‘Impact Wrestling: Multiverse United’ Review (Mar 30th 2023)

Welcome to this week’s review of Impact Wrestling, which is the very special MULTIVERSE UNTIED show, featuring Impact going head to head with New Japan Pro Wrestling! The show opened with a “Countdown” match that saw Yuya Uemura defeat Gabriel Kidd. With that out the way, let’s get into the review…

Match #1: Scramble Match for the X-Division Championship – Trey Miguel def. Rich Swann, Kevin Knight, Frankie Kazarian, Clark Connors & Rocky Romero

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Everyone attacks Miguel at the opening bell as he’s thrown to the outside. Swann hits a rolling splash on Connors, followed by a twisting Frog Splash from Knight. Kazarian spikes Connors with the slingshot DDT. Kazarian continues the assault with guillotine leg drops for Romero and Swann. Knight catches Kazarian in mid-air with a dropkick. Miguel takes everyone off the top with a huge Tower of Doom. Swann soars through the air, taking out Miguel with a splash. Romero clotheslines everyone but gets taken out by Connors with a spear. Connors spears Miguel on the apron. Kazarian hits Knight with a slingshot cutter. Connors counters a handspring cutter from Swann into a spear. Connors spears Knight out of mid-air. Miguel tosses Connors to the outside and pins Knight to retain the title.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: Callihan, Fred Rosser, Alex Coughlin & PCO def. Eddie Edwards, Tom Lawlor, JR Kratos & Joe Hendry

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Rosser wants a piece of Lawlor as they go at it in the opening moments of the match. Lawlor locks in a sleeper but Rosser puts his own body in harms way as he dives through the ropes in order to break the hold. Hendry and Coughlin exchange vertical suplex attempts. Hendry gains the upper-hand with a Trust Fall. Coughlin lifts and throws Kratos over his head. PCO picks Kratos off the top rope. The match begins to break down as everyone gets involved. Lawlor hits a diving spear on Callihan. Moments later, Rosser drops him back-first on the apron. Kratos cuts off PCO with a huge Pounce. Kratos dives over the top rope, colliding with everyone on the floor. PCO is the next to fly as he takes out everyone with a PCO Sault. Edwards grabs the leg of PCO, allowing Kratos to capitalize with a jumping knee. Kratos hits a thunderous Superplex on PCO. The action continues before Coughlin hits a double suplex on both Lawlor and Edwards. Hendry puts his strength on display with a double Fallaway slam. Callihan goes low on Hendry, then spikes him with a Piledriver. Edwards connects with a Blue Thunder Bomb on Rosser. PCO hits another PCO Sault, this time on Kratos to win.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #3: Jeff Cobb def. Moose

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Moose takes Cobb off his feet with a big dropkick. Moments later, Cobb returns the favor with a dropkick of his own, followed by a standing Moonsault. Moose hits a delayed running dropkick in the corner. Moose connects with Go To Hell but it’s not enough to keep Cobb down. Moose crashes and burns on a spear attempt as he collides shoulder-first with the steel ring post. Cobb lifts Moose up from the apro and back into the ring for a massive Superplex. Cobb counters a clothesline into a backslide for two. Cobb delivers a series of headbutts. Both men collide in the middle of the ring and the impact sends them flying back through the ropes. Moose leaps to the top and hits a thunderous Superplex. Moose connects with a bicycle kick, followed by a step-up crossbody. Cobb comes back with Tour of the Islands to win.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #4: Deonna Purrazzo def. Masha Slamovich, Gisele Shaw & Miyu Yamashita

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Current-reigning Knockouts World Champion Mickie James joins Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt on commentary. Shaw tries to go strike for strike with Yamashita but pays for it as Yamashita has her reeling off a big kick. Slamovich dives through the ropes, taking out both Yamashita and Purrazzo on the floor. Shaw soars off the top rope, crashing into everyone with a corkscrew. Purrazzo hits Slamovich with a pump kick, followed by a standing Moonsault. Yamashita hits a running knee on Shaw. Everyone is down following a flurry of offense. Purrazzo locks in the Fujiwara Armbar on Slamovich. Shaw superkicks Slamovich with pinpoint accuracy. Slamovich destroys Shaw out of the corner. Slamovich avoids Queen’s Gambit, then hits the Air Raid Crash. Purrazzo plants Shaw with a powerbomb, followed by Queen’s Gambit to win.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #5: IMPACT World Tag Team Championship – Bullet Club (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) def. Aussie Open (Kyle Fletcher & Mark Davis), TMDK (Shane Haste & Bad Dude Tito) & Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin & Alex Shelley)

