Could IMPACT’s Rebellion Bring Many New Champions?
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Over the last couple of years we have seen Impact Wrestling do a much better job when it comes to the booking of their champions. There was a time where you would have titles passed between wrestlers so often that a lot of title reigns sadly felt unmemorable. We saw this a lot in the X Division with names like Willie Mack, Chris Bey and even Ace Austin’s second reign, however recently Impact seem to be improving on this past issue.
If we look at the state of the current champions that we have on the Impact roster, you have the Impact World Champion Moose and the X Division Champion Trey Miguel who have now held their titles for around 6 months. Recent changes we’ve seen are Knockouts World Champion Tasha Steelz, Knockouts Tag Team Champions The Influence and Tag Team Champions Violent By Design. They are all only a couple of months into their reigns, however before them we had Mickie James and The IInspiration with a 5 month reign, then The Good brothers had the Tag Team Titles for nearly 8 months. Those are pretty good reigns if you ask me.
At Bound For Glory we saw Impact Wrestling introduce The Digital Media Championship, so far we have seen Jordynne Grace grace have a 3 month reign (in my opinion that’s the minimum you need for a good reign), now we are seeing a reborn Matt Cardona hold his first Championship in Impact Wrestling as the second Digital Media Champion. Cardona is already 3 months into his reign and still going strong, the more we see of Impact putting trust in what they have in front of them and giving good lengths to their champions title reigns, it really gives a positive feeling to the product and the wrestlers.
As we edge closer to Rebellion however, you have to wonder when you look at the matches that have been announced, as well as the direction Impact have been going in recently, could we see a big over hall when it comes to the current champions? At Bound For Glory we saw every title change hands with the exception of The Tag Team Titles (The DMC and X Division were both vacant). With Rebellion being the Pay Per View 2 away from BFG, plus having a nice distance away from where it feels like they hit a reset, could we see the next step happen here?
When you look at the main event picture I think 95% of us Impact fans are expecting to see a new Impact World Champion leave Rebellion. Moose has been a fantastic champion and proved he can be that top guy in the company. He carries himself in and out of the ring so well and it’s a title reign that I feel so many will remember. The story we’re seeing play out however is written just perfectly for Josh to take the title and I think many would be shocked if Josh doesn’t come away as your new World Champion at Rebellion.
If you’re looking at another title that is most likely to change alongside the World Title, you would likely say The X Division Title could be that title. Both were won at Bound For Glory and like Moose, Trey has been a great X Division Champion and been a real throwback champion where he’s done his best to make his title the most important thing on the show. With both Ace Austin and Mike Bailey facing him at Rebellion, you have to feel there’s a good chance we will see another title change here. Who it is however? that’s a tricky one and who eats the pin will also add to the story between Ace and Bailey you feel.
While they are not considered official Impact titles, we have seen Deonna Purrazzo on a weekly basis defend both the Ring Of Honor Women’s Championship and the AAA Reina De Reina’s Championship. So much so that they now feel as though they have become a part of the Impact product. Deonna has held the AAA title now for 7 months after beating Faby Apache at Triplemania XXIX, she is only the second ROH Womens Champion in their history after beating the inarguable champion ROK-C on Impact in January.
At Multiverse Of Matches we saw Taya Valkyrie make her return to Impact Wrestling, this was after Deonna Purrazzo’s match with Faby Apache, Taya would then go on to challenge Deonna Purrazzo for her AAA Reina De Reina’s Championship at Rebellion. With the history that both Knockouts have with each other, the story is already written here. Taya has such a strong connection with AAA, you could really see a new AAA Reina De Reina’s Champion walking out of Rebellion. Taya is a great representative for both Impact and AAA (not that Deonna isn’t), plus this can be a great way to reignite what ended her last run in Impact also (a match with Deonna Purazzo).
While both Deonna and Taya have history with AAA, they also have a great history with the Knockouts World Title too, Taya is still the longest reigning champion and Deonna over the last couple of years has really helped lift the division back to where it has needed to be for some time, Both Knockouts have been critical in rebuilding the Knockouts division to what we see today.
