‘Impact Wrestling: Emergence 2023’ PPV Review

Here comes Impact Wrestling with their next pay-per-view, Emergence, which began with the Countdown to Emergence pre-show which saw Mike Bailey defeat Alan Angels and JOYA (Joe Hendry & Yuya Uemura) defeat The Good Hands (John Skyler & Jason Hotch). Now let’s see what the rest of this show has to offer!

Match #1: No Disqualifications – Eric Young def. Deaner

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Young goes after Kon with a ladder. Moments later, Kon returns the favor as he uses the ladder to send Young crashing to the outside. Deaner chokes Young with a steel chain, then hits a neckbreaker in the ring for two. Deaner rakes the eyes, then uses a staple gun to staple between the fingers and armpit of Young. Deaner places a trash can on top of Young’s head, then smashes him with a steel chair. Young begins to turn the tide with a Death Valley Driver into the trash can but Kon gets involved and drags him into the steel ring post. Young handcuffs Kon to the turnbuckle, neutralizing him at ringside. Young gets payback on Deaner with use of the staple gun. Young soars with an elbow drop off the top of a ladder for a very close near fall. Kon breaks free of the handcuffs as Deaner delivers a low blow to Young. Kon Chokeslams Young through two chairs but it’s not enough to keep him down. Young drives both Deaner and Kon into a barbed wire board. Young takes out Deaner with a Piledriver into the board to win.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #2: Knockouts World Tag Team Championship – MK Ultra (Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly) def. Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans, Death Dollz (Jessicka & Courtney Rush) & KiLynn King & Jody Threat

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

King hits Kelly with a pinpoint kick to the head. King continues the attack on Kelly with a delayed vertical suplex but Rush breaks the pin. Jessicka hits the ropes for a running crossbody on Kelly but when she does, Evans makes the blind tag. Evans hits Kelly with a clubbing blow but she comes back with a jawbreaker, sending Evans into the corner. King tags into the match and asserts her dominance over Kelly. King reluctantly tags in Threat as they continue to have issues teaming together. Kelly counters a double vertical suplex from the Death Dollz into a DDT to creates separation. Slamovich dropkicks Threat and Shaw to the outside. Rush spears Slamovich but gets caught with a running Samoan Drop from Evans. Threat spikes Shaw with a modified driver. MK Ultra hit Rush with double knees, followed by a double Piledriver to win.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #3: Digital Media Championship – Kenny King def. Johnny Swinger

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Swinger kicks the rope to deliver an improvised low blow. Swinger catches King off-guard with an elbow drop to the back. King hits a powerslam to shift the momentum. King distracts the referee, allowing Jean to choke Swinger from the outside. Swinger delivers a series of rights, followed by a belly-to-back suplex. Swinger hits a side slam, before sending King to the outside with a slingshot leg drop. Jean gets up on the apron, tripping up Swinger who is perched on the top. While the referee is busy ejecting Jean from ringside, Heath blindsides King with a Wake-Up Call but it’s not enough. King hits the Royal Flush to score the victory.

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #4: IMPACT World Tag Team Championship – The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) def. SUBCULTURE (Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster)

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Webster hits Wentz with an inverted jumping senton. Miguel holds the ropes open, sending Webster crashing to the floor. Wentz distracts the referee as Miguel continues the attack on the outside. Wentz targets the arm of Webster as he locks in a submission. Miguel drives Webster spine-first into the hardest part of the ring with a back suplex. Back in the ring, Miguel hits a slingshot senton for two. The Rascalz can’t put Webster away and he creates separation to tag in Andrews. The pace quickens as Andrews hits Wentz with a back body drop before connecting with a double foot stomp on Miguel. SUBCULTURE takes to the skies as they wipe out both members of the Rascalz with aerial offense to the outside. Andrews hits an assisted sit-down slam on Miguel. Everybody is down after exchanging headbutts, followed by a pair of handspring kicks from the Rascalz. Andrews spikes Wentz with a running Destroyer. Wentz pulls Andrews off the apron as Webster inadvertently collides with his own partner. The Rascalz hit Hot Fire Flame off the ramp. Miguel blinds Andrews with spray paint but a brawl between ABC and The Good Hands has the referee distracted. Dani Luna takes out The Good Hands with a top rope crossbody. Webster hits Miguel with a top rope senton but it’s not enough. The Rascalz put Webster away with a double team top rope stomp score the pin and become the new IMPACT World Tag Team Champions.

My Score: 2.5 out of 5

Match #5: Back to School Match – Eddie Edwards def. Frankie Kazarian

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Eddie Edwards and Frankie Kazarian return to where it all began, the wrestling school of professional wrestling legend, Killer Kowalski. A war of words escalates into physicality as the bell rings for this unique contest. Edwards hits a drop toehold, driving Kazarian face-first into a steel chair. Kazarian hits a Hurricanrana, then tosses Edwards across the exposed floor. Kazarian connects with a springboard leg drop for two. Edwards hits a Backpack Stunner out of the corner for a near fall of his own. Alisha Edwards appears at ringside and confronts Kazarian about hitting her with a kendo stick a few weeks ago. Edwards blindsides him with the Boston Knee Party to win.

