Impact Wrestling on AXS TV returns tonight with the first new episode of 2021.
Impact finished the year strong with the hot inter-promotional storyline involving AEW World Champion Kenny Omega, Don Callis and the Good Brothers. Omega and Callis will be on hand tonight as the built continues for Hard to Kill later this month.
The following matches are advertised for Tuesday’s Impact:
Sami Callihan vs. Eddie Edwards
Jordynne Grace & Jazz vs. Nevaeh & Havok: Winners advance to Knockouts Tag Team Tournament Finals.
KC Navarro vs. Crazzy Steve vs. Ace Austin & Blake Christian
Rhino & Cousin Jake vs. Joe Doering & Eric Young
Moose vs. Matthew Palmer in a ‘Last Three Minutes’ Challenge.
Impact Wrestling: Hard To Kill
The card is taking shape for Impact Wrestling’s next pay-per-view, Hard to Kill. Here is the updated lineup for next weekend’s pay-per-view:
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega & Impact Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers vs. Impact World Champion Rich Swann & The Motor City Machine Guns
Knockouts Champions Deonna Purrazzo vs. Taya Valkyrie
X-Division Champion Manik vs. Chris Bey vs. Rohit Raju
Knockouts Tag Team Championship Tournament Finals: Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz vs. Jordynne Grace & Jazz OR Nevaeh & Havok
The Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill event takes place Saturday, January 16th. You can order the show now at Fite.tv for $39.99.
We have updates on a few Impact Wrestling contracts that were set to expire at the end of 2020.
Former Impact World Champion, Sami Callihan, has announced that he has re-signed with the promotion. He noted on Twitter yesterday that he’s come to terms on a 2-year deal with the promotion. Callihan originally singed with Impact in late 2017.
Callihan wrote, “Today marks when I WOULD have been a FREE AGENT. I just RE-SIGNED with @IMPACTWRESTLING, 2 years for BIG money. I got other offers…but I don’t give a damn. This is MY company. I made this company. I will be champion again in 2021. #TheDRAW.”
Ethan Page Update
In other Impact news, Ethan Page has finished up with the company. It had previously been reported that he was not expected to re-sign.
It was reported recently in the Wrestling Observer that he has left the promotion. His tag-team partner, Josh Alexander is still with the company, however, and has several months left in his contract. Dave Meltzer wrote, “Ethan Page, who is no longer with the company as he decided not to sign a new deal, which breaks up The North as a team since Josh Alexander has months left, has pulled all of his merchandise effective now.”
As for where Page is headed, pulling merchandise is often a sign someone is going to WWE. Page is the kind of guy who would throw out a red herring like that, though.
“If you think for one F’N second that we’re going to let Impact dictate whether we break up, or we don’t, or whatever you’re out of your damn mind,” said Page.
“I’m telling you guys. Everyone watched Final Resolution, and everyone saw my mental breakdown, whatever. It doesn’t matter. I’m telling you guys that no matter which way this goes The North are not splitting.”
Impact Wrestling named its “Best of 2020” Awards during this week’s Impact on AXS TV. Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo was the big winner, scoring honors for not only Knockout of the Year but also Wrestler of the Year.
July’s Slammiversary pay-per-view was “Moment of the Year” and that show’s main event was Match of the Year.
Here is the full list of winners:
Wrestler of the Year: Deonna Purrazzo
Tag-Team of the Year: The North
Knockout of the Year: Deonna Purrazzo
X-Division Wrestler of the Year: Ace Austin
Moment of the Year: Slammiversary 2020
Match of the Year: Eric Young vs. Rich Swann vs. Eddie Edwards vs. Ace Austin vs. Trey Miguel (Slammiversary)
Deonna Purrazzo Reacts
Deonna Purrazzo commented on Impact Wrestling recognizing her greatness. She wrote,
“This year has been my most challenging. To finish 2020 as WRESTLER OF THE YEAR only validates every trial & tribulation I’ve faced to date. I’ve been true to myself & true to my craft and for that, I’m most proud. Welcome, EVERYONE, to the Age of the #Virtuosa”
Congratulations to Deonna Purrazzo.
This year has been my most challenging. To finish 2020 as WRESTLER OF THE YEAR only validates every trial & tribulation I’ve faced to date.
I’ve been true to myself & true to my craft and for that, I’m most proud.
AEW Champion Kenny Omega and ‘The Invisible Hand’ Don Callis recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast. The duo discussed a number of topics during the podcast, including Omega’s recent match in AAA, Don Callis’ ‘megaplan’ and the NJPW match between Jericho/Omega that ‘changed the wrestling industry.’
