IMPACT Under Siege: Alexander vs. Ishii, Briscoes win titles, Callihan returns, Mia Yim

John Siino's coverage of IMPACT Under Siege featuring Josh Alexander vs. Tomohiro Ishii, The Briscoes challenge for the tag titles & more.

Photo Courtesy: IMPACT Wrestling

IMPACT Wrestling Under Siege

May 7th, 2022

PromoWest Pavilion at OVATION in Newport, KY

By: John Siino

Commentary: Tom Hannifan & Matthew Rehwoldt

Countdown to Under Siege

Heath & Rhino def. Raj Singh & Shera by pinfall at 6:30

·       Rhino pinned Singh after hitting the Gore.

·       This match was a late addition, taking the place of Madison Rayne vs. Gisele Shaw which got moved up to the main show

Rich Swann def. Laredo Kid, Mike Bailey by pinfall at 7:57

·       Swann pinned Laredo after hitting the Phoenix Splash.

·       This was supposed to be Swann vs. Laredo one-on-one, but Bailey was added making it a triple threat.

·       No word on why Bailey’s original match with Alex Shelley is not taking place

Madison Rayne (w/ Tenille Dashwood) vs. Gisele Shaw (w/ Alisha)

This match was originally scheduled for the Countdown but got bumped up due to some match changes. Alisha comes out with Shaw and mimics her during her entrance with her mannerisms. They start the match trading forearms until Shaw hits a couple arm drags and uppercuts in the corner. Rayne eventually escapes to the outside to take a breather but meets Rayne with a springboard corkscrew drop for a two count. Rayne distracts the referee as Tenille grabs Shaw’s foot giving Rayne enough time to take the advantage. They go back and forth for a bit until Rayne hits a Fisherman’s suplex for a two count. Rayne goes to the top rope, but Shaw stops her and hits a superplex. Shaw delivers forearms and kicks as the crowd is behind her, as she follows with a draping DDT for a close two count. Rayne comes back with a vicious-looking wheelbarrow driver for a two, but Shaw comes back with a spinebuster. Shaw goes to the top rope, but Tenille grabs her. Alisha goes to stop her and Shaw kicks Tenille off. They trade a couple roll-ups until Shaw hits a running knee to Rayne for the pin.

Winner: Gisele Shaw by pinfall at 7:16

Gia Miller is backstage with The Briscoes who say that they win titles wherever they go and that doesn’t change tonight. It doesn’t matter which two members of Violent by Design wrestle tonight, as Dem Boys will knock their heads off.

Steve Maclin vs. Chris Sabin

No Mac-Finn Balor face paint for Maclin tonight. Right away Maclin takes Sabin down who seems to be taken aback by that. They go into a test of strength with Sabin sending Maclin to the outside as a result. Back inside, Sabin drives Maclin shoulder first into the corner, but Maclin is able to grab him and put him in the Tree of Woe. Sabin is able to duck out of the Crosshairs attempt and knocks Maclin to the outside. Sabin tries to senton onto him, but Maclin catches him and powerbombs him onto the apron followed by dropping him face first into it. Back inside, Maclin hits a backbreaker for a two-count. Sabin comes back with chops and running forearms, but Maclin stops him with a knee and a clothesline sending Sabin to the outside. Maclin tries to suplex Sabin off the stage but ends up tossing him into the turnbuckle instead followed by a dive onto him. Maclin is able to put Sabin back into the corner and this time connects with the Crosshairs for a two. Maclin tries Mayhem for All, but Sabin escapes and hits a Tornado DDT off the ropes. Sabin hits a pair of twisting neck breakers and a DDT for a two count as Maclin rolls out to the outside where Sabin hits him with another twisting neck breaker on the floor. Inside, Sabin hits a missile dropkick for another two. Sabin tries a top rope crossbody, but Maclin is able to grab him and hits a suplex followed by a basement lariat for a two. Sabin blocks the Mayhem for All and tries a Cradle Shock, but Maclin rolls out and tries to get a pin with his feet on the rope, but the referee catches it. Sabin comes back and hits a knee strike as both men are laid out. Sabin comes back with knee strikes but gets stopped with a forearm. Sabin hits a big boot in the corner, but Maclin comes back with a German Suplex. Sabin hits a big clothesline and goes to the top rope and hits a Tornado DDT followed by the Cradle Shock for the pin. Very good match here.

