Impact Wrestling Results: Winners, Grades, and Reaction from April 29

On the heels of a historic Rebellion pay-per-view that saw Kenny Omega defeat Rich Swann to become the company's new world champion, Impact Wrestling hit the AXS TV airwaves with a cloud of uncertainty hanging overhead.

What would the new Impact look like with Omega at the helm? What influence would The Cleaner have on the product?

Would Swann attempt to follow up his disappointing loss by trying to remain in the title picture?

How did the stars of Impact respond after their own victories and defeats elsewhere on the Rebellion card?

The answers to those questions awaited fans on the Thursday's broadcast.

Impact Wrestling kicked off with the roster outside of Scott D'Amore's office, literally banging on the door for a title opportunity. The executive vice president of Impact sent them to the ring for a special announcement.

Don Callis emerged from the office next and insinuated that Kenny Omega would be joining the broadcast via Zoom. D'Amore reminded his business partner that if Omega failed to appear, he would be stripped of the Impact title and a suspension from both Impact and All Elite Wrestling.

After the intro, D'Amore stood in the center of the ring, surrounded by the roster.

The EVP announced a Six-Way match at Under Siege on May 15 to determine the next contender to Omega's title. Ahead of the event, there will be six qualifying matches to determine the participants in that match.

D'Amore ordered Jake Something into the ring, talked him up and revealed his opponent: the returning Chris Bey.

           

Grade

A

           

Analysis

The opening segment of the show set the stakes for the next few weeks of television and gave the viewers at home exactly what they can expect from the stars in Impact. Everyone will be vying for a championship opportunity.

It created intrigue, left fans guessing as to who will be competing and teased the idea that Omega's title reign might be short-lived.

A great start to the show.

With more on the line for either competitor than there has been in recent memory, Bey and Something traded blows early in Thursday's opening match.

Bey was in control, setting the pace and wearing down Something, but the bigger competitor fought back and flattened the former X-Division champion with a mighty powerbomb. Bey recovered and answered with a sunset flip bomb for a near-fall of his own.

The Ultimate Finesser tried for a springboard cutter, but Something caught him. Bey countered into a rollup for two. Something kicked out and turned his opponent inside out with a clothesline. Bey rolled under the ropes to catch a breather, halting Jake's momentum.

Rohit Raju interfered from ringside, grabbing hold of Something's ankle. Bey capitalized on the distraction, scoring the rollup victory.

            

Result

Bey defeated Something.

         

Grade

C+

            

Analysis

This was a good, energetic match to open the show.

There was not a ton of flow as both men tried to show off their arsenals in a rather compact window. But it was not sloppy, and both performers had an appropriate amount of time to showcase their styles.

Raju's involvement was interesting in that it would seem to suggest the feud between The Mocha-Skinned Manimal, his muscle, Shera, and Something will continue into the coming weeks. Given the top of the card is fairly packed, there are far worse ways to utilize the talent in question.

Good for the underrated Bey for earning his way to a huge live event special on May 15.

Young competitor Sam Beale battled W. Morrissey, fresh off a red-hot debut at Rebellion, for which he earned considerable buzz for his dominant performance.

The newcomer cut a promo on the "very bad people" in the wrestling industry and said the only difference between him and them is he's not afraid to admit it.

Morrissey jumped Beale from the get-go, pummeling and punishing the babyface with his raw power and ferocity.

He ended his opponent's suffering with a powerbomb for the uncontested pinfall victory.

            

Result

Morrissey defeated Beale.

         

Grade

A

                 

Analysis

Two performances in, and it is impossible not to think that Morrissey is already one of the biggest things in Impact Wrestling.

He knows how to carry himself from his days in WWE, and Impact has done an extraordinary job of presenting him as a huge addition to the roster. That he has been booked so dominantly, tearing through the competition, only helps to strengthen his on-screen persona.

Whether you remember him as Big Cass or you accept him with this new W. Morrissey moniker, there is no denying that his star is burning bright.

For the first time in 10 years, Taylor Wilde competed inside an Impact Wrestling ring, coming out of retirement to square off with Kimber Lee in singles competition. Susan accompanied Lee while Knockouts champion Deonna Purrazzo opted to remain in the locker-room area for the match.

The ultra-aggressive Lee attacked Wilde from the bell, but the Torontonian wasted little time answering, dropping Lee with a dropkick. She looked for a submission, but Lee countered and targeted her opponent's right leg.

Back from the break, Lee continued her attack, stomping away at Wilde in the corner. Every time the returning Knockout attempted to fight back, Lee grounded her and focused her assault on the back, including a camel clutch. Susan interfered at one point, adding insult to injury.

Wilde finally fought her way back into the match, trading blows with Lee before rocking her with clotheslines and a headscissors takedown. Lee halted her momentum and teased a swanton. Wilde got the knees up, trapped Lee in a leg lock and scored the submission victory.

Susan jumped Wilde after the match, but the veteran fought her off. Tenille Dashwood made the save and attempted to woo Wilde into being her tag team partner. They stood tall to close out the segment.

            

Result

Wilde defeated Lee.

          

Grade

C+

           

Analysis

Wilde looked like she hadn't missed a day of ring time. She was quick, fluid and laid into every one of her shots. There was little in the way of ring rust, a true feat given the fact that it had been 10 years since she last wrestled a match.

