Impact Hard to Kill notes: Santino Marella, Masha Slamovich, Rebellion

Originally posted on F4WOnline.com | By Josh Nason | Last updated 1/13/23

While Impact Hard to Kill didn't see any title changes, it did see several returns and debuts which included former WWE star Santino Marella.

Teased on Thursday, Marella made his return to Impact after nearly five years as the company's new Director of Authority. He temporarily replaces Scott D'Amore who was taken out by Bully Ray last Thursday and is injured in storyline.

In December, it was revealed that Impact filed a trademark for the Santino Marella name.

He made his presence felt during Friday's Digital Media title match between champion Joe Hendry and Moose, restarting the match after Moose cheated to win the title. Hendry then hit his Standing Ovation finisher to get the pin and retain the title.

Marella appeared at 2017's Bound for Glory and then began hosting a Twitch show for the company. He cornered a BattleArts wrestler of his during a 2018 taping and was a guest commentator last year's Sacrifice for the title match between then-Impact World Champion Moose and Heath.

It was the second return of the night as former Impact Tag Team Champion and X-Division Champion Frankie Kazarian announced he has signed a long-term deal.

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Regardless of who wins in the main event, the Knockouts Champion already has her next challenger in Masha Slamovich.

Slamovich survived a four-way Friday that included former champions Taylor Wilde and Deonna Purrazzo in addition to Killer Kelly.

If it's Jordynne Grace, she and Slamovich had a rivalry last year that saw Grace retain the title at October's Bound for Glory and again at November's Over Drive in a Last Knockout Standing match. If it's James, it would be their first-ever meeting.

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While they do have streaming specials on Impact Plus the next two months, Impact announced they will return to pay-per-view on Sunday, April 16th in Toronto, Canada.

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PCO made his return Friday, attacking Eddie Edwards after his victory over Jonathan Gresham. The two were members of Honor No More before Edwards attacked him as the group broke up.

This article first appeared on F4WOnline.com and was syndicated with permission.

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