7 Ups & 4 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling (28 Oct)

3. Time Warp

Mickie James' first Knockouts Title defence will see her defend against Madison Rayne, as revealed on last night's show. This goes down on next Thursday's show.

The match came about during Mickie's victory speech. While noting that the Knockouts Title isn't what she initially came back to IMPACT for, the now-four-time champion revelled in the opportunity to not only challenge for the title once more, but also wrestle a belter of a match vs. Deonna Purrazzo. Crucially, Mickie confirmed herself to be a fighting champion, referencing Knockouts Knockdown and the talent currently on offer.

That Madison Rayne, a knockouts legend in her own right, will serve as Mickie's debut challenger is apropos. There's deep-rooted history between them in IMPACT that dates back over a decade, they'll have, at the very least, a fine match, and it saved the bigger, marquee matches for further in Mickie's title run.

Madison was actually the star of this promo, stealing the new champion's thunder almost. She referenced Mickie departing IMPACT for any promotion that had their doors open to her; she's done this, too, of course, but traditionally she's returned in the same year or so. Everything here clicked. Now, the match just has to deliver some substance.