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Brace for IMPACT: The IInspiration to appear at Bound for Glory

October 12, 2021 Mike Gilbert Flash, Impact, Impact Wrestling, News, Pro Wrestling, Reactions, Recap, Review 0 Comments

The IInspiration to appear at Bound for Glory

At the conclusion of this past Saturday’s Knockouts Knockdown event, IMPACT Wrestling announced that the IInspiration (fka The IIconics in WWE), Jessica McKay (Billie Kay)  and Cassie Lee (Peyton Royce) will make their debuts at Bound for Glory.

The duo was released by WWE back in April of 2021. Signing with IMPACT makes perfect sense since they were looking to stay together as a tag team, and IMPACT has a tag team division that could use some depth.

This signing adds another shot in the arm to IMPACT, not only to their women’s division, but to the overall roster. While they aren’t great wrestlers, the IInspiration are very popular on social media and have a big following.

Awesome Kong announced for IMPACT Hall of Fame

Just weeks after announcing her retirement at NWA Empowerrr, Awesome Kong returned to the IMPACT Zone. She is the latest inductee in to the IMPACT hall of fame. She joins her greatest rival, Gail Kim, as the only Knockout with that distinction. Her induction will take place at Bound for Glory.

Knockouts Knockdown review

IMPACT Wrestling brought back their all women’s event series Knockouts Knockdown this past Saturday night on IMPACT Plus and YouTube Insiders. The event featured an eight woman single elimination tournament, Deonna Purazzo took on Masha Slamovich in a non-title match, a hellacious Monsters Ball match, and Decay defending the tag team titles against the Influence. Overall this was a thumbs up show with two matches worth going out of your way to see.

IMPACT often places their lower-card women in comedy type matches as opposed to competitive ones, but this was the opposite. All these women worked really hard and aside from a couple minor misses this is a show worth watching, especially if you’re a fan of women’s wrestling. IMPACT should consider having these events showcasing women more often.

The big takeaways:

  • A couple years ago, IMPACT had arguably the best women’s division in the country. WWE obviously had more top stars and depth, but IMPACT featured theirs better and it was taken more seriously. Then IMPACT lost several stars like Tessa, Taya, Kylie Rae, Madison Rayne (who is back), and recently, Keira Hogan. The division has rebounded quite nicely by adding, Ellering, Martinez, the IInspiration, Savannah Evans and seemingly Masha Slamovich, just this year.
  • Tasha Steelz is a star. She was the most compelling character on the entire show. Her facial expressions and reactions during the match were off the charts. She has a long way to go before she is to the level of Grace and Purazzo wrestling-wise, but by this time next year she could be ready.
  • Melissa Santos should be brought back full time as the ring announcer. Nothing against David Penzer, but Santos is the best out there. She displays tons of passion in her intros, and you can feel it coming through the TV.
  • Veda Scott did a good job as the play-byplay announcer too. She could use some seasoning but I think she would be worth keeping around as maybe a third person with Stryker and DLO or as part of a different crew for Before the IMPACT and the Digital Media Championship matches.
  • Chelsea Green is completely miscast as a babyface. She has worked really hard to improve, and it shows, but she is treading water as a babyface. Same with her fiancé, Matt Cardona.

HITS

  • Deonna Purazzo vs. Masha Slamovich: This was a really good match by two absolute pros. Purazzo won with the Venus de Milo. This was my first time seeing Slamovich, and I understand the hype now. The live crowd witnessed Masha being offered a contract by Gail Kim after the match. However, the segment was cut from the airing. Its possible that it was not meant for air or something happened with the contract. Hopefully they have her locked up.
  • Monster’s Ball: Jordynne Grace, Kimber Lee, Savannah Evans, and Alisha Edwards had a brutal and exciting match. Kimber Lee bled a gusher early in the match with a barbed wire chair spot and even took a muscle buster in to thumb tacks. Alisha Edwards, who I have been very hard on in the past looked great here and has improved a lot. Savannah Evans got the win and is someone to keep your eye on.

  • Rachel Ellering vs. Lady Frost: Really solid opening match with Ellering getting the win.  Both these ladies were considered “projects” in the past and have improved greatly since even earlier this year. Ellering is ready for a spot opposite Purazzo in a big match. Frost needs a little more time but she is absolutely ready for a contract.
  • Mercedes Martinez vs. Rachel Ellering: Rachel had her working boots on for this show as she put in two great performances. They struggled early with some timing issues but got the crowd into it by the end.
  • Mercedes Martinez vs. Tasha Steelz:  They told a nice story and closed with a great moment with Martinez winning the tournament after a rough year with WWE.

MISSES

  • Mercedes Martinez vs. Brandi Lauren: Thankfully, this was kept short, so there isn’t much to complain about. The match just felt out of place on this show. They are hiding Lauren’s lack of ability by putting her in this Undead character, which is fine, but having her in the tournament was a waste of time.
  • Tasha Steelz vs. Jamie Senegal: Steelz looked great here, but the match itself was clunky. They tried to make it dramatic with near-falls but no one in the crowd bit. Senegal has a ways to go.
  • Chelsea Green vs. Rene Michelle: They worked really hard and you can tell Green is trying to be taking seriously as a wrestler, but they are a couple levels below the rest of the competitors in the tournament. The match wasn’t egregiously bad or anything, but there were some timing issues. Chelsea’s pump kick to Rene looked great though.

Listen to the latest episode of the Brace for Impact podcast on the Fight Game Media Network. It’s available in the first tier for $2.99 a month.

About the Author
I am a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force and have been in for 17 years. I am a dad and a husband and a huge fan of pro wrestling, MMA, boxing, 49ers, Dodgers, movies, music and more. I cover all things IMPACT Wrestling.

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