Impact Rebellion Results (04/16): Maclin Vs. KUSHIDA, Purrazzo Vs. Grace

Welcome to Wrestling Inc.'s live coverage of Impact Rebellion on April 16, 2023!

For the first time in Impact Wrestling's history, two new world champions are guaranteed to be crowned. In the wake of Josh Alexander's triceps injury, Steve Maclin and KUSHIDA will battle it out to determine who will become Impact World Champion for the first time in their respective careers. Meanwhile, due to Mickie James not being cleared to compete, Jordynne Grace and Deonna Purrazzo will renew their rivalry for the vacant Knockouts World Championship as each woman is looking to claim her third title reign.

Elsewhere on the card, Ace Austin and Chris Bey will defend their Impact World Tag Team Championship against Motor City Machine Guns in a thrilling Ultimate X match. Trey Miguel is tasked with defending his X-Division Championship in a three-way elimination match against Mike Bailey and Jonathan Gresham.

Other gimmick matches booked for the Toronto card include Eddie Edwards and PCO meeting in a Last Rites (aka Casket) match. Tommy Dreamer will lead his team of Frankie Kazarian, Killer Kelly, Yuya Uemura, and Bhupinder Gujjar against Bully Ray, Masha Slamovich, Moose, Brian Myers, and Kenny King in a 10-person Hardcore War match where weapons will be guaranteed.

Santino Marella returns to pay-per-view as he teams with Joe Hendry and Dirty Dango to take on The Design. On the Countdown pre-show, The Death Dollz will challenge The Coven for the Knockouts World Tag Team Championship. Plus, Heath and Rhino will face Champagne Singh and Shera.

Heath & Rhino vs. Champagne Singh & Shera

Singh and Heath start things off as Heath splashes with forearms in the corner. Shera and Rhino meet as Rhino goes for the Gore but he gets tripped by Singh. Rhino eventually clotheslines his way out to make the tag, but Shera knocks Heath off the apron. Shera and Singh take turns working Rhino until Heath gets the hot tag. He tries a roll up on Singh, Shera breaks it. Heath tries to argue with the ref but gets rolled up into the ropes by Singh, who uses the ropes for leverage for the win.

Winners: Champagne Singh & Shera

Rhino gores Singh after and the heels retreat.

Knockouts World Tag Team Championship: The Coven (c) vs. The Death Dollz

Jessicka clotheslines King out of the ring. Rosemary gets her turn at working King until Wilde comes in and dominates. Rosemary gets planted face-first into the turnbuckle. King comes back in with a corner chop. The Coven continues double teaming Rosemary for a bit until Jessicka finally gets the hot tag. Jessicka unloads with elbows and strikes to King. She does a running splash onto King for a nearfall after slamming Wilde. Rosemary spears King for another nearfall. Wilde sneaks in a tag as Rosemary spears Rosemary again. Wilde sneaks in and pins Rosemary for the three to retain.

Winners: The Coven (c)

The PPV kicks off with a video package highlighting the card. We then send it to the ring for the opening Impact World Tag Team Championship match.

MCMG attack first and attempt to scale the poles first. ABC come back with a double team leg sweep and leg drop on Sabin. Shelley distracts the champs as Sabin starts to climb. ABC double dropkicks MCMG out of the ring before doing double dives. Shelley dropkicks Bey's tweaked leg before Sabin does a knee breaker. Ace climbs and shoves Shelley. Sabin chases after and gets pushed as well. Ace climbs the rope but Shelley pulls him down.

Shelley dragonscrews Bey's leg in the ropes as Sabin and Ace work on the outside. Back inside, Sabin climbs as Shelley keeps Bey wrapped up. Ace pulls him down and then stomps on Shelley. ABC double teams Shelley until they get met with a double clothesline. Shelley does a double submission to Sabin can climb. Ace escapes and stops Sabin. Sabin accidentally boots Shelley when Ace dodges. All four men are down for a beat as the crowd breaks out in a chant.