Winner: Chris Sabin by pinfall at 13:23

Gia Miller is backstage with Deonna Purrazzo and says it’s safe to say the ‘Champ-Champ Challenge’ is over now that Deonna lost both titles and asks if she has the ability to win one of them back tonight which Deonna gets very upset about and starts naming her accolades including being the only Knockout to main event AEW Dynamite. Deonna respects Mercedes Martinez and Taya Valkyrie, but tonight the tides are in her favor.

AAA Reina de Reinas Championship: Taya Valkyrie (c) vs. Deonna Purrazzo

Deonna lands a cheap shot before the bell rings, and once it does Deonna keeps the upper hand stomping Taya in the corner. Taya comes back and hits a low dropkick for a two-count. Taya tries a springboard off the ropes, but Deonna stops her with a kick to the mid-section. Deonna stays in control and hits a stomp to Taya’s elbow for a two. Deonna holds Taya down in a chin hold as she digs her knee into Taya’s back before working on her arms. Taya catches Deonna running off the ropes and lands a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two. Deonna comes back with a boot to the face and a standing moonsault for two. Taya traps Deonna on the ropes and hits a sliding German Suplex as the crowd gets behind her. Deonna tries the Queen’s Gambit, but Taya escapes out and hits a double stomp for a two. Taya comes back with a curb stomp and gets another two. Taya tries a powerbomb, but Deonna escapes out and does a curb stomp herself, followed by another one. Deonna hits the Queen’s Gambit, but Taya kicks out at two. Deonna gets into the referee’s face and shows frustration before lightly kicking Taya to get up. Deonna locks on the Fujiwara Armbar before transitioning into the Venus De Milo, but Taya stretches and puts her foot on the rope to break it up. Deonna goes and grabs the Reina de Reinas title, but as the referee is trying to take it away from her, Taya rolls up Deonna for the pin and the win.

Winner: Taya Valkyrie by pinfall at 10:09, to retain

Mia Yim Returns

As soon as Taya is being announced the winner, Deonna attacks her and puts her in the Venus De Milo. The lights go out when they come back on, we get an elaborate entrance and out comes the returning Mia Yim who gets in Deonna’s face and teases her walking away. As Mia goes to check on Taya, Deonna goes to attack her. Mia stops her and tries the Protect Ya Neck, but Deonna escapes.

Gia Miller gets a word with Trey Miguel who says the X-Division Championship means everything to him and he’s lost without it, he even has it tattooed on his leg.

IMPACT X-Division Championship: Ace Austin (c) vs. Trey Miguel

Right away they take it to the mat, before exchanging wrist locks until Miguel sends Austin to the outside with an arm drag. Austin takes control and keeps Miguel down with kicks to the back and chokes him out using the middle rope. Miguel comes back as they connect with a double crossbody, spilling out over the top rope and onto the floor. Austin goes to dive onto him, but Miguel dodges it as they end up on the apron, where Miguel flips off until he catches a knee to the face. Back inside, Austin hits a back body drop as the crowd starts chanting for Trey. They go back fighting on the apron, but Austin is able to rake Miguel’s eyes and hits a draping twisting backbreaker for a two. They go back and forth a bit until Austin hits a double stomp for a two-count. Austin sets up for The Fold, but Miguel ducks it. Austin comes back with a Half Crab attempt but Miguel kicks him off and hits a head scissors. Miguel comes back with a flurry of kicks and a jumping stomp to the back followed by a reverse suplex into a dragon sleeper, but Austin escapes by driving Miguel face-first into the canvas. They go back and forth with slaps and chops, but Miguel comes back with a roundhouse kick. Austin stops Miguel in the corner but ends up getting caught with a superkick. Miguel goes to the top and hits a split-legged moonsault but gets a two-count. They go back and forth with multiple pin attempts until Miguel hits a double stomp to Austin’s chest. Miguel goes back to the top, but Austin rolls onto the apron where Miguel meets him with a neckbreaker onto the apron. Miguel goes to the top rope yet again but misses the Meteora. Austin drives him shoulder-first into the post and hits The Fold for the pin and the win. Commentary mentions how Austin can now move onto the NJPW Best of the Super Junior as X-Division Champion.