One of the most common comparisons Omega/Callis have had is that of Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan. Don Callis would start the interview by addressing that notion and saying that he and Omega are completely different beasts.
Don Callis on Comparisons To Greats
“I actually never said it, but people are saying that” the IMPACT Wrestling EVP would begin on the podcast. “I think it’s great. Nick Bockwinkel? He’s one of the greatest of all time. I think Bobby Heenan is a great wrestling manager. I am not a manager, I’m not a wrestling character, I’m making history Chris (Jericho), just like you.”
“I’m not out there performing, I’m not Bobby Heenan” Don Callis would continue. “I’m a revolutionary, I’m Winston Churchill. I don’t care what people say about me on the internet, I don’t care what the ratings are. Because guess what? When we get a rating? The next week, we forget about the week before and we’re on to the next thing.”
Don Callis would then reveal that his ambition goes far beyond the now in pro wrestling. “I don’t care what people say about me now. I care about what people say about Kenny Omega and Don Callis 50 years from now. When people are saying ‘we thought Eddie Graham, Bill Watts, Paul Heyman and Vince McMahon were smart?’ Don Callis and Kenny Omega are on a totally different level.”
‘The Invisible Hand’ would finish by again rubbishing the comparisons to Bockwinkel and Heenan. “That’s just the reality. So Nick Bockwinkel and Bobby Heenan? Great, great, wrestlers. Kenny Omega is not a wrestler, Kenny Omega is a God among insects. That’s how much better Kenny Omega is than everybody else.”
Do you agree with Don Callis? Do you think that he and Kenny Omega are carving out a path that will put them in the history books? Let us know in the comments
AEW Champion Kenny Omega and ‘The Invisible Hand’ Don Callis recently appeared on Chris Jericho’s Talk Is Jericho podcast. The duo discussed a number of topics during the podcast, including Omega’s recent match in AAA, Don Callis’ ‘megaplan’ and the NJPW match between Jericho/Omega that ‘changed the wrestling industry.’
Jericho would begin the interview by asking Kenny Omega how he felt about finally getting the AEW Championship. Much had been made of the AEW EVPs (The Young Bucks and Omega in particular) not being ‘the same’ performers they were in Japan before creating All Elite. Omega would state that he was ready to be the ‘Best Bout Machine’ again.
Kenny Omega on Becoming AEW Champion
“I felt that it was time” Kenny Omega began on the podcast. “I felt that I’d waited long enough kind of trying to help everyone else out. It was time to help myself, and when I had sort of made that decision? I thought, who better to do it with than one of my family members, you know?”
Omega would then discuss how the pairing with him and Don Callis would align on AEW and IMPACT programming. “Even though he was involved with a different company had other business to attend to? He made himself available. I think you can really tell when you’re comfortable with someone in a ring, comfortable with someone in a professional environment. Don and I working together? It just goes hand in hand.”
“I think that’s why people enjoy it (Kenny Omega and Callis)” Kenny Omega would continue. “Because they see that, they see the chemistry there. They also see one of the greatest managers, one of the greatest wrestling personalities of all time with, arguably, I would say; the greatest wrestler currently active in today’s world.”
Are you enjoying the start of Kenny Omega’s run as AEW Champion? Do you think that he’ll appear in more promotions? Let us know in the comments
Former Knockouts Champion Madison Rayne will be leaving Impact Wrestling soon to pursue a career outside of the wrestling world, latest reports reveal.
According to reports from PWinsider, the female star who currently works for the company as a commentator alongside husband Josh Mathews will be leaving the company for a new full time job outside of wrestling.
The Wrestling Observer provided some more update on the situation and it notes that Impact officials had not found a replacement for Rayne as of last week.
Madison Rayne’s Career
The former champion made her debut for the promotion in 2009. Since then she has had a number of runs with TNA and she has won over half a dozen titles in the promotion.
Madison’s achievement in the promotion includes 5 different reigns with the Impact Knockouts championship and a couple of runs with the Knockouts tag team titles as well.
Outside of TNA, Madison Rayne, who made her wrestling debut back in 2005, has wrestled for promotions such as ROH and she also competed in the Mae Young Classic tournament back in 2018.
Madison Rayne is not the only star to leave Impact in recent times. Jake Crist recently departed the company and reports suggest that Ethan Page is also expected to become a free agent at the end of this year.
Impact Wrestling star Karl Anderson is teasing an appearance at tonight’s AEW Dynamite.