Bey manages to hit a DDT on Shelley. Bey then kicks Sabin in the head and does a one legged moonsault off the ropes. Shelley does a jawbreaker on Bey but gets hit with a dropkick from Ace. Ace hits a Soar to Glory corkscrew out onto MCMG on the outside. Bey starts to climb and Shelley stops. ABC unload with double offense to ground MCMG. Ace gets up to the rope and Sabin chases. Sabin kicks Ace in the spine to get him down. MCMG double team Ace. 

All four men climb up and meet in the middle of the X. Kicks are thrown and all of them drop. Sabin eats two kicks to the head, followed by Shelley. Ace hits The Fold on Shelley. Ace hoists Bey up and Sabin clotheslines Ace. Bey manages to pull both titles down as Sabin was on his tail.

Winners: ABC (c)

Steve Maclin cuts a sit-down promo backstage and says the entire world title situation sucks and he adds that Canada sucks. He references his military background and how he approached his scheduled match with Josh. Maclin promises to win the title tonight.

We pivot to a 4-on-3 handicap tag team match. Joe Hendry cuts a brief promo upon entering the ring. 

Dango starts off by suplexing Angels. Santino tags in and briefly takes Angels down. Santino requests Callihan. Sami comes in but gets arm dragged. The Design quickly corner Santino in the heel corner. Hendry eventually. gets the tag and cleans house by slamming each member of The Design until Angels dropkicks Kon onto Joe. Deaner unloads with punches on Hendry, but the champ returns with a suplex. Dango and Sami get tags. Dango hits a side Russian legsweep and then the dirt bag shuffle.

Kon comes in to stomp on Dango and then delivers several back elbows in the corner. The Design continue beating Dango down until Angels gets struck by Santino from the apron. Santino and Deaner get tags and Santino unloads with strikes and then his signature hip toss. Kon breaks it up but Dango kicks him. Action breaks down as Hendry double fallaway slams Deaner and Angels. Sami cactus drivers Hendry before Dango hits a rolling blockbuster and flips out of the ring.

Inside, Deaner clotheslines Santino and orders Sami to finish him. Deaner stops Sami from doing thumbs up and retrieves Sami's baseball bat from under the ring. Deaner hands the bat over but Sami turns around and strikes Deaner with it twice. Sami takes off with the bat in hand. Santino breaks out The Cobra and strikes Deaner for the win. 

Winners: Santino Marella, Joe Hendry & Dirty Dango

Tommy Dreamer cuts an emotional promo backstage with his team by his side.

We take it back to the ring for the Last Rites match. PCO dives out of the ring onto Eddie right out the gate. They brawl around the outside until the pace slows down in the ring. Eddie splashes in the corner and delivers back elbows. PCO counters with his own splash followed by a DDT. PCO rolls onto Eddie on the apron. PCO then tosses Eddie onto the ramp as the ref opens the casket. Eddie hurts PCO's shoulder before nailing a tiger driver in the ring.

Eddie tosses PCO with a German suplex as the crowd chants "Boston Sucks." PCO pops his shoulder and then trades many chest chops with Eddie. They switch to open-palm strikes across the face before Eddie finally puts his hands up. PCO slaps him around in the corner until Eddie turns it around into a buckle bomb. PCO pops back up with a clothesline and then a reverse DDT. PCOsault connects. Eddie is tossed toward the casket but Eddie rolls off the ramp to avoid it.

PCO decides to flip off the ramp and then returns Eddie to the platform. Eddie jumps off but PCO catches him with a chokeslam onto the ramp. PCO bashes Eddie's head off the casket 10 times. PCO gets kicked off the ramp and onto the floor. They chop each other up to the stage. Eddie pulls out a kendo stick and strikes PCO's head before hitting a suplex. Boston Knee Party connects. Eddie puts PCO in the casket, but PCO's arm and foot prevent it from closing. 

