Impact Wrestling Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction and Highlights from October 27

The action in Impact Wrestling's Knockouts division is as hot as it has been in quite some time, thanks in large part to a wealth of credible competitors all gunning for a shot at Jordynne Grace's Knockouts Championship.

Thursday night, The Juggernaut teamed with Taylor Wilde and Mickie James to battle Deonna Purrazzo, Chelsea Green and "The Quintessential Diva" Gisele Shaw.

That blockbuster encounter headlined an episode that also saw the latest in the X-Division tournament and Alex Shelley vs. Matt Cardona in an impromptu showdown.

For the first time ever, Trey Miguel and Alan Angels locked horns to kick off Thursday's broadcast in an X-Division Tournament match.

A contest between the proven Miguel and former All Elite Wrestling star Angels set the tone for the rest of the show via strong in-ring action. The talent was undeniable but they still had to deliver the goods or else the show would get off to an underwhelming start.

That was not the case, though, as Angels showed renewed aggression and intensity while Miguel was his usual resilient self, overcoming a focused attack to score a hard-fought win.

Angels probably would have made for a fresher tournament with new matchups, but Miguel is one of the best in the business right now and putting him in a position to make a difference in a tournament that will shape the X-Division for the foreseeable future is the right call.

Result

Miguel defeated Angels

Grade

B+

Top Moments

• The commentary team put over the aggression of Angels and what he feels is a shot at vindication.
• Angels kicked out of the Meteora at the count of two in what was a really strong near-fall spot.
• A backstage confrontation between Bullet Club, Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer concluded with Chris Bey challenging Dreamer for a match later in the show.

Tasha Steelz returned to the squared circle Thursday to battle Rachelle Scheel.

The match was one-sided and short, with The Boricua Badass dominating the action. Dismayed that she was even in a position to face someone so many steps down, Steelz called on Savannah Evans to punish her.

She did and the heels left the newcomer lying to close out the segment.

This was a brief, effective segment that reintroduced Steelz and Evans as a force in a Knockouts division that feels like it has passed them by.

Steelz looked like a star, Evans like an enforcer, and poor Scheel took a solid beating.

Result

Scheel defeated Steelz via disqualification

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• Evans established herself as an unstoppable force with her beatdown of Scheel.
• Scott D'Amore interrupted a verbal encounter between the Motor City Machine Guns and Matt Cardona and Brian Myers. The segment gave way to Alex Shelley vs. Cardona for later in the show.

The mystery of who laid out Bullet Club's Ace Austin a week ago hung over the night like a dark cloud, and a backstage confrontation between Austin, Chris Bey, Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer gave way to a one-on-one showdown between The Ultimate Finesser and Dreamer.

What was a solid match between one of the brightest young wrestling stars on national television and a respected 33-year veteran ended with the further muddying of the waters around Ray.

Is the Call Your Shot winner really behind Bullet Club's misfortunes or did Moose play a role in laying out Austin a week ago?

It's a question that bears watching moving forward as Impact continues to do a solid job of creating questions about Ray's motivations. On this night, the ringside distraction cost Dreamer the win as Bey scored the hard-fought victory.

Result

Bey pinned Dreamer

Grade

C

Top Moments

• Moose's appearance was a great play on the insistence by Ray that he did not attack Austin a week ago and that it was, in fact, the former world champion.

The result of an earlier backstage confrontation between Motor City Machine Guns and The Major Players, Alex Shelley vs. Matt Cardona was next up on a packed slate. Chris Sabin and Brian Myers accompanied their respective teammates.

What resulted was a wild, chaotic match that will never be confused for a mat classic but was immensely entertaining and saw The Major Players cheat like hell in pursuit of victory.

It worked as Cardona stole the win but immediately paid for it, courtesy of Impact tag team champions Heath and Rhino.

The match was anything but a typically great outing from Shelley, but it was never meant to be a classic. It was sports entertainment at its best and built heat for what appears destined to be a three-way dance for the tag titles.

If that is the case, this worked well and built heat for a match type that is always a tough sell.

Result

Cardona defeated Shelley

Grade

B-

Top Moments

• Myers tripped up Shelley at ringside to set up his partner to control the match.
  
• Matthew Rehwoldt put over the aggression of Cardona on commentary.
• Sabin and Myers interfered, but only in a way that did not draw a disqualification.
• Cardona delivered Radio Silence but was unable to score the win.
• Shelley delivered a DDT via the Digital Media Championship, but Cardona stayed in the fight.
• "Everyone in this match broke the rules at some point," Rehwoldt said of the chicanery that happened throughout.

Joe Hendry rolled to another victory with a singles win over Raj Singh.

The mostly uncompetitive bout was little more than a showcase for the motivational speaker character that is surprisingly over with audiences.

Hendry can sing, has a handle on what his in-ring persona is meant to be, and the crowd—ahem—believes in him. It works.

And while there is a ceiling on how far up the ladder the character can realistically go, the Scot is beyond fun and can carve a niche for himself in Impact.

Result

Hendry defeated Singh

Grade

C

Top Moments

• Hendry downed Singh, sang his theme song and patted him on his head in time with the tune.
• In a pretaped promo, Eddie Edwards told Gia Miller he blames PCO for ruining Honor No More.

There was almost a desperation on the part of Deonna Purrazzo, Chelsea Green and Gisele Shaw to defeat Knockouts champion Jordynne Grace, Taylor Wilde and Mickie James and send the latter into retirement in the process.

VXT and Shaw would prove unsuccessful, despite a concentrated attack that saw them down and cut the ring off from the experienced James in the process.

Still, Hardcore Country mounted a comeback and tagged Wilde into the match. The babyfaces rolled until they didn't, but it didn't matter. Overcoming one last-ditch effort by VXT and Shaw to secure the win and send James packing, the babyfaces scored the win, with the veteran earning the fall for her team.

An action-packed contest, this showcased the idea that anyone can beat James anywhere and a single misstep can prove costly. Here, though, she overcame the onslaught and preserved her in-ring career.

Kudos to Shaw, who continues to look like a breakout star in waiting and the face of the Knockouts division of the future.

Result

James, Wilde and Grace defeated VXT and Shaw

Grade

B+

Top Moments

• Rehwoldt stayed true to his character, coming to the aid of Purrazzo when Mike Hannifan insulted her.
• The babyfaces cleared the heels from the squared circle entering the final break of the night, seizing the upper hand. 
• Hannifan, arguably the most underrated commentator in wrestling, put over the sense of urgency for James, whose career depended on her not losing.
• The heels isolated the veteran and beat her down, putting the future Hall of Famer on the defensive repeatedly, forcing her to not only expend energy but putting the emphasis on her to defend her own career.