Winner: Ace Austin by pinfall at 13:04, to retain

Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Kenny King & Vincent) (w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett) vs. Bullet Club (Jay White, Chris Bey, El Phantasmo, Doc Gallows & Karl Anderson)

Commentary mentions all the Bullet Club developments that have happened recently in NJPW and how that can affect them here. All ten men start brawling as the bell rings before they all end up fighting on the outside. Eventually, Eddie Edwards and Karl Anderson get in the ring as the official two to start. They start trading punches, until Gallows tags in, and The Good Brothers double team Edwards. King and ELP are the next two in going back and forth. Bey and Vincent are next with Bey hitting impressive leapfrogs and a dropkick right to the face for a two. Bennett comes in and hits a brainbuster for a two-count on Bey. Jay White and Matt Taven go face to face as Matthew Rehwoldt brings up their history with who sold out MSG. White and ELP knock the rest of Honor No More off the apron before double-teaming Taven in their corner as ELP does his whole dramatics before delivering the back rake. Jay White does the same as Bullet Club keeps Taven in their corner and just keeps playing with the crowd. Gallows comes in and does his back rake, followed by Anderson after teasing the Magic Killer. Honor No More has had enough of this and they all come in and take out Bullet Club. Taven tries to get the cover on Anderson, but the referee is too distracted to make the count. Anderson is able to come back and hit a spinebuster before Gallows and Bennett both come in with tags. Gallows takes out all the Honor No More members, but King holds him as Bennett takes control and tags in Edwards. Edwards tries to suplex Gallows but is unable to as King tags himself in. Gallows clotheslines them both down and tags in ELP. ELP hits a crossbody and tries a moonsault, but King puts his knees up and tags in Vincent. Vincent hits a back body drop and a flatliner but gets a two. Bey and ELP start hitting some double-team moves on Vincent before Bey and Vincent take each other with a double crossbody. White and Taven start going at it again with Taven hitting a DDT and a knee strike the crowd starts booing him. They both dodge the Climax and the Blade Runner before White hit the half and half suplex. White tries the Blade Runner, but everybody gets in the ring and goes back to brawling. King dives to the outside followed by one from Chris Bey as well. Vincent goes to the top rope and hits the Red Rum to everybody else on the outside. Anderson after comically asking for the tag first goes to the top rope but gets distracted by Maria, as a nice callback to NJPW. Taven and Bennett end up hitting the Proton Pack on Anderson, as Bennett gets the pin and the win.

Winners: Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Kenny King & Vincent) by pinfall at 18:21