PCO gets up but Alisha runs in and strikes PCO on the back with a shovel. Eddie accidentally super kicks his wife. PCO strikes Eddie with the shovel. Eddie gets chokeslammed into the casket and PCO shuts the lid.

Winner: PCO

All three break out into fast paced action, leading to Trey getting double teamed for a bit. Bailey and Gresham go back to duking it out. Gresham dropkicks Mike out. Trey gets stunned and suplexed. Bailey returns and spikes Gresham into the mat with a reverse rana. Speedball dumps Trey out of the ring. Trey manages to hit a cutter on Mike off the ropes while kicking Gresham in the process. Trey runs up the ramp and launches into the ring with a cutter on Gresham. Bailey gets tied up in a figure four by Gresham. Trey goes up top and hits a meteora on Gresham. Trey covers to eliminate him.

Gresham eliminated

Trey then takes over and applies the figure four on Bailey. They pivot to chest chops while still on the mat. Bailey reaches the bottom rope to break it. Back on their feet, they slowly engage in a chopping war. They then break out in several kicks until Bailey flips Trey over into a nearfall. Bailey hits more kicks to the jaw and does the tornado kick across the ring. He goes up top but doesn't hit Ultimo Weapon. Trey dropkicks him out of the ring.

Trey tries to sunset flip bomb, but Bailey holds onto the ropes so that he can hit a backflip double knees. Back inside, Bailey misses Ultimo Weapon again. Trey hoists him up but Bailey tries a roll up. Trey reverses the roll up and holds the tights for the win.

Winner: Trey Miguel (c)

Moose starts the bout for Team Bully, while Kazarian starts for Team Dreamer. Kaz launches weapons into the ring to kick things off. They spill to the outside where Kaz flips Moose. Back inside, Kaz sends Moose into a trash can lid propped in the corner. Brian Myers enters. Kaz sends Moose crashing onto Myers on the ramp. Moose hits a senton on Kaz while Myers held him down. Myers grabs a table at ringside and now two are set up. They try to suplex Kaz as Gujjar comes out. 

Gujjar unloads with offense on Myers before flapjacking him. Kaz tosses a cheese grater to Gujjar, who uses it on Myers' forehead. Kaz hits Moose with a trash lid. Kenny King enters with his own can lid. King hits a snap dragon suplex on Gujjar. King dropkicks Kaz in the corner. Moose tosses Gujjar out as King sets up another table. Killer Kelly enters and meets King in the ring. King lifts her up but she staple guns his forehead. Myers gets stapled next and then Moose gets stapled in his groin.

Kelly staples her own head to prove she's hardcore before Masha enters. Masha launches a chair into her head and then throws the staple gun. Myers and Kazarian intervene and slam both women with Kelly getting tossed out of the ring. Masha flips off the top rope with a chair in hand. Myers is in the ring as Yuya enters. Yuya unloads with strikes and a corner splash, then a bulldog. Overhead belly to belly connects. The babyfaces collect themselves in the ring in preparation for Bully.

Bully comes out with his own table. His teammates sneak attack from behind in the ring. Kelly gets surrounded by all four men. Moose and King hold her down by her hair as Bully yells at her. Dreamer makes his way out and strikes Myers on the ramp with a kendo. King gets hit and then Moose. Dreamer enters the ring as Bully is holding Kelly hostage. Kelly bites his arm and then Dreamer strikes. Dreamer twists Bully's ankle until Myers gets in. They all lock various holds on each other.

Kelly breaks things up with chair shots. She slams Masha and covers. Bully accidentally gets speared by Moose. Dreamer elbows Moose. Yuya throws a chair at Moose and hits a crossbody from the top. Action breaks down with signature moves from everyone. Kelly locks in King with the clutch but Masha breaks it with a Snow Plow, nearfall. Masha spits in Dreamer's face but he hits her with a piledriver. Good Hands run in and beat Dreamer down.