My Score: 2 out of 5

Match #6: SANADA def. Jake Something

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

SANADA ties up Jake in the bottom rope, then delivers a low running dropkick. SANDA hits a side Russian leg sweep for two. Jake throws his entire body at SANDA, knocking him hard to the mat. Jake builds momentum with a series of clotheslines. SANADA pulls down the top rope, sending Jake to the outside. SANADA hits a dropkick, followed by a springboard crossbody to take Jake off his feet. Back in the ring, Jake drives his shoulder into the gut of SANADA for two. SANADA locks in Skull End but Jake fights out of it. SANADA hits the Magic Whip neckbreaker as SANADA kips up. SANADA almost puts Jake away with a top rope Moonsault. Jake catches him in mid-air and hits a modified driver for two. Jake hits a thunderous powerbomb but SANADA gets his shoulder up in time. Jake counters Deadfall into a straight right hand. SANADA counters Into the Void into Deadfall to win.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #7: Bully Ray, Moose, Brian Myers & Lio Rush def. Time Machine (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin & KUSHIDA)

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

Time Machine assembles for an assisted running dropkick on Rush. Alexander squares off with Moose as he hits him with a series of chops in the corner. Alexander traps Moose in the Tree of Woe and sings O’ Canada. Bully begins to pick Sabin apart as he hits a thudding vertical suplex. Rush delivers a cheap shot to KUSHIDA on the apron before locking in a submission on Sabin. Meanwhile, Bully is setting up a table on the outside and Alexander does the same on the opposite side of the ring. Myers makes the blind tag to Moose, allowing him to blindside Sabin and remain in control. Sabin kicks Myers to create some much-needed separation. Sabin tags in Alexander, who enters the match with a burst of speed. Alexander counters Rush Hour from Lio into a big German suplex. Alexander hits a jumping knee to the back of Moose’s neck. The match begins to break down as everyone gets involved, culminating with a missile dropkick from Sabin that takes Bully down. Sabin inadvertently kicks Shelley when Moose ducks out of the way. Moose powerbombs Sabin on the hardest part of the ring. Alexander locks in the Ankle Lock on Moose, then transitions into a Sharpshooter. Myers wipes out the referee with a top rope elbow drop just moments before Moose begins to tap out. Myers hits the Roster Cut on Alexander. Moose plants Sabin with a Uranage through the table. KUSHIDA locks in the Hoverboard Lock on Moose. Moose places KUSHIDA on the table as Rush puts him through it with the Final Hour. The lights go out and PCO attacks Bully. PCO is about to Chokeslam him off the ramp when Myers goes low. Bully, Moose and Myers put PCO through the table with a triple powerbomb off the ramp. PCO immediately sits up and begins to fight back. Steve Maclin makes his shocking return as he attacks PCO from behind. Alexander charges at Maclin and they brawl on the ramp. Maclin targets the previously-injured left tricep of Alexander before security breaks it up. Myers pushes Alexander into Shelley. They begin to argue and Shelley abandons him in the ring. Moose spears Alexander to score the victory.

My Score: 3 out of 5

Match #8: Knockouts World Championship – Trinity def. Deonna Purrazzo

The following is courtesy of impactwrestling.com:

IMPACT Hall of Famer Gail Kim joins Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt on commentary for tonight’s main event. Trinity hits an axe kick to the back of Purrazzo’s neck. Trinity goes for a head scissor but Purrazzo counters into a reverse Piledriver on the floor. Back in the ring, Purrazzo connects with a backstabber for two. Both Knockouts are down following in-sync clothesline in the middle of the ring. Trinity hits a Samoan Drop, then soars with a top rope crossbody for two. Purrazzo comes back with a running pump kick for a near fall of her own. Purrazzo hits the side Russian leg sweep, then transitions into the Fujiwara Armbar. Moments later, Trinity drives her face-first into the mat with an innovative head scissor, followed by the split-legged Moonsault for another near fall. Purrazzo picks Trinity off the top rope with a big Superplex. Trinity attempts Star Struck but the damage to her left arm prevents her from locking it in. Instead, Trinity plants her with a Full Nelson Bomb but Purrazzo kicks out in time. Trinity hits Code Red, then successfully locks in a modified Starstruck, forcing Purrazzo to submit for a second time.

My Score: 3.5 out of 5

Final Verdict: 3.5/5

Another solid pay-per-view from Impact Wrestling. I know, I know… I tend to say Impact is “solid” each and every week because that’s exactly what they are, solid and dependable. That’s not a bad thing. In fact, I think Impact is one of the most consistent wrestling promotions out there, but I do wish we could step things up to the next level and push the boundaries of what Impact is a little. It’s great to be consistent but it would be amazing for Impact to be GREAT week-in, week-out. Emergence nearly got to amazing with the main event, with Trinity and Deonna Purrazzo having one of the best women’s matches in weeks. For me, Impact needs more matches of that calibre, where wrestlers are given the opportunity to do what they do best, with the right amount of time and the space to create something great.