At Rebellion we will also see the Current Knockouts World Champion Tasha Steelz will be defending her title against The Demon Assassin, Rosemary. Since the break up of Fire & Flava we have truly seen Tasha shine and grow into her own. She has proven that she belongs at the top of the card in every way and is making the most of everything that she is given.
Rosemary is a character that every Impact fan loves and is still hoping that she gets a second title reign. It has been nearly 5 years since Rosemary last held the title and you could say she’s long overdue another one. This may be an interesting direction for Impact to go (especially with Taya returning), we could possibly even see the return of a certain Undead Bride Su Yung to play a part in this match?
Impact do have a tendency to give their talents a short first run as a taster, then their second title reign will very often be their true title reign (if and when it comes). This could be the case when it comes to Tasha, there is history already here between her and Rosemary so it may well lead to more than just one match. Don’t assume Rosemary is here as just an experienced talent for Tasha to get a win over.
On the other side of the knockouts front, Impact have recently been doing a good job with their Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Although on paper it doesn’t look like they have many teams, they have made the division feel quite stacked. Recently it has been revolving around The Influence and The IInspiration, two teams who click together very well and really understand tag team wrestling as well as character work.
As things stand The Influence currently hold The Knockouts Tag Team Titles and at Rebellion we will see The IInspiraion get their rematch for the titles (which they lost at Sacrifice). The main story that has been playing through this feud is, which side will Kaleb fall on? Last week we saw him left in the ring by both teams and seemingly not side with anyone (which was a very strange development). With Kaleb seemingly no longer involved, it can either make the story very predictable or it can add a little bit of intrigue to it. It all depends how you view it?
This match always felt like it would be won and lost by the decision of Kaleb, either team could very well win and either team could have been great with Kaleb. As things stand, you would feel The Influence are likely to retain, however we have seen in the past that Impact like to play the crowd. There is always the slim chance we do see Kaleb show up and still play a part in this match, if we are to see The IInspiration regain the titles, a surprise like this (or even Giselle Shaw after her altercation with Madison last week) could cost The Influence and crown new Knockouts Tag Team Champions.
When we look at Tag Teams I think there is one match on the Rebellion card that will take everyone’s eye. We will see Violent By Design defending their Impact Tag Team Titles in an 8 team elimination challenge. This will be a very interesting match (mainly because Impact have not been too clear on the rules of the match) because they are keeping everything quiet. VBD are defending the titles, however none of the other 7 teams have officially been announced, you have to feel we will see The Good Brothers, Swann & Mack, OGK, Decay to name a few.
They have also recently had The Briscoes on Impact Wrestling as well as the return of The Real Players last week, so there’s so many options for Impact Wrestling in this match up. One thing that is for sure, is that it will be absolute chaos and it will be a real chance to showcase Impacts Tag Team Division. With 8 teams in this match it will be a tough task for VBD to walk away from this match as champions, however if they did then it would make them look like such a dominating force (which they deserve). On the other hand however it is difficult to see who could win when you don’t know who is in the match as well as the exact rules.
If Impact are holding this match like a gauntlet match, then it would be an easy way to protect VBD if they were to lose the belts. Likewise if it was like how the X Division triple Threat Revolver went, you could have a VBD as the 1 team who loses without getting pinned? As to who could win though, there are a couple of teams that would be a good choice you have to feel.
Heath and Rhino definitely feel like they’re being pushed towards the titles, on the other side of the coin Honor No More really need some momentum back so OGK winning would really give them a lift. If The Briscoes show up they would be an interesting choice, however you feel a feud with the Good Brothers could work without The Tag Team titles. It would be interesting if we see G.O.D turn up given they had a brief connection with VBD, or even Decay? This will be a match where lots of threads will lead to other things you feel.
Overall Rebellion is shaping up very nicely with many match of the night contenders. Even the matches that don’t involve titles, on paper look like they could be match of the year contenders. While you look at a lot of these matches and feel “it’s predictable on what’s going to happen,” don’t be surprised if something different happens. The list of Champions on the Impact Wrestling roster could look very different after Rebellion.
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