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IMPACT Wrestling is rolling toward Multiverse United 2, with NJPW's top stars squaring off against the best IMPACT has to offer. Before we get to that August 20 event, we've got a few episodes of TV to cover.
This week, we saw Kenny King defending the Digital Media Championship in a fantastic three-way bout against former champion Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura. New Knockouts World Champion Trinity teamed with her rival Deonna Purrazzo against former Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Coven.
All that plus the start of a four-way tag team tournament and an explanation of how Eric Young survived the brutal stabbing from Deaner last year. We'll get into it all right now, starting with the monstrous Jake Something.
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#5. Jake Something continues to shatter opponents
Jake Something returned to IMPACT Wrestling at Slammiversary last month and has been on a roll since returning. The beast of a man left the company last year to focus on his craft, to become "Something More." He achieved just that and looked primed to be the major player fans were hoping he could be.
This week, Jake Something faced Davey Vega, who tried to get into his opponent's head by kicking away the handshake. Not a great idea, as he learned quickly. Vega tried to wrap his arms around Big Jake for a headlock but was easily launched high in the air.
Jake has definitely worked on his power game and spent most of this very short match tossing his opponent around like a ragdoll. The 260lb monstrosity nearly took Vega's head off with a forearm before flattening him with a body splash and finally bringing him Into the Void for yet another dominant victory.
Keep your eyes on Jake Something. That Void is going to swallow some gold sooner rather than later, and everyone is on notice.
#4. The Resurrection of Eric Young
That is not dead, which can eternal lie, and with strange eons, even Eric Young may survive a very brutal stabbing. Back in December, Deaner supposedly stabbed the former IMPACT Wrestling World Champion to death. After all, death is as consequential in IMPACT as it is in Dragon Ball Z.
According to EY, though, that's not exactly what went down. It was only a vision of Deaner's own Design. That's right, despite that brutal and gory, mostly off-screen shanking in the video above, Eric Young didn't die that night.
He promised unseen footage, hoping to clear up any confusion about his untimely demise, and he delivered on that promise. Turns out, Deaner's not good at the whole "murder" thing. EY wasn't brought back to life by evil magic like those in the Rosemary storyline.
At the very end of this week's episode, we saw footage after Young's supposed "death." The former leader of The Design survived the stabbing before driving off on a motorcycle.
"Life. Death. Total opposites, but one can't exist without the other. What is it to die? What is it to live? Can you die if you never truly lived? Is death final, and why are we so scared of it? Is it because in the end death truly is the unknown? Death is inevitable. It's the ending, the final. The curtain call. The last thing any of us will know," said Young.
Eric Young stated that an idea is eternal and can live forever. That's what EY is, and he plans on living forever. Whatever that means, we know that it spells disaster for Deaner in the coming months.
#3. Kenny King survives in latest title defense
Kenny King did what former world champions like Moose and Eddie Edwards failed to do. At Slammiversary, King defeated Hendry for the IMPACT Wrestling Digital Media Championship.
This Triple Threat match was announced after losing a tag team match on Before the IMPACT last week to Hendry and Uemura. This would also count as Hendry's contractual rematch for the gold.
Kenny King's in the middle of his third run with the promotion, and at the age of 42 is still moving like he's in his 20s. King and Uemura had some great back-and-forth moments here, hopefully leaving fans excited for a proper one-on-one for the gold soon.
Uemura's been a fun star for the promotion over the past year, and it's beginning to feel like his time.
That time wasn't this match, though. After tossing Uemura into Hendry, Kenny planted him with the Royal Flush to retain in an exciting, if quick, eight-minute bout.
#2. Trinity's first loss in IMPACT Wrestling
After an intense four months and a Knockouts World Championship to show for it, Trinity has suffered her first loss in IMPACT Wrestling. She may not have been the one pinned, but a loss is a loss, and a victory over Deonna Purrazzo and Trinity means quite a bit for The Coven.
The IMPACT Wrestling faithful have certainly felt the glow as Trinity returned to Chicago this week, where she debuted for the promotion in April. She opened the show this week, only to be cut off by former champion Purrazzo, leading to a match with the Coven.
The Coven has been one of many bright spots in the Knockouts Division this year, with veteran Taylor Wilde leading KiLynnKing to much success since joining forces in March. Despite losing the Knockouts Tag Titles to MK Ultra, Wilde and King have had a strong 2023 with big victories over top names. Tonight was no different.
King managed to escape Purrazzo's Fujiwara Armbar late in the match, dropping the Virtuosa with a gutbuster/DDT combo and nearly getting a pinfall.
Unfortunately for Trinity and Purrazzo, the name of the game in this contest was teamwork. While The Coven is a well-oiled machine in the ring, the other team had several kinks to work out.
Wilde ducked a kick from Trinity near the end that caught Purrazzo. After disposing of Trinity, The Coven won when King planted Purazzo with the King's Curse. What does this loss mean for Trinity and Purrazzo going forward? Could KiLynn King be in line for gold in the near future?
#1. The Rascalz advance in the tag team tournament
The Rascalz faced Speedball Mike Bailey and Jonathan Gresham in the opening round of a four-team tournament. The winners will move on to face Subculture for the IMPACT Wrestling Tag Team Titles.
The Rascalz was a beloved trio years ago, but never captured tag gold before Zachary Wentz and Desmond Xavier went to NXT...where they became two-time NXT Tag Team Champions.
Since Wentz's return, he and Trey Miguel have had their eyes on the prize, despite getting on the bad side of IMPACT Wrestling President Scott D'Amore. Their opponents, rivals turned team Speedball and Gresham, served as a perfect team for the dastardy Rascalz.
Gresh and Speedball's hard-hitting and technical style seemed to have the match won by the end. Wentz was left on the floor after a devastating kick and dive from Speedball. However, he was able to toss in a can of spray paint before being removed from the equation, giving Trey a chance to strike.
After blinding Gresham, Trey rolled him up and grabbed the tights to secure the win. The Rascalz advanced and will face the winners of oVe and Bullet Club's ABC.
With yet another aggravating loss, Gresham may be on the verge of snapping. The question is, will Speedball join him?
