Impact recap & reactions (June 8, 2023): Against All Odds preview

Against All Odds goes live Friday night, June 9, so the latest episode of Impact Wrestling (June 8, 2023) was focused on previewing that special event.

The card for Against All Odds includes:

• Impact World Championship: Steve Maclin (c) vs. Alex Shelley
• 8-4-1 Match: Bully Ray, Jonathan Gresham, Heath, Nick Aldis, Moose, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Rich Swann, and PCO (winners of an 8-man tag compete in a 4-way for the #1 contender world title shot at Slammiversary)
• Deonna Purrazzo & Trinity vs. Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans
• Frankie Kazarian vs. Eddie Edwards
• X-Division Championship: Trey Miguel (c) vs. Chris Sabin
• Ohio Street Fight: Sami Callihan, Jake Crist, & Madman Fulton vs. Deaner, Angels, & Kon
• Impact World Tag Team Championship: Ace Austin & Chris Bey (c) vs. John Skyler & Jason Hotch (with Brian Myers as coach)
• Dog Collar Match: Masha Slamovich vs. Killer Kelly
• Impact Digital Media Championship: Joe Hendry (c) vs. Dango (pre-show)

Against All Odds is available for viewing through on IMPACT Plus, YouTube for IMPACT Ultimate Insiders and Fite TV.

Steve Maclin will defend the Impact World Championship against Alex Shelley in the main event of the evening. Shelley earned his shot by winning a #1 contender bout at Under Siege two weeks ago. There hasn’t been much direct build. The story relies on the general good guy versus bad guy theme. Shelley is also itching to finally win the world title that has eluded him his entire career.

Maclin isn’t concerned about the challenge. He knows people will be coming at all directions for the championship. Bully Ray entered the scene to remind Maclin not to overlook him.

Speaking of Bully, he will be participating in the 8-4-1 match at Against All Odds with Jonathan Gresham, Heath, Nick Aldis, Moose, “Speedball” Mike Bailey, Rich Swann, and PCO. The concept is an 8-man tag with the winners competing in a 4-way match to earn the world title shot at Slammiversary on July 15.

The main event of Impact Wrestling was a preview tag match for the 8-4-1. Moose & Swann wrestled Gresham & Aldis. Swann was in control climbing the corner for a phoenix splash. Moose tagged himself in. Gresham rose up to powerbomb Swann off the turnbuckles. The Octopus was not aware of the tag, so Moose came from behind for a surprise powerbomb to win.

In the aftermath, a melee broke out with other 8-4-1 competitors rumbling in the ring. PCO stood tall with a cannonball over the ropes crashing down below.

Deonna Purrazzo and Trinity have a date for the Knockouts Championship at Slammiversary, but Gisele Shaw is butting in their business. The Quintessential Diva is not content to let go of the spotlight. Purrazzo and Trinity will team up at Against All Odds against Shaw and Savannah Evans. Also of note, Shaw’s brutal attack last week on Jordynne Grace has left the Juggernaut out indefinitely on the injured list.

The match between Frankie Kazarian and Eddie Edwards is about locker room leadership. Edwards views himself as the top dog, but Kaz doesn’t like the way Edwards handles business (in a heel manner). Kaz plans on teaching some respect to Edwards.

Chris Sabin has his eye on becoming a nine-time X-Division champion. Trey Miguel retained the title at Under Siege by spraying paint in Sabin’s face. A rematch was ordered for Against All Odds. Trey was in action on Impact Wrestling to defeat Bhupinder Gujjar via lightning spiral. Trey grabbed a mic proclaiming himself as a generational talent. Sabin used to be that back in the day, but it’s not the case anymore. Trey will leave no ifs, ands, or buts when he beats Sabin again.

Sami Callihan continues his war against the Design. With Swann occupied in the 8-4-1 match, Callihan needed a new partner to join Jake Crist in an Ohio street fight. The Death Machine brought back Madman Fulton for an oVe reunion. The Design is ready to make Callihan pay in blood.

ABC defends the Impact World Championship against the Good Hands at Against All Odds. Chris Bey put in work on TV to beat Jason Hotch in singles action. Hotch went for a cradle pin, but Bey sat down on it to steal the win. Brian Myers led the post-match attack on Bey and Ace Austin. The Good Hands stood tall with the tag titles.

Dog collar match! Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich are taking their feud to the next level. Last week, Kelly explained that chaining two humans together makes them turn to instinct to fight like dogs.

This week, Slamovich ruined the pre-show match with a message in Russian. I don’t know what was said, but it was clear that she isn’t backing down from the challenge.

Dango isn’t really interested in winning the Impact Digital Media Championship toy title from Joe Hendry, but Santino Marella did Hendry a solid to book the rematch after Dango low blowed Hendry at Under Siege. If Dango does win the belt, then he’ll put it on eBay and use the money to vacation in Hawaii.

Hendry handled business in the ring to beat Sheldon Jean as payback for breaking his nose. Hendry overcame Kenny King’s interference to win on a chokeslam spinebuster. Afterward, Hendry called out Dango for a song. Hendry played his newest musical diss track to claim Dango’s bad attitude stems from being rejected by Summer Rae and Eva Marie on Total Divas.

As Hendry gloated, King and Jean attacked from behind. Dango joined in on the fun. Santino made the save with the Cobra to Jean.

There were a few items on the show not related to Against All Odds, and two of them were the most interesting things on the broadcast.

The Death Dollz challenged the Coven for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship. Courtney Rush (aka the repackaged Rosemary) and Jessicka beat the witches in non-title action, so now was their chance to win gold. Rush should have had the win when Taylor Wilde tapped out to the Sharpshooter, but the referee was occupied by Jessicka and KiLynn King fighting on the other side of the ring. The Coven rebounded from the distraction to win on a big boot spinebuster combo.

Johnny Swinger still has zero wins on his road to earning a world title shot. Swinger passed the blame to crooked referees paid off by Gene Simmons and Bob Seger. The Swingman sent Zicky Dice to referee school to remedy the situation.

Last but not least, Heath dished out revenge on Champagne Singh to win on a Wake Up Call. Heath picked up some momentum for the 8-4-1 match.

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This episode of Impact Wrestling is mostly a pass in a busy wrestling landscape. The Against All Odds show was rushed two weeks after Under Siege, so they focused on a bunch of preview matches with no stakes involved. The action wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t riveting. The Knockouts tag bout was the most important segment on the show. All the rest was entertainment with little substance.

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