Impact Wrestling Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from April 15

The march to Rebellion on April 25 continued Thursday night as Impact Wrestling continued to build the matches and stars that will be highlighted on the pay-per-view.

Headlined by a press conference featuring All Elite Wrestling world champion Kenny Omega and Impact titleholder Rich Swann, the show also featured Jazz's retirement address and two Pick Your Poison matches involving friends-turned-rivals Matt Cardona and Brian Myers.

Who earned momentum and who took a step back ahead of next weekend's spectacular?

Find out now with this recap of the April 15 episode.

The top two contenders to the X-Division Championship squared off in Thursday's opening contest, as Josh Alexander and TJP battled in singles competition.

TJP matched his opponent's mat-based technique, targeting Alexander's arm via submission. Alexander fought out but again found himself trapped in an abdominal stretch. The former tag team champion fought out of the hold and downed TJP with an Electric Chair before seeking the ankle lock. TJP escaped.

After rocking TJP on the floor, Alexander fireman-carried him to the top rope. TJP escaped, ran the ropes and brought his opponent down with a superplex. From there, he transitioned into the octopus submission, only for The Walking Weapon to counter into the ankle lock.

TJP countered out and into an armbar. Alexander countered that into another ankle lock. The Canadian fed the former X-Division champion his leg, but TJP delivered a side suplex. He tried for the Mamba Splash, but Alexander caught him in the ankle lock.

More reversals and counters gave way to Alexander delivering Divine Intervention for the pinfall victory.

        

Result

Alexander defeated TJP

        

Grade

B+

       

Analysis

Alexander and TJP tore the house down in a preview of Rebellion's Triple Threat match for the X-Division Championship, delivering a clinic full of reversals and counters. Everything one man threw at the other, his opponent escaped and answered.

They demonstrated some solid in-ring chemistry two months ago when they met for the title on Impact, but this exceeded even that. This was a superb match and a taste of what a series between them would entail.

The likelihood they could have that match every time out and still maintain the acclaim is low because fans will demand connection and impact eventually.

Still, for all of the high-flying, mind-blowing spots we see elsewhere, it was nice to see a match that concentrated on mat work and intricate escapes from signature moves between two of the company's better wrestlers.

The Good Brothers' Karl Anderson, accompanied by Doc Gallows, battled Decay's Crazzy Steve, who was accompanied by Rosemary and Black Taurus.

Anderson, the competitor pinned in last week's six-man tag team main event, sought to regain momentum with a victory.

Machine Gun dominated the action coming out of the break, wearing Steve down and working a headlock. The former circus clown fought his way back into the match and rolled late until Gallows provided a distraction by verbally sparring with Rosemary on the floor.

Anderson took advantage of the situation and delivered his trademark spinebuster to pick up the win.

        

Result

Anderson defeated Steve

            

Grade

C

          

Analysis

The majority of this match took place during the break, leaving Steve's comeback and Anderson's win for the post-commercial portion. What we saw was perfectly acceptable wrestling, if nothing else, and a win that allows Anderson to get back on track after last week's loss.

With FinJuice in Japan, The Good Brothers have been otherwise occupied with Decay in a little television program, and the result has been fairly one-sided. And justifiably so. Anderson and Gallows are a whole other level than Steve and Black Taurus, and it has shown.

David Finlay and Juice Robinson cannot get back soon enough, so their rivalry with the Good Brothers can be rekindled, even if it is just for one more match on PPV.

Eddie Edwards and Willie Mack were in the ring following the break, and the former Impact Wrestling world champion cut a promo on Eric Young and Violent By Design, taking exception to their attack on Tommy Dreamer at Hardcore Justice.

Young, Rhino, Deaner and Joe Doering made their way into the Impact Zone. Young said that while they would love to take credit for laying Dreamer out, they had nothing to do with it. Edwards dared them to get in the ring and a brawl broke out, complete with “Cowboy” James Storm and Chris Sabin clearing the ring of the heels. 

Storm proposed a big eight-man tag team match between the two sides to close the segment.

         

Grade

C+

           

Analysis

This is the perfect way to utilize talent of this caliber when nothing else is available for them.

Edwards, Storm, Sabin, Rhino and Young are all former world champions who should be involved in something significant. If that isn’t a world title feud, the next-best thing is a star-studded tag match that will not only allow them to shine but also bring along young stars like Doering and Deaner.

Violent By Design has been a solid faction to this point and will benefit if it can manage to score a win over the babyfaces when their encounter finally occurs.

Tenille Dashwood debuted her talk show, All About Me, and addressed her upcoming Knockouts title match against Deonna Purrazzo at Rebellion. She claimed she started the Women's Revolution and will now add championship gold to her resume.

Jazz made her way to the ring for her retirement announcement, fresh off her loss at Hardcore Justice to Knockouts champion Purrazzo.

Jazz thanked Jordynne Grace for calling her up and asking to partner with her. She called Purrazzo the now and future of women's wrestling. The Phenom added a thank you to Impact but had her speech interrupted by Knockouts tag team champions Fire 'N Flava.

Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz both insisted the legend go to the retirement home, especially since she and Grace were not able to beat them for the titles.

A referee appeared and told the champions they have a match, per instruction from Impact co-vice president Scott D'Amore.

The bell rang and the babyfaces attacked the heels. Grace pummeled Steelz, and Jazz followed suit with Hogan, putting her away and scoring the pinfall victory for her team.

After the match, Jazz continued her retirement speech. She thanked the fans for their love and support as the locker room spilled into the Impact Zone. Tommy Dreamer and the rest of the roster expressed their love respect for the future Hall of Famer with a round of applause.

       

Result

Jazz and Grace defeated Hogan and Steelz

          

Grade

A

        

Analysis

Jazz's goodbye was very much like the wrestler herself: understated yet classy.

One of the unsung heroes of the golden age of women's wrestling, she worked with and prepared entire generations of female wrestlers to achieve success. Whether she was bringing a toughness out of Trish Stratus she had never demonstrated before or teaching a crop of indie stars on the job, she was influential beyond her accolades.

Booking her to go over the tag champions and silence their criticisms was a nice touch, as was the Impact roster applauding her goodbye. A great moment that reflected her style: devoid of pomp and circumstance.

Ahead of their match at Rebellion, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers participated in Pick Your Poison matches Thursday.

Cardona picked Myers’ opponent first: Jake Something, who defeated Myers in a hardcore blindfold match Saturday at Hardcore Justice. Myers overcame an early onslaught by his bigger opponent before forcing him to chase him around the ring.

Worn down, Something walked into the Roster Cut by the opportunistic Myers, who scored the win.

After the match, Myers chose Cardona’s opponent: Sami Callihan.

The Draw attacked Cardona following the break, but the Long Island broski delivered Radio Silence. Callihan kicked out.

The physical slugfest of a match intensified as the action spilled to the floor. Callihan delivered an exploder suplex, seizing control of the bout.

Cardona fought back after the commercial break and tried for Radio Silence again, but Callihan caught him and delivered a powerbomb. Cardona recovered and delivered a Frankensteiner from the top rope. The Death Machine, desperate as momentum swung, thumbed his opponent in the eye and put Cardona away with a package piledriver.

After the match, Callihan grabbed a microphone. "Woo woo woo, just took care of that piece of trash. Now onto bigger and better things: Trey Miguel, get your ass out here." Miguel and Callihan expressed his pride in the former Rascal for fighting, taking a stand and demonstrating a level of passion.

Callihan said Miguel’s bad temper is what is going to get him to the next level, especially when he lets The Draw mentor him: "Let's take over!"

When Miguel refused, Callihan revealed he took out Tommy Dreamer at Hardcore Justice, opening up an opportunity for Miguel to appear on the Hardcore Justice card. Miguel unloaded on Callihan, but the heel got the upper hand and rocked Miguel with a clothesline.

The babyface dared Callihan to "Come on!" only to eat a chair shot to the face. Callihan delivered an exclamation point on the attack by way of an exploder onto a chair.

         

Result

Myers defeated Something; Callihan defeated Cardona

        

Grade

A

         

Analysis

Myers outsmarting Something was a great touch, a fantastic display of the cerebral approach he brings to his matches. It was the reflection of a chess player overwhelming his opponent with his intellect.

Cardona and Callihan had a fun contest that was very much the former's best match to date in Impact and indicative of what he can do with the handcuffs off.

The real meat of the segment was Callihan and Miguel’s interaction.

Theirs is, arguably, the best rivalry between two full-time Impact stars in the company. It was only intensified here, with Callihan repeatedly taking credit for Miguel’s advancements and evolution as a competitor and man.

Their eventual one-on-one encounter is going to be one of the best matches on the Rebellion pay-per-view and a star-making performance for Miguel, and Impact will be better for it.

The press conference between AEW world champion Kenny Omega and Impact Wrestling world champion Rich Swann saw the competitors set the stage for their historic clash at Rebellion.

Impact co-executive vice president Don Callis cut another in a line of strong promos before turning over the mic to The Cleaner. 

Omega, ever the condescending and egocentric champion, said he could not promise that anyone would remember Swann after their match.

Swann was unwilling to exchange words with Omega any further, and he instead launched into fisticuffs that brought the brief press conference to an abrupt end and closed out the show.

        

Grade

A

        

Analysis

Omega and Callis have done nothing but talk for the last month, attempting to get into Swann’s head while touting the AEW champion’s impressive resume and destructive One-Winged Angel finisher. Perhaps the Impact champion’s emotional response is evidence of the heels’ success.

Or maybe, Swann’s reaction is evidence that no mind games will work and he is going to take the fight to Omega at Rebellion.

Whatever the case, the segment made the match feel like a big deal while adding more heat via the brawl.

It was the perfect end to a show that did a solid job of building the top feuds ahead of Impact’s upcoming PPV.