This week's episode of IMPACT Wrestling helped fill out the rest of Under Siege. We still needed three more participants for the six-way number one contender's match for Kenny Omega's IMPACT Wrestling World Championship. However, we also saw a few title matches set up for the event as well, including the IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Titles.
This week saw the debut of another NJPW talent, as Bullet Club's El Phantasmo kicked off his career in the X-Division. All that and more on this week's edition of IMPACT Wrestling.
Jake Something picked up a big win over Shera on Before The IMPACT.
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
We kicked the night off with a qualifier for the six-way #1 contender's match at Under Seige. Two former world champions faced off for the right to battle IMPACT Wrestling World Champion Kenny Omega.
IMPACT Wrestling Under Siege Six-Man Qualifier: Chris Sabin w/James Storm vs. Rhino w/Violent By Design
These former world champions kicked off IMPACT Wrestling, hoping to earn a shot at becoming the #1 contender for Kenny Omega. Chris Sabin sent Rhino to the floor with a dropkick, forcing him to slow things down and work on a game plan. Whatever he thought of immediately left his head when Sabin battered him with a series of strikes.
Deaner tripped up Sabin, though, allowing Rhino to take over. IMPACT Wrestling's War Machine tore apart Sabin for some time but was caught with an inverted atomic drop. A few kicks took Rhino to the floor, where he was met by Chris Sabin's flying crossbody.
Rhino responded with a superplex that nearly put Sabin down for good. The multi-time IMPACT Wrestling X-Division Champion kicked out and avoided The Gore. A dropkick to the knees set up for the magistral cradle.
Results: Chris Sabin defeated Rhino via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: C+
Backstage, Brian Myers was upset about losing to Matt Cardona last week. He ran into Rosemary, who offered a little clarity to his situation.
After being mowed down by Black Taurus, Myers was given a Tarot card.
IMPACT Wrestling and AEW World Champion Kenny Omega was with Don Callis and The Good Brothers backstage. Callis was upset that the former IMPACT Wrestling Tag Champions failed to regain the belts at Rebellion. Omega had a plan, though, as he was going to coach The Good Brothers. After all, he used to coach girls high school basketball.
Susan w/Kimber Lee vs. Taylor Wilde on IMPACT Wrestling
Taylor Wilde took Susan down with a corner step-up arm drag. The legendary Knockout struggled, though, when Deonna Purrazzo's other lackey, Kimber Lee, choked her out in the ropes.
Wilde dropped the former IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Champ with a German suplex that launched her to the floor. Susan was then hit with a dive off the apron. When Kimber tried to get involved again, Kaleb with a K made the save. With the ref distracted, Tenille Dashwood dropped Susan with a neckbreaker in the ropes, allowing Wilde to hit the German for the win.
Results: Taylor Wilde defeated Susan via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: C
IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo was backstage with Gia Miller. The Virtuosa was soon surrounded by former champs Rosemary and Havok, who both called her a coward.
Purrazzo vowed that she'd go see Scott D'Amore and the winner of a match between these two terrifying knockouts would get a shot at the gold.
IMPACT Wrestling Under Seige Six-Man Qualifier: Rohit Raju w/Shera vs. Trey Miguel
The former IMPACT Wrestling X-Division Champion already saw his muscle, Shera, fall earlier in the night to Jake Something on BTI. Now, Rohit Raju hoped to turn their luck around in a match with one of the most exciting stars IMPACT Wrestling had to offer.
Rohit was taken to the floor early but was saved from a follow-up dive by Shera. Back in the ring, Trey Miguel went for repeated takedowns. A series of clotheslines and forearms lit up Raju. Trey hit the inverted atomic drop, but Raju was able to block the northern lights. A discus forearm set up for the swinging reverse STO DDT, but Trey kicked out.
Raju pulled out an old Nigel McGuiness favorite with Divorce Court, severely damaging the left arm. A kick to the knees dropped Rohit on all four, allowing Trey to hit a backflip double stomp. As Trey stood up, Shera was staring him down.
This time, the atomic drop/northern lights combo connected. Trey followed that with a kimura lock but couldn't get the win. The Rascal of IMPACT Wrestling set up for his Meteora, only to be hung up in the ropes with a kick to the inside of the leg. A rope-hanging rolling neckbreaker and Michinoku Driver earned Raju the two-count.
Raju countered Trey's Hourglass with a pinfall attempt. Trey kicked out and blocked Raju's flying boot, locking in his submission for the win.
Results: Trey Miguel defeated Rohit Raju via submission on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: A
Jake Something stormed the ring after the match, laying out Raju and Shera for costing him a shot at the IMPACT Wrestling World Title.
Backstage at Swinger's Palace, the men that had already qualified for the Under Seige bout were talking trash and promising to be the next IMPACT Wrestling World Champion. Trey, Chris Sabin, Chris Bey, Matt Cardona, and one of the contenders later on in the night, James Storm.
Chris Bey tried to tear apart Beer Guns, leading to Storm saying he didn't need Sabin in his corner to beat Moose tonight.
Doc Gallows w/Kenny Omega, Karl Anderson, and Don Callis vs. Juice Robinson w/David Finlay on IMPACT Wrestling
The IMPACT Wrestling Tag Champion took Doc Gallows to the corner, battering the big man and even biting him on the forehead. A big clothesline and cannonball senton left Gallows in a world of hurt.
Juice Robinson rocked Gallows with his punching combination, but a quick uppercut from the Big LG put a stop to it. Gallows sent him to the floor with a big roundhouse. Back in the ring, Gallows slowed things down with a seated headlock. Juice eventually broke away but fell to another nasty boot.
