning IMPACT World Champion Tessa Blanchard, who has been stuck in Mexico. While Blanchard is approaching 150-days as World Champion, her last title defense came on March 3, where she defeated challenger Taya Valkyrie in Las Vegas, and the World Champion hasn’t been seen since. IMPACT has already crowned its #1 Contender to the title in former X-Division Champion Ace Austin after he won the #1 Contenders Tournament, but will that be enough to wait out until Tessa can return to defend? Will IMPACT strip Tessa of the title and move on? Will an interim World Champion be crowned until Tessa is able to return? Will Moose’s TNA World Championship be temporarily re-instated? We’ll have to find out on Tuesday night when IMPACT management finally makes an announcement on the future of its top prize.
IMPACT Knockouts Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Taya Valkyrie
Much like IMPACT World Champion Tessa Blanchard, we haven’t heard from IMPACT Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace since her last title defense, against Lacey Ryan on the March 10 episode of IMPACT! Wrestling from Las Vegas. On Tuesday, she returns to IMPACT television with her biggest title defense yet, in the form of the longest reigning Knockouts Champion in history, Taya Valkyrie. Taya hasn’t been able to move on from her February 11 loss to Grace in Mexico and is more determined than ever to reclaim her crown.
Stay tuned to the Last Word on Pro Wrestling for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world. We provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch IMPACT every Tuesday on AXS-TV and see past episodes of IMPACT Wrestling on IMPACT+.