Anderson is one half of the Good Brothers, the Impact Wrestling world tag team champions. Gallows & Anderson reunited with former Bullet Club partner Kenny Omega last night on Impact’s TV show
Omega, Gallows & Anderson will main event next month’s Impact Hard to Kill pay-per-view against Impact World Champion Rich Swann & the Motor City Machine guns.
Ahead of Wednesday’s live AEW Dynamite from Jacksonville, Anderson sent out the following teaser on social media.
The December 15th edition of Impact averaged 177,00 viewers and a 0.04 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic. The show finished 143rd on cable for the night. This data comes courtesy of Showbuzzdaily.com.
This was the second week of Impact to feature an appearance by AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Don Callis. The show-closing angle saw Omega align himself with former Bullet Club partners, the Good Brothers. Omega will team with Gallows and Anderson at the upcoming Hard to Kill pay-per-view.
By comparison, last week’s Impact had 221,000 viewers and did a 0.08 rating. Two weeks ago, prior to the start of the AEW-Impact angle, Impact had 166,000 viewers.
The next two weeks of Impact during the Christmas and New Year’s holiday weeks will be “best of” shows.
Callis appeared on Figure Four Daily and spoke to Bryan Alvarez about his recent actions. During the discussion, Alvarez asked Callis if he’s received any blowback from Impact for letting another promotion’s champion run rough shot on their show.
“Blowback? Bryan, Kenny Omega, and I are the most talked about thing in professional wrestling and have been for the last 2.5 weeks,” Callis responded. “When you are that big, no one can touch you. Cause you know what they think? They think ‘gee, I kind of wish Don had clued us in but we have Kenny Omega on our show and over a million people saw the Kenny Omega Don Callis interview.”
He added, “Over a million people saw the Tony Khan infomercial.’ Those numbers don’t lie, Bryan Alvarez. So, the words that Impact might be looking for is ‘hey, this is great!'”
Callis continued to talk about how this is an opportunity for someone like Impact World Champion Rich Swann to show the world what he’s capable of.
“Rich Swann is one of the most competitive athletes I’ve ever been around,” Callis continued. “So, all I’ve done is given someone opportunity, Bryan. Here’s your opportunity to get in the ring with the best wrestler in the world, Kenny Omega, with the Good Brothers, and show everyone who you are, and do it in front of more people than you ever dreamed possible. If you call that running rough shot, I call that making dreams come true, Bryan.”
Don Callis Hints At What Might Come Next
Callis was then asked if he can let fans know what might be coming next in the angle.
“This may go on, as my record suggests, for many, many years,” Callis responded. “When you want to imagine what that next move could be, imagine something so big that you didn’t think it was possible and then magnify that by a thousandfold and you might be getting in the ballpark of what’s next.”
The full interview from Figure Four Daily is available here.
Impact Wrestling 12/15 saw Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows reunite in the show’s closing segment. We also saw the first semi-final match in the Knockouts tag-team title tournament and more.
Impact 12/15 Results:
Tenille Dashwood defeated Alisha Edwards
Chris Bey defeated Manik via DQ
Knockouts Tag Team Tournament (Semi-Final #1) Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz defeated Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary
Brian Myers defeated Josh Alexander via DQ
Karl Anderson defeated Chris Sabin
Below are 8 takeaways from Impact 12/15:
Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, and Doc Gallows Reunite
Last Tuesday night, Kenny Omega made his first appearance on Impact Wrestling. Saturday night at Final Resolution, he reunited with Karl Anderson. This week, Doc Gallows returned to the promotion, and the 3 former Bullet Club members were involved in a fight backstage with Rich Swann and The Motor City Machine Guns.
The MCMG made some pre-match comments about Karl Anderson earlier on in the evening. This caused Anderson to leave the luxury bus and look to confront them. He ran into Rich Swann in the back, however, and the Impact champ and the Motor City Machine Guns sent Anderson back to the luxury bus with Callis and Omega. This did not sit well with Omega, who had some harsh words to say about Swann.
Later in the night, Anderson pulled out the victory over Chris Sabin. He required a handful of trunks to get the pin, however. After the match, Rich Swann came out and confronted Anderson for his cheating. Omega saw this in the back and left the bus.
A fight broke out backstage after Anderson clocked Swann. The MCMGs then came out to attack Anderson but Doc Gallows returned and attacked Shelley and Sabin. Omega then arrived backstage and took out Swann.
Omega, Anderson, Gallows, and Callis then closed the show standing tall over Swann and the MCGM. Callis then officially made the match between Omega and the Good Brothers vs Rich Swann and the MCMG for Hard to Kill.