Lee might be the most solid, understated women's wrestler in any company. She's so good and rarely misses a beat, but she's yet to get anything resembling a push. It is unfortunate because she is a talented performer who should have the opportunity to prove what she is capable of in something higher-profile.

For now, the direction is clearly Wilde vs. Purrazzo, with the added element of Dashwood. Given the talent of those performers, that is hardly a bad thing and may be the emphasis for the next great generation of Knockouts wrestling.

New X-Division champion Josh Alexander battled former titleholder Ace Austin with the gold on the line in the night's next match.

Alexander took the fight to the mat early, trying to out-wrestle The Inevitable. He did, momentarily, but Austin recovered and rocked The Walking Weapon. He worked his opponent's arm, even taking the time to produce a playing card and deliver a papercut between the fingers.

Austin tried for a springboard kick but Alexander caught him and delivered the Chaos Theory suplex.

Both men made it to their feet, only for Austin to uncork some strikes that stunned his opponent. Alexander recovered and scored a near-fall. He caught Austin mid-kick and applied the ankle lock. Austin used his educated feet to break the hold. Austin crumbled Alexander with another kick for a very close near-fall. 

Alexander rocked Austin with a hard right hand, traded counters and strikes with him on the ring apron and then caught the former champion and drove him on to the apron. Alexander used Madman Fulton's momentum against him at ringside, sending him into the ring steps.

With the odds evened, the fight returned to the ring.

Austin rocked his opponent with a big kick and scored an aerial assault for two. Alexander fought back, through a damaged knee and scored the win with an ankle lock.

                    

Result

Alexander defeated Austin to retain.

                

Grade

B+

                  

Analysis

This felt like a pay-per-view match, and the performers delivered.

Alexander and Austin have strong in-ring chemistry, and it was on display here. Were there moments that got a bit too overcomplicated for their own good? Sure, but that can be said about a lot of pro wrestling these days. The overly cutesy moments did not derail what was a good, physical wrestling match between two guys who knew what the other was thinking and worked to counter it.

Ultimately, The Walking Weapon earned the win, but Austin lost nothing in defeat. He proved a championship-worthy competitor and remains one of the brightest young stars in any company. He will move on to bigger and better things, for sure, but this was all about establishing Alexander as the undisputed face of the division.

After a tainted win over Matt Cardona at Rebellion, Brian Myers battled his podcast partner and former friend in a qualifying match for the Under Siege pay-per-view.

Still fuming because of the events of Sunday's show, Cardona took the fight to his former tag partner, delivering a side Russian leg sweep into the guardrail. Cardona pummeled his opponent, but Myers targeted the ailing left knee of The Long Island Broski, sending the joint into the steel stairs and seizing control of the bout.

Back from the commercial, Myers continued to control the match, unapologetically targeting the knee as Cardona writhed in pain.

Myers attempted to wrap his opponent's knee around the ring post, but Cardona pulled him into the stanchion. Cardona attempted a comeback, but Myers delivered a chop block to the back of the knee. Cardona recovered and delivered the Sky High but could not shift his weight enough to earn the fall.

Cardona tried to drag his opponent into the center of the ring, but the heel held on to the apron and kicked the knee out from under the babyface. Myers set up for the roster cut, but Cardona delivered Radio Silence out of nowhere for the gritty, come-from-behind victory.

          

Result

Cardona defeated Myers.

         

Grade

B

         

Analysis

Like their match at Rebellion, this was another smartly wrestled contest that put over the characters involved.

Myers was the cerebral and opportunistic heel who wasted no opportunity to target his opponent's knee. Cardona was the double-tough babyface who fought through pain to achieve revenge and cash his ticket to Under Siege. It was a great bit of storytelling and the appropriate outcome given the match that preceded it at Rebellion.

Hopefully this is not the end of Myers' push because he has been sneaky good since arriving in the promotion in 2020.

The final Under Siege qualifier of the night saw hated rivals wage war, as Eddie Edwards battled Sami Callihan. Commentator D'Lo Brown compared the lengthy rivalry between the two to that of Batman and The Joker, setting the stage for the latest entry in their feud.

Edwards thwarted an early offensive by The Draw, wiping him out with a tope suicida heading into the commercial break.

Callihan recovered and wore down Edwards following the timeout. He worked his opponent's face, head and neck, driving his forearm into the nose. The former world champion fought back into the match with some hard rights and answered a chop with one of his own.

As the action escalated, Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers and Don Callis hit the ring. They attacked both Edwards and Callihan, ending the match as a no-contest.

FinJuice hit the ring to attempt a save but fell victim to a beatdown by the heels.

Callis told Impact to enjoy their new champion, who stood side-by-side with his cohorts to close out the show as Matt Striker said "Impact is in trouble."

            

Result

No-contest.

           

Grade

C

          

Analysis

Edwards and Callihan can have a quality match with their eyes closed. This particular contest, though, was handcuffed by the inevitable run-in and a rather mediocre show-closing angle.

Yes, it established the threat of Omega and Co. to Impact as an organization, and it created drama, but it still fell flat given the otherwise strong nature of the show.

What will be of the utmost interest on the next episode is the debut of El Phantasma, the New Japan Pro-Wrestling star and Bullet Club member whose arrival was announced by way of a video package prior to the main event.

Does he go the predictable route and align himself with Omega and The Good Brothers, side with FinJuice or stay neutral?

Either way, intrigue is high. Hopefully, next week's main event angle lands better than this one did.