Impact Wrestling
Sacrifice 2022
March 5, 2022
Paristown Hall
Louisville, Kentucky
Watch: FITE
Just two weeks after their last monthly live special, Impact Wrestling is back with another. Sacrifice airs live from Paristown Hall in Louisville, Kentucky this Saturday (March 5) and is headlined by Moose defending the Impact World Championship against Heath.
Before the main card action kicks off, there are two matches set for the Countdown to Sacrifice Pre-Show on YouTube.
Countdown to Sacrifice
Gisele Shaw vs Lady Frost
A regular fixture on the European scene over the last three years, Shaw is a recent addition to the Knockouts division. She beat Frost in her Impact debut and, to be honest, the match wasn’t great but they’ll run it back here after Frost said that they’ve got unfinished business.
They seem to have more of an immediate plan with Shaw, having teased her going after Deonna Purrazzo’s Champ Champ challenge, so her winning on Saturday makes sense. Prediction: Gisele Shaw
Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs Honor No More (Matt Taven & Mike Bennett)
The Honor No More faction cemented their place in Impact by winning the No Surrender main event and this is the first of three matches involving their members on this show.
Picking an outcome here is a little tricky. The Taven/Bennett tandem picked up a win over Swann and Rhino a few weeks back, so I could see Impact’s penchant for 50/50 booking rearing its head to allow Swann to get his win back. Given that they’ve teased a singles match between Swann and Honor No More leader Eddie Edwards, Swann winning here would make sense. That said, I’m not sure that Honor No More’s established tag team should be taking a loss this early on and in this spot.
Whatever the outcome, my main hope is that this gets as much time as is possible on a 30-minute pre-show because it could be really good. Prediction: Honor No More
Sacrifice Main Show
Jonah vs PCO
The dynamic between these two is a little weird in my head but I’m intrigued to see it play out.
Jonah has been one of Impact’s most pushed acts in 2022, picking up squash wins galore and beating his opponents down after the bell. Gail Kim told him it had to stop, so he in turn asked for greater competition. Step forward, PCO.
I think the match itself will probably be fine. PCO will do his usual wacky array of tricks, Jonah will get in a load of big boi stuff. PCO can take losses given the nature of his gimmick and it feels like they have more immediate plans for Jonah, so I expect the Australian to get the win. Prediction: Jonah
Jay White vs Alex Shelley
Sacrifice will see the first one-on-one match between these two in seven years. Their previous meeting was on a NJPW Road To show when Jay was still a Young Lion and Shelley was his mentor. The dynamic this time is completely different, with White riding the crest of a wave as Bullet Club leader and Shelley making his first Impact appearance since late 2020.
This is, without doubt, my most anticipated match of the night. These guys have worked together before as part of Search and Destroy in ROH and I think that’ll translate into a consummate display of professional wrestling. It’d be nice to see Shelley stick around in Impact but even if he is, White is winning this match. Prediction: Jay White
Eddie Edwards vs Rhino
Eddie Edwards’ turn at No Surrender was necessary and his promo to cement it was good. It wasn’t the best promo in wrestling that week but it was logical and well-executed. Whether the Impact audience are ready to boo Edwards or not is a conversation for another day.
Rhino was the one laid out first by Edwards at No Surrender and that set up the singles match. Edwards should absolutely be winning here ahead of a big time singles match at Rebellion, whether that’s with Steve Maclin, Rich Swann, a returning Sami Callihan or someone else. Prediction: Eddie Edwards
Deonna Purrazzo’s Champ Champ Challenge
Deonna will be running the fourth edition of her Champ Champ challenge on Saturday night after previous successes against Santana Garrett, Miranda Alize and Lady Frost.
My main hope is that whoever her opponent is, it’s someone interesting. There are a lot of intriguing free agent options out there that they could go for but time will tell.
Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championships
The IInspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay) (C) vs The Influence (Madison Rayne & Tenille Dashwood)
It’s the match we’ve all been waiting for! After months of will they/won’t they moments and cancelled matches, The IInspiration will finally defend the Knockouts Tag titles against The Influence.
