Melina was back in Impact to do the splits and make a statement in her in-ring debut with the promotion tonight on Impact Wrestling (Aug. 19, 2021). The aftermath led to a mixed tag bout scheduled for Impact’s Emergence special event on Friday, August 20.
Melina walked through the Forbidden Door two weeks ago from the NWA to Impact as the next challenger for Deonna Purrazzo and the Knockouts Championship. That match will take place on NWA’s all-women Empowerrr PPV on August 28. In the meantime, Melina returned to Impact to showcase her skills.
Melina’s appearance started innocently enough with a little soft flirting from Trey Miguel involving the Treehouse and the splits. That conversation turned out to be foreshadowing toward the mixed tag bout.
.@RealMelina makes her IMPACT debut NEXT! #IMPACTonAXSTV @TheTreyMiguel pic.twitter.com/5wF6P6jxlD
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 20, 2021
Melina’s entrance did not disappoint. She received hard support from the crowd.
.@RealMelina is ready for her IMPACT in-ring debut against @brandilauren_ ! #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/OqILLtFLlE
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 20, 2021
Melina’s warm-up bout was against Brandi Lauren. The three-time WWE Women’s Champion and two-time WWE Divas Champion utilized offense based around kicks and running attacks. Lauren was no pushover though. She scored a neckbreaker and tried to catapult Melina into the turnbuckles. Melina blocked the impact then came back with a flying crossbody. Melina ducked a head kick to transition for a Muta Lock submission. She rolled the position over to crank Lauren in the California Dream variation.
.@RealMelina sends a message to @DeonnaPurrazzo with a SUBMISSION victory. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/LlFxnLLhbT
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 20, 2021
After the match, Purrazzo blindsided Melina. They rolled around on the mat until the Drama King (fka Aiden English) arrived to pull Melina off. He held her steady, so Purrazzo could attack. Trey Miguel ran in for the save. As Purrazzo focused on berating Trey, that allowed time for Melina to recover and pounce for a Thesz press. Purrazzo was dumped from the ring for Melina and Trey to stand tall.
.@TheTreyMiguel SAVED @RealMelina from @DeonnaPurrazzo and @DramaKingMatt's attack! #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/fUAmQlueGV
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) August 20, 2021
The result of this skirmish was a mixed tag bout set for Emergence. Melina and Trey will team up against Purrazzo and the Drama King.
Melina had a decent outing in the ring by using her flexibility to her advantage. It wasn’t on par with her peak days in WWE, but she showed enough that should ensure an entertaining match against Purrazzo at Empowerrr.
How do you rate Melina’s skills in her in-ring debut for Impact? Do you believe she poses a legit threat to win the Knockouts Championship from Purrazzo?