Robinson avoided a big elbow drop and dropped Gallows with a flying dropkick to the knee. A short DDT spiked Gallows for a two-count. The IMPACT Wrestling Tag Champion followed with his punching combination again, this time hitting the full series of strikes. Karl Anderson, Don Callis, and IMPACT World Champ Kenny Omega distracted Juice, allowing Gallows to break away from Juice.
Gallows hit the big leaping boot and sit-out chokebomb for the win.
Results: Doc Gallows defeated Juice Robinson via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: B
After the match, The Elite attacked FinJuice. The champs were momentarily saved by the heart of IMPACT Wrestling, Eddie Edwards. Unfortunately for Eddie, the numbers game was too much, as FinJuice was already down for the count.
VSK vs. El Phantasmo on IMPACT Wrestling
El Phantasmo debuted for IMPACT Wrestling tonight, disrespecting the crew all around ringside, even David Penser!
VSK hit a body slam and leaping splash for a surprising two-count, surprising the Bullet Club member. Phantasmo raked the back and left VSK in the corner for the leaping dropkick. It was a fake, though, as VSK covered his face, allowing Phantasmo to hit a standing taunt on VSK's...down under.
Phantasmo nearly got beat on his IMPACT Wrestling debut with a schoolboy. A running boot and fireman's carry neckbreaker earned VSK another close call. Phantasmo hit a spinning heel kick and followed with the Sudden Death superkick.
Results: El Phantasmo defeated VSK via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: B-
VSK looked great in this loss tonight. IMPACT Wrestling added two great names to their X-Division tonight.
We would learn later in the night that El Phantasmo already earned a chance to face X-Division Champion Josh Alexander. Next week, he'll compete in a scramble, facing Ace Austin, Petey Williams, TJP, Rohit Raju, and Acey Romero. Could El Phantasmo find himself challenging for gold in his first month with IMPACT Wrestling?
Kiera Hogan w/Tasha Steelz vs. Rachael Ellering w/Jordynne Grace on IMPACT Wrestling
At IMPACT Wrestling Rebellion, Rachael Ellering debuted and quickly captured gold. Every day that Ellering has been in the company, she's been a champion. Tonight, she went toe-to-toe with former IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Champion Kiera Hogan.
Hogan bounced Ellering's face off of different corners, placing kicks in the side of the champ in between each corner. Hogan pelted Ellering with a series of strikes and hit a flying facebuster for a one-count. Ellering finally revved up in this one, hitting a series of clotheslines and back elbows to set up for a running senton. Hogan barely kicked out.
Tasha Steelz saved her partner in the corner, shoving her out of the way of a big splash. Hogan hit the running hip attack and her incredible running dropkick in the corner for a two-count. As Hogan ran in for a big strike, she was caught by Ellering. The IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Champion drove Hogan nearly through the mat with the Bosswoman Slam.
Results: Rachael Ellering defeated Kiera Hogan via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: B+
Don Callis ran into Moose backstage, who was preparing for his IMPACT Wrestling main event match. Callis tried to sweeten up Moose to keep him away from The Best Bout Machine. Callis knew that someone like Moose would spell doom for Omega.
Moose shut down all of Callis's comments and promised to send a serious message to the champ.
The IMPACT Wrestling Knockouts Tag Champs ran into Fire 'N Flava backstage, with Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan calling Jordynne Grace a non-factor. They believed that Rachael Ellering was the true star and the only one responsible for Fire 'N Flava losing the gold.
Next week on IMPACT Wrestling, we'll see Jordynne Grace face off against Tasha Steelz for the first time.
IMPACT Wrestling Under Seige Six-Man Qualifier: Moose vs. James Storm
Mr. IMPACT Wrestling stepped up to James Storm just as the bell rang, grabbing him by the throat. Storm broke away but couldn't bring the five-tool athlete off his feet. Storm and Moose traded shots, but Storm felt the worst of it with a big boot to the jaw.
Storm sent Moose over the ropes, though, and followed with a wrecking ball dropkick that shot Moose into the barricade. During the break, Storm kept up the pressure, and the former IMPACT Wrestling World Champion leveled Moose with a big clothesline. Moose countered a step-up enzuigiri over the ropes, responding with a dragon screw that severely damaged Storm's right knee.
Moose worked over the leg, leaving The Cowboy of IMPACT Wrestling with a bad wheel and struggling to get to his feet. Storm's knee was hung up in the ropes for Moose to hit with a series of dropkicks. After that, an outside toe hold saw Storm writhing in absolute agony, but because Moose used the ropes for torque, he was forced to break the hold.
Storm was dragged to the middle of the ring for more punishment. Storm made it to the corner and dodged a running shoulder tackle, dazing Moose. The Cowboy lit up Moose with big right hands, following with a Thesz Press and more rights. Hobbling on one leg, Storm hit the Closing Time Codebreaker, but it further damaged his leg.
Moose was spiked with a tornado DDT but kicked out at two. A chop block to the leg turned Storm inside out, and Moose followed up with a single leg Boston Crab. Storm broke away and looked to finish Moose with the Eye of the Storm. However, his leg gave out.
Moose went for Lights Out, but Storm blocked with a knee. The Last Call superkick rocked Moose. Unfortunately for Storm, he fell to the wrong side of the ring and couldn't stand back on his own two feet. The damage was so severe that the ref nearly called for the bell.
It wasn't needed, though, as Moose hit the Lights Out for the win.
Results: Moose defeated James Storm via pinfall on IMPACT Wrestling.
Grade: A-
After the match, Moose wrapped a chair around the ankle of James Storm, stomping on it and sending a message to Kenny Omega and the men he'd have to run through at Under Seige to get to Omega.