IMPACT Knockouts World Championship: Tasha Steelz (c) vs. Havok

They show footage from this past week’s IMPACT TV, where Rosemary abducted Savannah Evans therefore neither one of them will be ringside for this match. Steelz plays around with Havok to start by twerking in her face, but Havok doesn’t take kindly to that and corners Steelz in the corner before crushing her with a splash. Havok tosses Steelz into the other corner, but Steelz escapes to the outside. Havok follows her and drives her back first into the ramp. Steelz takes back control and continues to twerk before hitting a couple elbow drops for a one-count. Havok grabs Steelz up, but Steelz bites her way out and gets a two-count. Steelz goes to twerk one more time, but Havok kicks her out of her way and tries a Samoan Drop. Steelz tries to sunset flip her way out but fails to. Havok runs to Steelz, but she lowers the rope and Havok ends up on the outside. Steelz tries a kick off the apron, but Havok ends up catching her on her shoulders and drops her face-first into the apron. Havok tries a running knee, but Steelz moves, and Havok runs right into the steel steps. Havok is able to go in at 9 but is met with stomps by Steelz. Steelz follows that with a tornado DDT for a two count and goes right into the Rings of Saturn, but Havok bites her way out and doesn’t let go of her hand in her mouth before biting Steelz’s head. Havok hits a clothesline and hits a Death Valley Driver for a two count. Havok tries another one, but Steelz locks on a sleeper hold before Havok tosses her off. Steelz hits a kick and a bulldog off the ropes for a two-count. Steelz goes to rip the turnbuckle pad off but ends up hitting a cutter for a two-count. Steelz goes to the top rope, but Havok meets her up there. Steelz gets down and is able to connect with the Blackout for the pin.

Winner: Tasha Steelz by pinfall at 10:26, to retain

IMPACT World Tag Team Championship: Violent by Design (Eric Young & Deaner) (c) (w/ Joe Doering) vs. The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe)

All four start brawling before the bell rings, spilling it to the outside with The Briscoes getting the upper hand in this brawl and getting in the ring where Joe Doering meets them inside. Young and Deaner join in and toss Jay Briscoe to the outside. Eventually, it’s just Mark and Young as the match officially starts. Jay tags in and starts stomping out Deaner in the corner. Mark ends up taking out Young on the outside, as Jay dives onto Deaner on the other side. As Young is distracting the referee, Doering pushes Jay off the top rope giving Deaner the upper hand. Doering keeps getting involved and attacks Jay by dropping him face first onto the apron. This crowd is fully behind The Briscoes throughout this match. Mark starts attacking Young and Deaner, sending Young to the outside. Mark and Deaner trade strikes, until Jay runs in, and they take out Deaner with a neckbreaker/powerbomb combo. Deaner comes back with a neckbreaker on Mark and gets a two-count. Mark and Young start trading strikes now before Jay runs in and hits a hurricanrana and a boot, before getting tagged in. Jay hits a neckbreaker as Mark hits the Froggy Bow, but Deaner breaks up the count. We get a ‘Let’s go Briscoes’ chant as all four men start brawling with Young connecting with a wheelbarrow into a neckbreaker on Mark. Young comes back and hits an elbow drop on Jay for a two-count. Young gets knocked off onto the outside, as does Doering off the apron. They hit the Doomsday Device, as Jay gets the pin on Deaner for the win and the titles.

Winners: The Briscoes (Jay Briscoe & Mark Briscoe) by pinfall at 11:17, to become NEW IMPACT World Tag Team Champions

Moose Gets Interrupted by Sami Callihan

As the commentary is getting ready to talk about the upcoming main event, they get interrupted by Moose who comes to the ring in regular clothes. Moose says he’s done a lot of terrible things the last few months and honestly, he has no remorse because those things made him the greatest champion this company’s ever had. Those terrible things made him the greatest World Champion in all of professional wrestling. And IMPACT Wrestling and all these people here repay him by, with disrespect. At Bound for Glory after he beat Josh Alexander, they gave him 6 and a half months to get ready for the rematch and after Rebellion, they only gave him 5 days to get ready for his rematch. He gave them the Match of the Year and they don’t schedule him to appear tonight. As of right now, Josh Alexander won’t be defending his title because he just hijacked this show. He’s done it before and he’ll do it again, so he tells Scott D’Amore he has 30 seconds to get out before he starts doing terrible things to the fans in the audience. The lights go out and we see the Quentin Tarantino-like video that’s been playing lately. It’s revealed to be Sami Callihan as he then appears in the ring with a bat. Callihan takes out Moose with a piledriver and announces that The Death Machine is back.

