Major Update On Mickie James And The IMPACT Knockouts Title

Hardcore Country is out injured due to a rib injury.

by Andrew Pollard
Mickie James
IMPACT Wrestling

With last week seeing it confirmed that IMPACT Knockouts Champion Mickie James was dealing with an undisclosed injury, it now looks as if Hardcore County may not have to be stripped off her title.

Appearing at last night's Sacrifice event - where she was supposed to defend the Knockouts Title against Jordynne Grace - James revealed that she has suffered a broken rib. However, the hope is that Mickie will be recovered in time for the Rebellion PPV on 16 April.

Advertisement

Not just was James set to defend the Knockouts Championship at Sacrifice, she was also scheduled to put that gold on the line against Deonna Purrazzo, Miyu Yamashita and Gisele Shaw at IMPACT x NJPW Multiverse United next Thursday.

With Mickie now ruled out of Multiverse United, that bout will instead by Purrazzo vs. Yamashita vs. Shaw vs. Masha Slamovich, with the winner earning themselves a title shot at Rebellion. Said title shot will also feature Jordynne Grace, with the current plan being for that to be a triple threat match where Mickie James defends the Knockouts Title.

Advertisement

As a contingency plan, Sacrifice saw it noted that James will vacate the Knockouts Championship to the winner of Grace and the Multiverse United victor at Rebellion should Mickie not be cleared to return to the ring by that point.

Of course, this comes hot on the heels of Josh Alexander last week having to vacate the IMPACT World Title due to a torn triceps. That brought the Walking Weapon's record-setting reign to an end at an impressive 335 days, and Steve Maclin and KUSHIDA will do battle for that belt at the aforementioned Rebellion.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.