In their defense, I think Impact has done a good job with this feud. The IInspiration got legitimately ruled out of Hard to Kill because of COVID exposure but since then they’ve milked the delay, with Tenille then not being available at later tapings.
A factor to watch here is the attempts made by The IInspiration to lure Kaleb with a K to their side. On the go-home show, he once again inadvertently cost a member of The Influence a match, and I anticipate that he’ll be part of the finish once again on this show. I could see them going either way with it but my gut says that The IInspiration retain. Prediction: The IInspiration
Impact World Tag Team Championships
The Good Brothers (C) vs Violent By Design
Over the last few months, these two teams have been aligned but The Good Brothers brought that arrangement to an end after they rejoined the Bullet Club at No Surrender. As part of their previous agreement, Violent By Design were entitled to a title shot and Eric Young cashed it in for this show.
Much like at No Surrender, I find myself intrigued by a Good Brothers title match again. There’s clearly a lot of road left for them to explore with the Bullet Club angle and I’ve enjoyed what I’ve seen so far. On the other side, Eric Young seems pretty fired up right now, which is an exciting prospect. With the go-home show suggesting that a Good Brothers/Guerrillas of Destiny rematch is on the cards, I anticipate that the Good Brothers retain. Prediction: The Good Brothers
Impact X-Division Championship
Trey Miguel (C) vs Jake Something
Trey will be making the fifth defense of the X-Division title he won last October, while Jake Something will be challenging for the belt for the second time in his Impact career.
Something earned this shot on the No Surrender pre-show by winning a four-way that also involved Ace Austin, Mike Bailey and Chris Bey. Although winning that match was a pleasant surprise, I rated Something’s chances of winning the belt fairly low. Well, that was until the video package they aired on him on the go-home show. It felt significant – regardless of whether he wins or not, it seems as though he’s going to be a more predominantly featured act moving forward.
In terms of the match, these two should bring the best out of each other. Jake is a lot more versatile than folk give him credit for but he is very good when acting as a base for flippy guys that he can beat up. Trey, likewise, thrives in matches where he can take a beating as they make his comebacks better – think his Steve Maclin title defense at Hard to Kill and his previous matches with Moose.
I still think that they’re building towards Miguel defending the title against Chris Bey at Rebellion in April, so I expect him to retain here, but a title change wouldn’t surprise me. Prediction: Trey Miguel
Impact Knockouts World Championship
Mickie James (C) vs Tasha Steelz
They’re running back the Knockouts title match from No Surrender last month and it makes sense because the finish was garbage. I hope that this time these ladies are allowed to have a better match because they’ve definitely got one in them.
Prior to No Surrender, I felt that the logical next step for James’ title run was defending against a heel Chelsea Green. I’m even more convinced of that now after Green lost against Steelz on the go-home show for a spot in this match. I think she’ll eventually go back to the old ‘Hot Mess’ gimmick and turn on James but there’s no need to do it here. Just let James and Steelz give of their best and then use the TV to build towards James vs Green. Prediction: Mickie James
Impact World Championship
Moose (C) vs Heath
On paper, you’d be forgiven for being a bit perplexed that this is the main event. It’s not exactly a match that sets the pulses racing, is it?
That said, I’ve enjoyed the setup for this. Moose is over with every Impact crowd and on the show after No Surrender, he cut a promo about how every time someone steps in the ring with him, their career trajectory changes. Heath took umbrage to that, coming out and critiquing Moose for doing nothing in the battle with Honor No More. Heath pledged his allegiance to Impact, explaining how they’d stood by him throughout the year he spent on the shelf after getting injured at Bound for Glory 2020. Heath’s first match in Impact was with Moose and he called for a rematch, giving him the chance to win the title and become a champion that the promotion could be proud of. We got a big brawl after Moose insulted Heath’s kids that night and on the go-home show we saw Heath land the big neckbreaker and get a visual pin over Moose.
Let’s be honest, this is a placeholder title defense. I think the ceiling on the match quality here is fairly low, although I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised as I know Heath will work hard. The bigger questions for Impact are about where Moose’s title run goes from here, particularly if Josh Alexander is gone gone, but on this night he’ll stand tall. Prediction: Moose
