IMPACT Wrestling: Rebellion 2023 Full Preview
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LIVE TONIGHT at 8pm ET, IMPACT Wrestling returns to the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto for its spring pay-per-view extravaganza, Rebellion! Tickets for this event are SOLD OUT.
Following a triceps tear that will force Josh Alexander to relinquish the IMPACT World Title, a new champion will be crowned at Rebellion. Alexander’s two scheduled challengers, Steve Maclin and KUSHIDA, will now face off in a match to determine the new title-holder. Maclin and KUSHIDA were on opposite sides of a star-studded six-man tag team match at Sacrifice, which saw KUSHIDA submit him with the Hoverboard Lock. This came just 24 hours after Maclin revealed his obsession with becoming IMPACT World Champion as he scouted Alexander from the shadows. But now, Maclin must prepare for a new opponent, and one that seems to have his number. One this is for certain, we are guaranteed to have a new IMPACT World Champion in Toronto. Will it be Steve Maclin or KUSHIDA who leaves Toronto with the gold around their waist?
Following an injury to Mickie James that would prevent her from defending the Knockouts World Title, we learned that the current #1 Contender Jordynne Grace would face the winner of a four-way match to crown a new champion at Rebellion. The stars were out at Multiverse United as Deonna Purrazzo conquered Masha Slamovich, Gisele Shaw and Miyu Yamashita to punch her ticket to Toronto. Grace and Purrazzo are no strangers to one another, as the two were involved in one of the Knockouts division’s most acclaimed rivalries of 2020. In fact, Purrazzo defeated Grace to become Knockouts World Champion for the very first time at that year’s Slammiversary event. With Purrazzo and Grace set to renew hostilities at Rebellion, the question on the minds of wrestling fans around the world is, who will leave Toronto as the Knockouts World Champion?
Rebellion will play host to the return of Hardcore War as Bully Ray and Tommy Dreamer lead their respective teams into battle. At Sacrifice, the archrivals went head-to-head in the first-ever Busted Open match, which saw Bully bend the rules in order to achieve victory. But what happened after the bell would shock the wrestling world to its core. IMPACT President Scott D’Amore made his return after being brutally attacked by Bully back in January. D’Amore would join forces with Dreamer and other members of the IMPACT locker room to push back against Bully and his minions, capping it off with a jaw-dropping Canadian Destroyer to Jason Hotch. In an attempt to settle their differences once and for all, both Bully and Dreamer must now recruit a team for Hardcore War, a match in which there are no disqualifications, no countouts and absolutely anything goes. We now know that Team Bully will consist of Bully Ray, Kenny King, Moose, Brian Myers and Masha Slamovich. Joining Team Dreamer will be Tommy Dreamer Yuya Uemura, Frankie Kazarian, Bhupinder Gujjar and Killer Kelly.
The IMPACT World Tag Team Titles will be hanging in the balance – literally – when ABC defends against the Motor City Machine Guns in the return of Ultimate X. The high-wire spectacle is back for the first time in 2023, as Ace Austin, Chris Bey, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin continue their epic saga. Ever since being dethroned by ABC earlier this year in Las Vegas, the Guns have made it their mission to reclaim their spot at the top of the division. Following their victory over TMDK on IMPACT!, the Guns laid out the challenge and the match was made official. Who will risk it all for the IMPACT World Tag Team Titles? Find out in the nonstop adrenaline rush that is Ultimate X.
For the past several months, Callihan has endured a grueling initiation process to join the The Design. Recently on IMPACT!, the group’s leader, Deaner, informed Callihan that step 7 would require him to eliminate the authority in his life. Later that same night, Director of Authority Santino Marella was brutally assaulted backstage, presumably by Callihan. Following a meeting involving Marella, Dirty Dango and IMPACT President Scott D’Amore, Marella announced that he would compete in a match for the first-time in over 9 years as he teams with Dango and Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry to battle The Design. With revenge on the mind of Marella, there’s no telling what might happen in this heated six-man tag team match.
For months, the intense rivalry between former Honor No More allies Eddie Edwards and PCO has sprawled across the IMPACT Zone, the parking lot and even the Las Vegas desert. After failing to bury PCO alive, Edwards recruited Kenny King to join his cause. But when King fell to PCO at Sacrifice, Edwards made a move that would shock the IMPACT faithful. During a singles bout against PCO on IMPACT!, Edwards reunited with his wife, Alisha, as she cracked PCO in the back with the couple’s signature kendo stick. But after scoring the victory, Edwards was reminded that PCO is not human as he sat up and chased them off the property. At Rebellion, it all comes down to this as Eddie Edwards and PCO settle the score once and for all in the infamous Last Rites match, where the only way to win is to put your opponent inside of a casket and close the lid.
The rubber match between Jonathan Gresham and Mike Bailey was set to determine the #1 Contender for the X-Division Title – that is until reigning champion Trey Miguel took them both out with a springboard dropkick, bringing an abrupt halt to the bout. Later in the night, Miguel was informed that due to his actions, he must now defend the X-Division Title against both Gresham and Bailey in a 3-Way Elimination match at Rebellion. Will the cocky and brash Miguel finally get what’s coming to him when he has not one but two challengers gunning for his title? And if so, will it be Bailey or Gresham who captures the X-Division’s most coveted prize?
The action begins on Countdown to Rebellion LIVE and FREE TONIGHT at 7:30pm ET on YouTube and IMPACT Plus. Preview the night’s big event and witness exclusive matchups you won’t see anywhere else!
Last month, The Coven shocked the world when they defeated the Death Dollz to become Knockouts World Tag Team Champions in their first match as a duo. But at Sacrifice, Rosemary gained a measure of revenge as she bested KiLynn King in singles competition. Now the Death Dollz are set to receive their contractually-obligated rematch on Countdown to Rebellion with the Knockouts World Tag Team Titles on the line. Will the dealers of dark magic remain at the top of the mountain? Or will the Death Dollz bring an end to their reign before it even gets started?
Every win matters in IMPACT Wrestling’s stacked tag team division. Two devastating duos will collide when Champagne Singh and Shera battle Heath and Rhino on Countdown to Rebellion. The last time these teams met, Heath and Rhino scored the victory following a vicious Gore to Shera. Will lightning strike twice for Heath and Rhino? Or will Singh and Shera even the score?
