10 Ups & 5 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling Turning Point 2021

7. The Queen Wants Her Crown

Mickie James vs. Mercedes Martinez was a solid match once it going, though it does feel like Mercedes was merely a transitional challenger to extend the James vs. Deonna Purrazzo story.

Nonetheless, the 'OG Badass' looked great here. She dominated Mickie for chunks at a time, dropping her on her neck on a few occasions with suplex variations. It was a decent ground for the match to be built upon, given Mercedes' finishers typically revolve around an opponent's neck, but eventually, Mickie relied on a jumping DDT to remain undefeated since coming back to IMPACT.

Post-match is where the real meat of this saga lied. Deonna Purrazzo emerged almost instantaneously, cinching in a Fujiwara armbar as soon as she hit the ring and spiking Mickie via Queen's Gambit. Quite simply, she wanted the Knockouts World Title back at Hard To Kill.

This was mostly excellent. Deonna looked like a calculated killer in her movements, totally switching her character around from an elegant queen to a sociopath since dropping the title. Traditionally, she'd go on a tirade; here, she kept her words mostly to herself. It's upsetting that the match didn't quite reach the expectations the match had, but this was still good, even excellent in places.

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Can be found raving about the latest IMPACT Wrestling signing, the Saints Row franchise, and King Shark in The Suicide Squad.