Multiverse United (marketed as Multiverse United: Only the Strong Survive) was a

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

(PPV)

event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of eve ...

co-produced by

Impact Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

and

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

(NJPW) as a part of

WrestleCon WrestleCon is a professional wrestling fan convention held annually each Spring since 2013 by Highspots, a digital professional wrestling retailer. The event features guest appearances, question-and-answer sessions, and live matches. Traditional ...

. It took place on March 30, 2023, at the Globe Theater in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. The event was the second

Multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...

event promoted by Impact during WrestleMania Weekend as part of WrestleCon, following

Multiverse of Matches Multiverse of Matches was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Impact Wrestling as a part of WrestleCon. It took place on April 1, 2022, at the Fairmount Hotel in Dallas, Texas. The event featured talent from partner promo ...

in 2022, thus establishing the Multiverse event as an annual tradition. Nine matches were contested at the event. In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi defeated Mike Bailey. In other prominent matches, Kenta defeated Minoru Suzuki to retain the Strong Openweight Championship,

Trey Miguel Trey McBrayer (born August 30, 1994) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where he performs under the ring name Trey Miguel, and is the current Impact X Division Champion in his second reign. Early life Tre ...

retained the Impact X Division Championship in a Six-way Scramble, and Bullet Club ( Ace Austin and

Chris Bey Chris Bey (born February 13, 1996) is an American professional wrestler currently signed with Impact Wrestling, where he is a former one-time X Division Champion. He is also known for his work on the independent scene. He has also made appearanc ...

) retained the

Impact World Tag Team Championship The Impact World Tag Team Championship (formally known as the TNA World Tag Team Championship) is a professional wrestling world tag team championship which is owned by the Impact Wrestling promotion. The current champions are The Motor City Mac ...

in a four-way tag team match.

Production

Background

On February 9, 2023,

and

(NJPW) announced they were co-producing an event as part of that year's

called Multiverse United: Only the Strong Survive, taking place at the Globe Theater on Thursday, March 30, 2023, airing live on

FITE Fite (stylized as FITE by Triller) is an American digital video streaming service launched on May 20, 2012, that is dedicated to combat sports-related programming (including boxing, mixed martial arts, and professional wrestling). The network dist ...

Storylines

The event featured several

professional wrestling matches Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

, which involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed

heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

villains A villain (also known as a "black hat" or "bad guy"; the feminine form is villainess) is a stock character, whether based on a historical narrative or one of literary fiction. ''Random House Unabridged Dictionary'' defines such a character as ...

, or less distinguishable characters in scripted events that build tension and culminate in a wrestling match or series of matches. Storylines were produced on Impact's weekly television program.

Event

Pre-show

There was only one match on the pre-show, with Yuya Uemura facing

Gabriel Kidd Gabriel Kidd (born 24 April 1997) is an English professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Professional wrestling career Early career (2011–2019) Kidd made his debut in 2011 and at that time, he wrestl ...

. Uemura won after an overhead suplex and a

diving crossbody Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

Preliminary matches

In the opener,

defended the Impact X Division Championship against Clark Connors, Frankie Kazarian,

Kevin Knight Kevin Knight (born October 22, 1976) is an American former professional association football, soccer player who played as a Defender (association football), defender. Youth Knight attended James Madison University where he played on the men's ...

, Rich Swann, and Rocky Romero in a Six-way Scramble. In the end, as Knight jumped from the top rope, Connors countered with a

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

in mid-air. Miguel then tossed Connors and pinned Knight to retain his title. Next, Eddie Edwards,

Joe Hendry Joseph Samuel Hendry (born 1 May 1988) is a Scottish amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, and musician better known as Joe Hendry. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). He was a one-time and currently the longest ...

, and

Team Filthy ''Team Filthy'' is a professional wrestling stable, performing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and previously Major League Wrestling (MLW) . The group was formed on October 5, 2017 during One Shot by "Filthy" Tom Lawlor. History Major League ...

( Tom Lawlor and

J. R. Kratos J. R. Kratos (born June 20, 1982) is an American professional wrestler, currently appearing for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), where he is a former NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Lightning One version), NWA United States Tag Team ...

) faced Alex Coughlin, Callihan, Fred Rosser, and PCO. The latter won after Callihan delivered a low blow and a

Spike Piledriver Spike, spikes, or spiking may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Books * ''The Spike'' (novel), a novel by Arnaud de Borchgrave * ''The Spike'' (book), a nonfiction book by Damien Broderick * ''The Spike'', a starship in Peter F. Hamilto ...

to Hendry, and PCO performed the PCO-Sault on Kratos to win the match. In the next bout, Jeff Cobb took on

Moose The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult mal ...

. In the end, Cobb countered a move into the Tour of the Islands for the win. Next, Deonna Purrazzo, Gisele Shaw,

Masha Slamovich Ann Khozine (russian: Анна Хозина, ''Anna Khozina''; born 18 June 1998), known by her ring name Masha Slamovich, is a Russian-American professional wrestler currently signed to Impact Wrestling. Early life Ann Khozine was born in M ...

