Impact notes: Alex Shelley vs. Hiroshi Tanahashi official, next week’s lineup
In a clash of leaders from their respective companies, Impact World Champion Alex Shelley vs. former IWGP Heavyweight Champion Hiroshi Tanahashi is official for Impact x NJPW Multiverse United 2.
The pay-per-view is set for Sunday, August 20th from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, Impact posted a video to social media where Shelley challenged Tanahashi for the event which “Ace” later accepted. The match will be for Shelley’s title.
While the two have been on both the same team and opposite ends of various tag team matches through the years, this will be their first-ever singles match.
Here’s the current card:
- Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Hiroshi Tanahashi
- Lio Rush & Trey Miguel vs. Hiromu Takahashi & Mike Bailey
Only one match was announced for next Thursday’s AXS TV show: one that will see the Digital Media title on the line.
New champion Kenny King will defend the gold for the first time since winning it at Slammiversary as he takes on former champion Joe Hendry and Yuya Uemura in a three-way.
The three men (and Sheldon Jean) were part of a tag team match on Thursday’s Before The Impact pre-show that helped set this in motion.
Since 2011, Josh has been a contributing editor to Wrestling Observer/F4WOnline.com and also hosts the Punch-Out podcast. He has also written for Fight Magazine, Bloody Elbow, Bleacher Report, and other websites. He's a 2000 graduate of the University of Maine, worked in pro sports, and once was an indie ring announcer.