IMPACT World Championship: Josh Alexander (c) vs. Tomohiro Ishii

They mention on Alexander’s seven-hour drive from Toronto to Cincinnati, he was involved in a six-vehicle crash with his car getting torn apart by a truck and he still made it here on time. Unbelievable. The crowd sides with both men as they go right to it trying to take each other down until Alexander hits a couple of arm drags but Ishii drops him right down with a shoulder tackle. Ishii keeps Alexander in the corner with chops, but Alexander comes right back with a shoulder tackle knocking him down. Ishii is able to come back with a suplex and delivers forearms before keeping Alexander back in the corner as the crowd chants ‘Fuck him up, Ishii, fuck him up’. Alexander then turns it on him with the chops. Ishii turns it right back, but Alexander laughs it off, pulls his straps down, and challenges Ishii. Ishii hits a high chop to the throat of Alexander knocking him to the outside. As they go back inside, the chops continue until Alexander hits a big boot. That only gets Ishii angrier as they then go to a forearm exchange. Alexander hits another boot, this one knocking Ishii down. Ishii ends up on the apron where Alexander hits him with a crossbody sending them both to the outside. Inside, Alexander hits two German Suplexes, on the third attempt Ishii tries to fight out but Alexander connects it for a two count. Alexander hits a rolling senton followed by a knee from the middle rope for a two count. Ishii comes back and hits a power slam on Alexander, taking them both out on the mat. They get into another hard forearm exchange until Ishii hits a belly-to-back suplex as now the crowd chants ‘Ishii’s going to kill you’. Ishii hits a clothesline and tries a kick, but Alexander ducks it and puts Ishii into an ankle lock. Ishii escapes out and puts one on himself before transitioning it into a kneebar. Alexander escapes out and puts on the ankle lock again, before locking it in. Ishii stays in it for a while, before rolling over to the bottom rope. Alexander throws off his elbow pad and hits an elbow before going for a powerbomb, but Ishii escapes out. Alexander comes back with a hard hook and a clothesline for a two count. Alexander hits the Spin Doctor on Ishii and gets another two-count. The crowd is more divided now as Ishii crawls his way up.

Alexander goes for the C4 Spike, but Ishii back body drops his way out. Alexander comes back with a clothesline, but Ishii hits one himself. Ishii hits a devastating German Suplex, but that just fires Alexander up hitting one himself. Ishii now is fired up as they trade clotheslines with Ishii finally knocking Alexander down with one. They slowly get to their feet, until Alexander hits a forearm to the back of Ishii’s head, knocking him back down. Alexander puts Ishii on his shoulders and gets to the top rope before Ishii escapes and hits a rising headbutt knocking Alexander loopy. Ishii joins him up there where he hits a stalling superplex for a two count. Wow. Ishii hits a pair of clotheslines for another two-count. Ishii goes for the brainbuster, but Alexander escapes out and tries a small package for a two count. I bit on that one. Alexander stops Ishii in the corner and hits a powerbomb into his knee for a backbreaker. Alexander now goes to the top rope and tries a moonsault, but Ishii gets out of the way. Ishii tries a clothesline, but Alexander ducks it, but isn’t able to duck a hard headbutt from Ishii. Ishii hits his basement clothesline finally but only gets a two count. Ishii goes for the brainbuster again, but Alexander gets out and tries the C4. They go back and forth a bit until Alexander tries the ankle lock, which Ishii breaks up with his Enziguri. They go back and forth with elbows and strikes, but Alexander hits a powerbomb followed by the C4 Spike and finally ends this hell of a match. This was outstanding. Wow.

Winner: Josh Alexander by pinfall at 23:32, to retain

Can’t recommend the main event highly enough, please go out of your way to watch it. If you have time for another couple matches; I’d throw in Maclin/Sabin and the X-Division match.

About John Siino 356 Articles
New York native and reporter at POST Wrestling. He is also Associate Producer and Social Media Director at upNXT, and the host of the 'Shot in the Dark' podcast.