, and

Miyu Yamashita is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to Tokyo Joshi Pro Wrestling. Yamashita was trained by DDT Pro Wrestling's Kyohei Mikami, and made her debut in August 2013 as one of the first members of DDT's all female Tokyo Joshi Pro sister promoti ...

squared off to determine who will head to

Rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

to challenge for the

Impact Knockouts World Championship The Impact Knockouts World Championship is a women's professional wrestling world championship owned by Impact Wrestling. It is primarily contested for in Impact's women's division, known as the Impact Knockouts. The championship debuted on Octob ...

. In the end, Slamovich delivered an Air Raid Crash to Purrazzo. Yamashita then hit a Roundhouse Kick. Purrazzo then delivered a powerbomb and the

Queen's Gambit The Queen's Gambit is the chess opening that starts with the moves: :1. d4 d5 :2. c4 It is one of the oldest openings and is still commonly played today. It is traditionally described as a ''gambit'' because White appears to sacrifice the c ...

on Shaw for the win. In the next match, Bullet Club ( Ace Austin and

) defended the

against

Aussie Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. ...

(

Kyle Fletcher Kyle Fletcher (born 24 December 1998) is an Australian professional wrestler currently appearing for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he was an inaugural Strong Openweight Tag Team Championship, Strong Openweight Tag Team Champion and Revolution Pro ...

and

Mark Davis Mark Davis may refer to: Entertainers *Mark Davis (talk show host), American radio talk show host * Mark Jonathan Davis (born 1965), American actor/singer and creator of Richard Cheese *Mark Davis, American bassist and founding member for the band ...

The Motor City Machine Guns The Motor City Machine Guns is an American professional wrestling tag team consisting of Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin. They are currently signed to Impact Wrestling, where they are three-time and current Impact World Tag Team Champions. The tea ...

(

Alex Shelley Patrick Kenneth Martin (born May 23, 1983) is an American professional wrestler and physical therapy clinician, better known by the ring name, Alex Shelley, makes appearances with Impact Wrestling (formerly known as Total Nonstop Action Wrestl ...

and

Chris Sabin Joshua Harter (born February 4, 1982), better known by his ring name Chris Sabin, is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to Impact Wrestling, and is also known for his work in Ring of Honor. After being trained by Scott D ...

, and

TMDK The Mighty Don't Kneel (TMDK) are a professional wrestling stable which currently wrestles for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The stable consists of Mikey Nicholls, Shane Haste Bad Dude Tito, Zack Sabre Jr. and Kosei Fujita. Sabre Jr. is the cu ...

(Bad Dude Tito and

Shane Haste Shane Veryzer (born 24 September 1985) is an Australian professional wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Shane Thorne. He is also known for his work in Pro Wrestling Noah under the Shane Haste ring ...

). In the closing stages, Aussie Open delivered the Pendulum Powerbomb to Bey for a near fall. Bullet Club delivered Roundhouse Kicks to Tito, and then delivered the Art of Finesse/ The Fold combination to retain the titles. Next,

Kushida is a Japanese Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and former Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist, better known by his mononymous ring name Kushida. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), as well as Impact Wrestl ...

faced Lio Rush. In the closing stages, Rush hit a

suicide dive Aerial techniques, also known as "high-flying moves" are maneuvers in professional wrestling using the ring's posts and ropes as aids, in many cases to demonstrate the speed and agility of smaller, nimble and acrobatically inclined wrestlers prefer ...

to Kushida on the outside. Kushida then locked in the Hoverboard Lock, but Rush escaped. Rush delivered the Come Up, but Kushida reached the bottom ropes. As Rush leaped into the air, Kushida countered it into the Hoverboard Lock for a tapout. After the match, both men embraced each other. In the penultimate match, Kenta defended the Strong Openweight Championship against Minoru Suzuki. In the end, Kenta delivered a diving double-foot stomp for a two-count. As Kenta was looking for the GTH, Suzuki escaped into a

sleeper A sleeper is a person who is sleeping. Sleeper may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Characters * Sleeper (Marvel Comics), a Nazi German robot utilized by the Red Skull in Marvel Comics * The Sleeper (Wild Cards), a character in the Wild Ca ...

, but Kenta escaped. Then, unbeknownst to the referee, Kenta delivered a low blow and rolled up Suzuki, with his feet on the ropes, for the win.

Main event

In the main event, Hiroshi Tanahashi faced Mike Bailey. On the outside, Bailey delivered a

Springboard moonsault A moonsault, moonsault press, or back flip splash is a Professional wrestling aerial techniques, professional wrestling aerial technique. It was innovated by Mando Guerrero. Much of its popularity in both Puroresu, Japanese and professional wrestl ...

to Tanahashi. As Bailey was entering the ring, Tanahashi delivered a dragon screw on the ropes. As Bailey was looking for a tornado kick, Tanahashi countered into a Sling Blade. Bailey then delivered a top-rope hurricanrana and hit the tornado kick, but Tanahashi escaped the Ultima Weapon. Tanahashi then hit the High Fly Flow to pickup the victory. After the match, Tanahashi helped Bailey to his feet.

Results

References

External links

* {{New Japan Pro Wrestling events 2023 Impact Wrestling pay-per-view events 2023 in Los Angeles 2023 in professional wrestling Events in Los Angeles March 2023 events in the United States Professional wrestling in Los Angeles Professional wrestling joint shows