Tony Khan Purchases More Advertising Time On Impact Wrestling
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4f4yE15IA8
Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone were not holding back on their TNA jokes this week. There were cracks about not being able to find AXS TV, and that it was public access TV. Khan said he’ll continue to allow Omega to show up on Impact Wrestling because he feels Omega is giving AEW free advertising. They then ran down the card for AEW Dynamite this week.
Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz Advance In Tag Title Tourney, Taya & Rosemary Eliminated
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxQBTfLz6lI
The first semi-final match of the Knockouts tag-team title tournament took place this week. The match saw Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo and her ally, Kimber Lee, interfere. Purrazzo and Kimber Lee pulled Rosemary off the ring apron and gave her a flatliner on the stage, leaving Taya alone in the ring. Hogan then hit her twisting fisherman suplex for the win.
Hogan and Steelz will face the winners between Havok & Nevaeh vs Jordynne Grace & Jazz in the finals.
The Karate Man Debuts In Impact Wrestling
Some strange things seem to be going on with Ethan Page. At Final Resolution, Page lost to Karl Anderson and then there appeared to be some dissension between him and his partner, Josh Alexander. This week on Impact, Alexander took on Brian Myers in singles competition.
Page came down to ringside during the match but Myers threw him into a steel post. Later on in the match, Page’s alter-ego of “The Karate Man” would appear at ringside and attack Myers. This resulted in Alexander being disqualified and more dissension between Page and Alexander.
Moose and Willie Mack To Face Off In An “I Quit” Match
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B33iNQDOtdc
Moose cut a promo this week and mentioned that after the main event last week, Willie Mack will be out of action for a few weeks. He expressed frustration that people still don’t see him as the more important champion between him and Rich Swann. This brought out Willie Mack but a team of security wouldn’t let the injured wrestler get too close to Moose. Mack then challenged Moose to an “I Quit” match at Genesis on account of Moose having beaten him via referee’s decision previously.
Mack got past security and the two men had to be pulled apart. Moose managed to get in a shot on Mack, however. He then turned his attention to security (who had ripped his suit) and beat them up to close the segment.
Chris Bey Picks Up Win Over X-Division Champion, Manik
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g31YNkpy-ts
At Final Resolution, Manik (who seems to have the exact same tattoos as TJP) defeated Rohit Raju to win the X-Division Championship. The issue is that TJP was not allowed to challenge for the title due to a previous match stipulation. So, Raju is out to prove that Manik is actually TJP in what is a bit of a Junkyard Dog/Stagger Lee throwback angle.
Bey encouraged Raju to be in his corner for his non-title match against Manik this week. The Ultimate Finesser had ulterior motives, however. Raju got in the ring, perhaps looking to unmask Manik, but he and Bey ended up in an argument. Raju then hit Bey, causing the disqualification. Now, Bey holds a win over the X-Division champion and Josh Matthews noted on commentary that this puts him in the title picture.
Tenille Dashwood Picks Up Win Over Alisha Edwards
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgmLZJSqSdE
After a couple of weeks of backstage altercations, former tag partners Alisha Edwards and Tenille Dashwood faced off in singles action this week. Alisha hit Tenille with a running bulldog and almost got the pin but it seemed Kaleb pulled Tenille out of the ring.
While on the outside, Alisha attempted to come off the top rope onto Dashwood but Dashwood pushed Kaleb in the way. As both competitors got back in the ring, Dashwood hit the Spotlight Kick and got the win.
After the match between Dashwood and Alisha, Sami Callihan’s music hit and we got a scrambled video from the Draw. He challenged Edwards to a match on the next Impact show on January 5th. The next two weeks, Impact will air “Best of” shows to close out 2020. Edwards told Callihan to enjoy his family for the holidays because it might be his last.
The next two weeks of Impact Wrestling will be “Best of” shows. They are back in 2021 with all new programming as well as the Impact Plus event, Genesis, on January 9th and then the Hard to Kill PPV on January 16th. Below are the matches announced thus far:
Impact – January 5th, 2021
Eddie Edwards vs Sami Callihan
Genesis – January 9th, 2021
I Quit Willie Mack vs Moose
Hard To Kill – January 16th
Kenny Omega & The Good Brothers vs Rich Swann & The Motor City Machine Guns
Knockouts Tag Team Title Tournament (Finals) Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz vs Jordynne Grace & Jazz or Havok & Nevaeh
AEW World Champion Kenny Omega will reunite with Gallows and Anderson at the upcoming Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill pay-per-view.