Kaz throws a ladder in the ring. Gujjar gets thrown through a table. Good Hands grab Kelly but she breaks free and dumps Hotch onto the apron. Kaz cutters Skyler through the double tables on the outside. Bully low blows Dreamer in the ring. Bully goes up the ladder and asks refs to hold the ladder for him. They all refuse before beating him down once he chokes one of them. Dreamer hits a Dreamer Driver, nearfall. The refs hold the ladder as Dreamer climbs up. Dreamer splashes through the table and pins Bully for the win.

Winners: Team Dreamer

Nick Aldis joins the announce desk and announces he is back in Impact.

Kushida goes after Maclin's legs to start. Kushida with a side headlock until Maclin hits a backbreaker for a two count. They battled back and forth on the floor. Maclin nailed an elbow drop off the apron and back inside he gets a two count. Maclin nails a suplex for another two. Kushida hits a springboard back elbow to get an opening. Kushida kicks Maclin's left elbow and then rolls him up. They trade shots but Kushida lands a fisherman buster for a nearfall. Kushida runs up the ramp and kicks the elbow.

Back inside, Maclin hits a German and then a buckle bomb for a nearfall. Kushida hits a heel kick and comes off the top with an arm bar. Maclin reaches the bottom rope to break. They fall out but Maclin hits the Crosshairs spear back inside. Maclin hits KIA for a nearfall. Maclin leaps off the top and Kushida catches him with a hoverboard lock. Maclin elbows his way out. DVD into a hoverboard lock connects. Maclin picks Kushida up and dumps him in the turnbuckle to break the hold. Kushida jumps into his lock again. Maclin hits KIA to break it and covers for the win.

Winner AND NEW: Steve Maclin

After, Maclin called out Scott D'Amore to hand him the title. D'Amore reluctantly came out and Maclin wanted to be strapped. Maclin took the title and hit D'Amore over the head. Aldis then left the announce desk and had a staredown with Maclin until Maclin retreated with his new title.

The announcers revealed that Mutliverse United 2 will happen in Philly this August, followed by Emergence in Toronto.

They shake hands to start the main event. Jordynne takes her down with a headlock. Deonna changes the pace by working the left arm. Jordynne shoulder blocks to get out. Grace with a snap suplex and they split for a breather. Deonna goes after the left arm again and tries a roll up. Arm drags from Deonna, followed by a hurricanrana. Standing moonsault, cover. Grace kicks Deonna off the apron and then dives out. Grace powers her up with a jackhammer on the floor.

Back inside, Grace is in control and works Deonna in the corner. Power slam, cover. Grace does a stalling suplex for 20 seconds, cover. Purrazzo comes back with a kick to the arm and russian legsweep into the fujiwara armbar. Pump kick sends Grace to the ramp. Grace lifts Deonna up, but she uses the ropes to escape. Grace is sent off the ramp and Deonna follows with a moonsault to wipe her out. Back inside, Deonna does a jack knife cover followed by flatliner into koji clutch. Grace covers and breaks it. 

Grace dodges and hits a spinning back fist. Purrazzo is planted with a back drop, nearfall. Deonna avoids Grace Driver but gets sent to the corner. Deonna grabs the right leg, Grace tries fighting. Grace turns a figure four attempt into a sleeper. Back up, but double headbutts send both women down. They trade blows in the middle until Deonna tries a pump kick. Grace counters at first, pump kick connects. Grace withstands but then gets taken down with the armbar.

Venus Demilo is locked in. Grace reaches the bottom rope with her foot. Grace holds herself in the ropes as Deonna strikes. Grace plants with a spinebuster, two count. Grace catches her with a Grace Driver for a nearfall. Grace puts Deonna on the top but Deonna turns it into a running powerbomb, followed by Queen's Gambit for the three.

Winner AND NEW: Deonna Purrazzo

Deonna offers Grace a handshake and they embrace. Grace leaves as Deonna holds her third world title up high.