Looking Back at Rebellion 2019

News / April 17, 2020 / by IMPACT Wrestling Staff

Before Rebellion takes over IMPACT! April 21 and 28 on AXS TV, let’s take a look back at some of the highlights from last year’s event.

Rebellion 2019 took place from The Rebel Complex in Toronto, Canada featuring a stacked card of must-see match-ups, a staple of IMPACT Wrestling pay-per-view events.

In the opening bout, stars of the X-Division went at it in six-way free-for-all action. Squaring off were Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, Jake Crist, Petey Williams, Cousin Jake and Aiden Prince. These competitors were willing to do whatever it took to win because a victory on a big stage like Rebellion would do wonders in building all-important momentum. It looked like Petey Williams had sealed the deal by hitting Cousin Jake with his signature Canadian Destroyer. However, it was the opportunist Ace Austin who stole the victory by rolling up Williams for three.

Ace continued his wave of momentum for several months and is now the reigning X-Division Champion after he won a high-stakes Ladder Match at Bound for Glory. Ace now prepares to defend the X-Division Title against number one contender Willie Mack on Night One of this year’s Rebellion.

Later in the night, Taya Valkyrie put her Knockouts Championship on the line against Jordynne Grace. Taya was in the middle of making history as the longest-reigning Knockouts Champion of all time but hadn’t yet reached the milestone. Having only been in the promotion for six months, Jordynne was still a relative newcomer to IMPACT and was looking to jump-start her career in a big way. After a heated back-and-forth collision, Taya Valkyrie used her veteran instincts to gain the upper-hand and connect with Road to Valhalla to win.

A lot can change in one year. After earning another Title opportunity, Jordynne eventually dethroned Taya, ending her historic reign in the process. Jordynne is still the reigning, defending Knockouts Champion.

At Rebellion 2019, Sami Callihan challenged Rich Swann for the X-Division Championship in Sami’s signature oVe Rules match. What are oVe Rules? Basically, there are none. No Disqualifications, No Countouts and there must be a winner. This gave Sami a huge advantage but Swann was not willing to give up his X-Division Title without a fight. In a brutal brawl that saw the use of barricades, building blocks and baseball bats, Rich Swann overcame the odds to defeat Sami Callihan in what was one of the biggest wins of his career.

Sami Callihan is now the defiant ICU hacker. On Night One of this year’s Rebellion, he goes one-on-one with MMA and pro wrestling legend Ken Shamrock in a highly-personal match-up.

Last year’s Rebellion played host to a Knockouts dream match that pitted IMPACT Hall of Famer Gail Kim against Tessa Blanchard. Gail came out of retirement for this bout after a rivalry between her and Tessa began to form behind the scenes. The Knockouts have always pushed the boundaries for women’s wrestling and after an amazing match that had fans on the edge of their seats, it was Tessa who forced Gail to tap with a submission. Once the match had ended, we saw a true passing of the torch as Tessa and Gail embraced in the middle of the ring.

Tessa Blanchard has since gone on to make history as the first woman to hold the IMPACT World Championship and is the current reigning and defending Title holder.

Watch these matches and the rest of the Rebellion 2019 event on IMPACT Plus. Start your 30-Day Free Trial today.