The reunited Bullet Club partners will face AEW World Champion Rich Swan and the Motor City Machine Guns in a 3-on-3 match.
The match was made at the conclusion of Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling. Rich Swan and the Motor City Machine guns brawled with the Good Brothers backstage when Kenny Omega entered the fray and aligned with his longtime friends.
The match is significant on several fronts. Kenny Omega makes his in-ring debut for Impact. It features a realignment of the Bullet Club. Most significantly, we will see world champions from rival companies competing.
Impact Wrestling’s Hard to Kill takes place Saturday, January 16th, 2021.
AEW President Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone of the What Happened When podcast returned to Impact Wrestling with another paid advertisement this week.
Both Tony’s took shots at Impact and ‘public access’ channel AXS TV. Khan is glad to purchase time during Impact and addressed the Kenny Omega and Don Callis situation. He welcomed both men to Wednesday’s AEW Dynamite on TNT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4f4yE15IA8
Impact Wrestling executives Scott D’Amore and Don Callis reacted to the ad spot. D’Amore and Khan exchanged trash talk. ‘The Invisible Hand’ thanked Khan for generating revenue for Impact.
Ethan Page and Josh Alexander, collectively known as The North, are 2-time Impact Wrestling World Tag Team champions. It’s rumored that Ethan Page is leaving Impact Wrestling when his contract expires at the end of December. Alexander’s deal runs for several more months.
Impact booked Ethan Page to have a “mental breakdown” this past Saturday at Final Resolution. After losing his match to Karl Anderson, Page had a ‘mental breakdown’ and got into an argument with Josh Alexander. The angle fueled speculation that Page is leaving Impact, casting more doubt on the team’s future.
Ethan Page appeared on The Push podcast this week to address the situation. Page says The North was created before they teamed together in Impact Wrestling. They’ve invested in each other, they are best friends in real life and nobody will dictate if they break up.
“If you think for one F’N second that we’re going to let Impact dictate whether we break up, or we don’t, or whatever you’re out of your damn mind,” said Paige.
“I’m telling you guys. Everyone watched Final Resolution, and everyone saw my mental breakdown, whatever. It doesn’t matter. I’m telling you guys that no matter which way this goes The North are not splitting.”
He continued, “Wherever I land in 2021, we are not breaking up. That’s my best friend in real life. That’s my best friend on screen. So, that’s not something that I’m willing to toy with to make a couple dollars in the entertainment industry.”
Page reiterated that whatever happens in the years to come, The North is the best tag team int he world. He believes there is still plenty for them to do. It doesn’t matter if they’re known as The North or get rebranded elsewhere. “This is a forever friendship and the friendship is tied to the tag team.”
“The Ultimate Finesser” Chris Bey challenged Rich Swann for the Impact World Championship Saturday night at Final Resolution. He was seemingly in two places at the same time as he also competed in New Japan’s Super J-Cup tournament that night as well.
Bey recently took part in an interview with Wrestling Headlines. During the discussion, Bey was asked about the Impact and AEW partnership and mentioned some potential dream match-ups he’d like to see.
“I’ve seen a lot of people post stuff like they wanted to see me versus Kenny, then they wanted to see me versus Darby Allin, or they think because of the charisma through the roof they wanna see me and Ricky Starks,” Bey said before revealing the dream match he wants.
“There’s one in particular that stands out to me that I need to check off my bucket list personally because it all started a little over a year ago, but I need…for the sake of my story…I need Dashing Chris Bey versus Dashing Cody Rhodes. That’s the one that I need.”
Earlier this year, Bey was mentioned by Rhodes as someone AEW may have their eyes on.
“I’ve been doing a deep-dive on YouTube, on a guy named Chris Bey,” Cody said on a media call back in February. “He’s a prime example of somebody who could potentially be good for our singles division. We haven’t spoken to him or anything of that nature, but I’m sure this call will have some sort of… he’ll hear about it in some capacity.”
“A night of history man. A night of history indeed,” Bey said about this Saturday. “It’s a weird world we live in. It’s a great time in professional wrestling where people are able to show up on multiple platforms in one night. It creates more buzz…it gets the fans more interested and it makes the realm of possibilities just endless.”
“So for me it was great to represent IMPACT Wrestling in the Super J-Cup because not only does the tournament have so much history behind it but also I feel like I’m that guy whose gonna be able to now crack the door open a little bit more for anyone else who wants to work between these two companies.”
The full interview with Chris Bey can be read here.