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Haste distracts Shelley, allowing Tito to blindside him for the early advantage. Sabin and Shelley hit double running boots to Haste in the corner. Haste counters Skull & Bones, then flattens Sabin with a back suplex. Haste hits a running cannonball on Shelley. Tito hits Shelley with a slingshot senton from the apron. Tito knocks Sabin off the apron. Shelley creates some much-needed separation by driving Haste face-first into the turnbuckle. Shelley is desperate for a breather, making the tag to Bey. Bey almost puts Haste away with Code Red. Davis puts his strength on display as he hits a delayed vertical suplex to Bey. Aussie Open inadvertently strike each other after Bey ducks and weaves out of harm’s way. Sabin gets two for one as he takes out Bey and Fletcher with a double crossbody. Sabin dives through Shelley’s legs, colliding with everyone on the floor. Aussie Open almost win the titles after an explosive Pendulum to Bey. Tito protects his partner from an Aussie Open double team assault. Ace and Bey hit Tito with the 1, 2, Sweet to win.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #6: KUSHIDA def. Lio Rush

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

KUSHIDA goes for the Hoverboard Lock in the early going but Rush fights it off. Rush uses his quickness to his advantage, taking KUSHIDA off his feet with a dropkick. KUSHIDA sends him to the outside with the rolling heels. The fight spills to the outside where Rush regains control with a Hurricanrana. Rush soars with a springboard crossbody. Back in the ring, KUSHIDA targets both arms of Rush. KUSHIDA doesn’t lose a step as he cuts off Rush mid-handspring attempt. Rush explodes out of the corner with a suicide dive to the outside. Rush avoids another Hoverboard Lock and both men are down following in-sync headbutts. KUSHIDA challenges Rush to take him off his feet. KUSHIDA locks in the Hoverboard Lock but Rush breaks free. Rush rolls him up for two. Rush connects with the reverse Hurricanrana, followed by the Come Up but KUSHIDA gets his foot on the bottom rope. KUSHIDA catches him in mid-air with the Hoverboard Lock, forcing the submission.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #7: NJPW STRONG Openweight Championship – KENTA def. Minoru Suzuki

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Suzuki locks in an armbar on the ropes, doing some damage before the referee forces the break. On the outside, KENTA lays in a series of strikes but Suzuki withstands the assault. KENTA rakes the eyes to shut his momentum down. Back in the ring, KENTA hits a neckbreaker for two before laying in a series of chops. KENTA tries to get in the head of Suzuki as he teases a knee strike. Suzuki begins to fight back, connecting with a running boot in the corner. Suzuki secures a leg lock but KENTA rolls towards the ropes to break the hold. KENTA drops him with the top rope lariat for another near fall. Both men exchange strikes in the middle of the ring. Suzuki hits a near-knockout shot, followed by multiple big boots. KENTA fires back with boots of his own to regain control. Suzuki counters the GTS into a sleeper. KENTA throws the referee to the mat, then delivers the low blow to Suzuki. KENTA pins Suzuki with his feet on the ropes to win.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Match #8: Hiroshi Tanahashi def. Mike Bailey

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Tanahashi hits a shoulder tackle but Bailey pops back up to his feet. Bailey delivers a flurry of kicks, then follows Tanahashi to the outside. Bailey takes him off his feet with a running kick on the floor. Tanahashi clips the knee with a dropkick. Bailey hits a running Shooting Star for two. Tanahashi begins to turn the tide as he hits a diving clothesline. Tanahashi connects with a top rope senton for a near fall of his own. Tanahashi heads back to the top. Bailey brings him back down but Tanahashi makes him pay with a Dragon Screw leg whip. Bailey gets back to his feet but Tanahashi puts him down with another Dragon Screw. Bailey takes to the skies with a big Moonsault to the outside. Both men are down but make it back into the ring at the referee’s count of 19. Tanahashi counters the Tornado Kick into a Slingblade. Bailey can barely walk as he hobbles up to the top rope. Bailey hits a top rope Hurricanrana, followed by a roundhouse kick. Bailey successfully connects with the Tornado Kick but Tanahashi avoids the follow-up Ultima Weapon. Tanahashi takes him down with the Slingblade, then hits the High Fly Flow to win.

My Score: 4 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

This was an interesting prospect that was hampered by production issues and the injury of Josh Alexander, both of which took some steam out of this huge Impact x NJPW event. Don’t get me wrong, what we got with Multiverse United was a great show, it could’ve been a GREAT show though. As usual with Impact Wrestling, this was all about the wrestling and the entire line-up didn’t disappoint, with the card building and building with each match until we got to the big matches: Kushida versus Lio Rush, Kenta versus Minoru Suzuki and the main event Tanahashi versus Speedball Bailey… And, as he’s done week after week, pay-per-view after pay-per-view, Speedball Bailey delivered the match of the night!