Impact Wrestling returns to tonight on AXS TV. The company looks to capitalize on the success of last week’s show, which saw Impact’s highest viewership in years.
Tonight’s broadcast will see:
Karl Anderson vs. Chris Sabin in singles action. Impact has teased possible involvement between Karl Anderson and Kenny Omega.
X-Division Champion Manik vs. Chris Bey.
Knockouts Tag Team Championship Tournament: Tasha Steelz & Kiera Hogan vs. Taya Valkyrie & Rosemary (Second round match).
Plus, we will see the return of AEW World Champion Kenny Omega with Don Callis. Omega and Callis made an impact last week. The Invisible Hand is teasing that if fans thought last week was shocking, just wait until they see what’s in store tonight.
Saturday night on Impact Wrestling’s Final Resolution, Karl Anderson reunited with his former Bullet Club stablemate, Kenny Omega. Callis, Omega, and Anderson spent some time on the luxury bus that was parked outside the venue before Anderson had to wrestle Ethan Page that night.
Anderson took to Twitter to comment on his reunion with Omega on the show.
Anderson and Omega talked about their history as members of Bullet Club on Saturday night. Callis and Omega told Anderson they wanted to see the old “Machine Gun” that night against Ethan Page, the version of Anderson that went to the G1 finals in 2012.
Anderson would go on to defeat Ethan Page, though not as quickly as Callis and Omega had suggested he could. Following the match, Josh Alexander and Ethan Page showed some dissension. Page then spent several moments in the ring after trying to explain to anyone that would listen that everything is going to be fine.
Omega is scheduled to be back on Impact this week. He also has a match scheduled against Joey Janela on Dynamite. The full lineup for that show is below:
No Disqualification, World Title-Eliminator Kenny Omega vs Joey Janela
Best Friends (Chuck Taylor & Trent), The Varsity Blondes (Brian Pillman Jr. & Griff Garrison), Top Flight(Darius Martin & Daunte Martin) & Brandon Cutler vs. The Inner Circle (Chris Jericho, Jake Hager, MJF, Ortiz, Sammy Guevara, Santana & Wardlow)
Diamante & Ivelisse vs. Big Swole & Serena Deeb
Cody Rhodes (w/Arn Anderson) vs. Angelico (w/Jack Evans)
The Acclaimed (Anthony Bowens & Max Caster) vs. SCU (Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian)
Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen) & Matt Hardy vs. The Dark Order (Alex Reynolds & John Silver) & Adam Page
Deonna Purrazzo retained the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship at Saturday night’s Final Resolution event. Earlier this week, she spoke with Wrestling Epicenter about the current storyline with Don Callis & Kenny Omega, her plans for 2021 and much more.
Impact Wrestling viewership spiked this week on AXS TV, thanks in part to the involvement of AEW World Champion Kenny Omega. Purrazzo said Tuesday’s show was “definitely eye-opening” and thinks the entire wrestling industry is shifting. She thinks that AEW working with Impact Wrestling presents some exciting opportunities for the months ahead.
“I think it is amazing when people are able to put aside their differences, whatever they are, to work towards a common goal,” she began. “I don’t know what this is leading to. I don’t know what Kenny Omega and Don Callis have planned as far as cross-promotion or whatever it is. But, I’m real excited to see what is going to happen in the near future.”
Many fans believe that Impact Wrestling has one of the strongest women’s divisions anywhere. Naturally, as the champion of that division, Deonna Purrazzo agrees.
“Head to toe, there is not one woman on the roster that I do not want to be in the ring with,” she said. “There is not one person who I don’t think brings something different to the table. I speak about it all the time. I can’t tell you how incredible I think our women’s division, the Knockouts division, is.”
She also commented on the downsides of social media, including trolls who body shame female wrestlers. “There was one person who tweeted to me that I needed to lose 30 pounds and do some squats,” she revealed.
“That struck me because I was a little girl that grew up wanting to be a wrestler in a time where women’s wrestlers were size 0 models and they weren’t real women who came in a variety of sizes and shapes. For me, 30 pounds is a lot of weight! I’m not unrealistic with myself. I’ve been through the ringer with anxiety and depression and reclaiming my emotional health and my mental health this year. All of those things contribute to what your physical health looks like.”
Impact Wrestling held Final Resolution 2020 Saturday night on Impact Plus. Here are the quick results:It features three championship matches.
Tommy Dreamer defeated Larry D in an “Old School Results” match. Per the stipulation, Larry D must go to jail for the attempted murder of John E. Bravo.
Tenille Dashwood & Kaleb defeated Alisha & Eddie Edwards.
Hernandez defeated Fallah Bahh. Kiera Hogan was the guest referee and Tasha Steelz served as guest ring announcer.
Eric Young (w/ Joe Doering) defeated Rhino. After the match, The Deaners confronted Young. Cody Deaner turns on his partner and family Cousin Jake.
Manik defeated Rohit Rajuto capture the X Division Championship.
Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo w/ Kimber Lee retained against Rosemary w/ Taya Valkyrie.
Kenny Omega & Don Callis invited Karl Anderson on to their luxury bus. Omega and Callis said Anderson should be able to defeat Ethan Page very quickly. They encouraged him to bring out his inner “Machine Gun.”
Karl Anderson defeated Ethan Page w/ Josh Alexander. As a result, The North will not get another title shot against the Good Brothers. After the match, it appeared that Page and Alexander broke up.
Rich Swann defeated Chris Bey to retain the Impact Wrestling World Championship. After the match, Moose handed the Impact title to Swann and the two had a stare down.
Impact posted a bunch of videos from the pay-per-view to the Impact YouTube channel. You can see some highlights below:
IMPACT Wrestling EVP and the ‘Invisible Hand’ behind the AEW Champion Don Callis recently appeared on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio. Callis discussed a number of topics during his time on the show, these included the buzz he and Kenny Omega have created and how his ‘family’ member is the best professional wrestler on the planet.
“I’ve said it on IMPACT” Don Callis would begin on Busted Open. “I didn’t get back in this business [just] to do the Killing The Town podcast. I certainly didn’t get back in it to be a commentator, there was always a plan. And it was? It was playing the long game.”
With Don Callis and Kenny Omega transitioning between both IMPACT and AEW over the past week, it has created some massive intrigue across the wrestling landscape. Callis would discuss how he and Omega have created a ‘buzz’ in wrestling, something that has been somewhat lacking over the past year or so with the pandemic.
Don Callis on ‘Buzz’
“One of the side benefits of that has been buzz” Callis would continue. “Buzz is one of the things that I think is difficult to create. If everyone could create it? Then everyone would have it, and everyone doesn’t have it. I don’t set out to try to make buzz or those sorts of things? But I do set out with a grand plan. I’ve always been big plan motivated.”
“I care about what happens in history, and they say the winners get to write the history” Callis stated. “Kenny Omega and I right now are in a position where we are writing the history. Two guys from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, are the talk of the wrestling business. We have not once, but twice, changed the entire wrestling business.”
Are you excited about the ongoing Kenny Omega and Don Callis storyline? Who do you want to see Kenny Omega face in IMPACT and elsewhere? Let us know in the comments
Impact Wrestling’s Ethan Page and Sami Callihan reportedly both have contracts that expire at the end of the year. According to a recent report from PW Insider, one is expected to leave the promotion and the other is expected to stay.
Sami Callihan, a former Impact World Champion, is expected to stay with the company. Callihan debuted for the promotion in late 2017 and has been a featured performer since the current management regime came in around the same time.
Ethan Page, 1/2 of the North, is expected to leave the promotion at the end of the month. His tag-team partner, Josh Alexander, still has somewhere around 9 months left on his deal. Page recently spoke to SI.com about his pending free agency.
“Impact has been amazing. They’re allowing me the opportunity to chat with other companies, and they’re handling this in an extremely professional manner. I’m open to chatting with other people, but my interest is hearing how Impact values me and what they’re willing to offer,” he said.
As expected, Impact Wrestling has already announced that Kenny Omega will make another appearance on their weekly television show.
On Friday afternoon in a statement posted on social media and their official website, the promotion confirmed that the AEW World Heavyweight Champion would be appearing on Tuesday’s show on AXS TV.
Impact’s statement was short yet to the point as it read, “We have confirmed that AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Don Callis will return to IMPACT! this Tuesday at 8/7c on AXS TV!”
This comes off Omega’s most recent appearance on this week’s episode of Impact, which was a huge success for the promotion in viewership.
On Thursday, Impact touted the success of the crossover from one of All Elite Wrestling’s biggest stars.
Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore brought up how big of a deal Omega’s appearance on Impact in the presser that was sent out that noted it led to more than 750,000 fans tuning in to AXS TV or have logged on to official streams to watch the segment.
“It is hard to compare apples and oranges, and some digital media provide better watch-data than others, but we feel confident over 750,000 US-based fans watched the episode in the first 24 hours and 1 million fans have clicked on the various highlights we’ve put out on social media.”
This episode of Impact will feature the fallout from Saturday’s Final Resolution event.
It was a big week for AEW World Champion Kenny Omega and Impact Wrestling Vice President, Don Callis. They appeared on both Impact and AEW Dynamite this week. Omega teased on Impact that he had become something of a collector and alluded to perhaps wanting to win some of Impact’s championships.
According to a report from the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Omega is expected back on Impact next week. He’s also expected to headline some PPVs for the promotion. Dave Meltzer wrote:
“We do know that Omega will make appearances on Impact television, including back on 12/15, and headline at least some Impact PPV shows.”
Impact teased a program between its world champion, Rich Swann, and Omega last week. Swann was seen being denied access to Omega and Callis’ luxury bus because he “wasn’t on the list.”
Swann is scheduled to defend the Impact World Championship against Chris Bey this Saturday at Final Resolution. The show will air on Impact’s streaming service, Impact Plus. Moose has also been angling for a shot at Swann’s title.
Impact Wrestling has announced a staggering audience for this week’s episode of IMPACT! on AXS TV. According to a press release sent in to SEScoops.com:
“More than 750,000 fans tuned in to AXS TV on December 8 or have logged on to official streams to witness the historic, industry-shaking episode.”
Impact Executive Vice President Scott D’Amore credits the crossover storyline with All Elite Wrestling. “The intrigue of what Kenny Omega and Don Callis were going to do on IMPACT! on AXS TV powered a huge night for us,” he said.
According to Nielsen, 244,342 people tuned into the live broadcast and the replay later in the evening. The Twitch peaked at 55,396 viewers and averaged 42,953 viewers for the two-hour show. Encore presentations on Facebook and YouTube added 68,918 and 268,414 viewers respectively to the television audience.
A clip of Josh Matthews interviewing Kenny Omega and Don Callis has racked up more than 197,242 views on Facebook, 342,000 views on YouTube, 146,000 views on Instagram and 219,000 views on Twitter.
D’Amore explained the math behind Impact calculating more than 750,000 people tuned in to this week’s show. “It is hard to compare apples and oranges, and some digital media provide better watch-data than others, but we feel confident over 750,000 U.S.-based fans watched the episode in the first 24-hours and 1-million fans have clicked on the various highlights we’ve put out on social media.”
When asked if Kenny Omega will be back on Impact next week, D’Amore said, “Don Callis alluded to this being years in the making; paradigm’s don’t shift in one night. See you on Tuesday.”
You can watch the full episode of this week’s IMPACT! on AXS TV here:
Tuesday’s Impact Wrestling drew all-time high viewership on AXS TV thanks to an historic appearance by AEW World Champion Kenny Omega.
The 12/8 episode of Impact on AXS TV averaged 221,000 viewers and did a 0.08 rating in the Adults 18-49 demographic to rank 96th on cable for the night.
Last week, Impact on AXS averaged 166,000 viewers and a 0.05 rating and ranked 121st.
The television viewership was strong, but that was not the only indication that wrestling fans are interested in the inter-promotional storyline. The live stream on Twitch peaked at over 55,000 viewers. This is more than 10x the typical audience and double the previous record. #IMPACTonAXSTV was the top trend on Twitter for the night.
AEW on screen coach and former WWE agent Arn Anderson recently discussed IMPACT Wrestling and other promotions outside of AEW.
AEW and IMPACT have now developed a working relationship that has seen AEW Champion Kenny Omega already appear on the AXS TV IMPACT programme. Anderson would however reveal on the ARN podcast this week that he doesn’t watch wrestling outside of what happens in AEW.
Arn Anderson on AEW ‘Being Different’
“I don’t watch a lot of wrestling” Arn Anderson began. “When I’m off? I try to concentrate on just our [AEW] product, on our product alone, without getting so many outside influences. Because we want to be different in AEW, we want to be different than everybody else.”
Anderson would elaborate further, saying how he wants to impart knowledge to talent but not in a way that belies their own personality. “I want to hand my stuff to the right guy, to where it enhances his character. I don’t want it to be ‘well, all that’s Arn Anderson’s influence on the guy’ you know? It should be things that help them without being so obvious that is something that I showed him.”
Anderson would finish by re-iterating that he doesn’t watch much pro wrestling outside of the AEW bubble. However Arn would state that he believes IMPACT have some really talented individuals. “So, I don’t watch a lot of wrestling I’m sorry to say. I’m sure they’ve [IMPACT] got some tremendous talent working there.”
Are there any IMPACT talents you’d like to see Arn Anderson’s talent Cody Rhodes face? Let us know in the comments
