Cazer’s Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill Review 01.08.22

Commentary: D’Lo Brown & Tom Hannifan

Tonight’s the night Impact’s been building to for the last few months. The build has been up and down depending who you ask but I don’t think you can question this card. Hard to Kill looks like one of Impact’s more exciting shows from top to bottom in some time. Despite the Impact Knockouts tag team champions being removed from this card it’s still full of intriguing matches & championship bouts.

Matt Cardona and W. Morrisey both look to defeat Moose and become Impact Wrestling champion. Steve Maclin is running out of chances to become X-Division Champion, and Deonna Purrazzo is looking to rain on Mickie James parade. Last night Mickie was announced as a participant in WWE’s Royal Rumble later this month. Yes you read that right, the current Impact Knockouts champion is in line to appear in one of WWE’s big 4 PPV’s but first she has to retain over a very talented challenger in Deonna Purrazzo.

From the pre-show to the main event this card offers a lot of great matchups. We’ve already learned about some commentary changes that have people talking but who knows what other surprises Impact may have up their sleeve tonight. Let’s get to the show

Countdown to Hard to Kill:

Madman Fulton vs. Jake Something

Neither of these guys are necessarily involved in a program but both deserve to be featured so this is a cool match for the preshow. The match opens with Fulton big booting Jake out of the ring and both men are on the apron beating each other down until Fulton clotheslines Jake into the ring. Jake with a clothesline but Fulton back on the offensive and gets Jake in the corner with some lefts and rights. Fulton lifts Jake onto the top rope and hits an assisted neck breaker, Fulton covers for a two count. Fulton lifts Jake up and sends him into the corner, dropping to his knees favoring his lower back. Jake to his feet and he exchanges strikes with Fulton before sending him into the apron. Fulton with a HBK esque roll through in the corner. Fulton to the top rope and hits Jake with a crossbody. Fulton covers but again Jake kicks out at two and Fulton is clearly irritated. Tom flexing his impact knowledge on commentary. Jake catches Fulton with double fists to the throat but Fulton hits him with a knee. Jake sends Fulton into the corner and we get another corner roll through but Jake hits a springboard clothesline to send Fulton on the outside. Jake takes a moment and then dives onto Fulton on the outside before landing on his feet this dude is good. Jake slides Fulton into the ring and asks “What’s my name!” before spearing Fulton in the corner. Jake with a sit out powerbomb for a two count before Fulton kicks out at the last second. Jake off the ropes looks for a seated clothesline but Fulton catches him by the throat, Fulton KIPS UP and chokeslams Something. Fulton covers but gets a two count and he’s pissed he slams Jake’s head on the mat before hitting another Chokeslam. The crowd starts chanting one more time. Fulton rolls Jake over and lifts him up for a third chokeslam but Jake reverses out and hits Into the void and covers for the three count in 5:27.
Rating: **3/4
Review: This was a solid opener that was a tad short to be honest. These two have shown out the last few months and are really two great talent in Impact. I was surprised to see Something get the victory here but both are great.

– Chelsea is backstage with Gia and Matt Cardona and she promises to become the #1 contender for the Impact Knockouts championship. Cardona and Chelsea put over their wedding and Cardona says Hard to Kill is their honeymoon. He promises they will head out with the Big Red X and the Impact World Championship.

Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs. Laredo Kid

This is Speedball’s debut match and what a way to introduce the audience to one of their more interesting signings in recent memory. Bailey’s a fantastic talent who had a lot of buzz behind him in the past and could very well be a breakout star for Impact in 2022. The bell sounds and Speedball tries to shake hands with everyone, Ace asks Bey if Bailey is serious and fakes a handshake. Bey tries to catch him with a spin kick but Bailey dodges it sending him to the outside. Bailey with some SPEEDY kicks on Ace and a Speedball chant erupts. Baily off the ropes and we get some quick action between he and Laredo Kid. Bey slides into the ring and Laredo grabs his and Bailey’s hand before spring boarding and doing a moonsault to send both outside the ring. Laredo looks to dive to the outside but Ace grabs the legs and prevents the dive. Ace on the inside and Laredo looks for a moonsault but Ace hits him with a dropkick in mid air! Ace drops Bailey to the outside and refocuses his attention on Laredo kid. Ace hits Laredo with a gut wrench suplex before heading to the outside and focus on Bailey. Ace slides back into the ring to focus on Laredo kid and nails him with a chop. Bey back in the ring and catches Ace with a boot to the face. Bey uses Laredo to springboard and dropkick Ace before dropping right onto Laredo Kid. Bey and Ace look for a simultaneous kick and Mike Bailey gets both their attention. They look to attack him but he drops and hits them with a double drop kick. Bailey looks to do something but stumbles and he points at Laredo, Laredo dives on both Bey and Austin sending them to the outside. Laredo and Bailey with a double dive to Bey and Ace on the outside. They send Bey into the ring but start arguing so Bey hits a dive on both men outside the ring. Bey tries to catch Austin on the apron but he does a handstand before kicking Bey in the chin. Ace with a flip to the outside on all three men and Ace says Impact is his house. Ace climbs back into the ring but Bailey kicks him and stops it. Laredo Kid catches Bailey in the corner and we get a Spanish fly to the outside on Bey and Ace. Bailey and Laredo Kid back into the ring and Laredo Kid with a forearm to Bailey in the corner, Laredo follows with a michinoku driver before doing a moonsault on Bailey. Laredo calls for one more and hits a second on Bailey before covering for a two count. The crowd calls for a third and Ace moves Bailey out of the way, Ace with a springboard kick and covers for two before Bey breaks up the cover. Bey lifts Ace up but Bailey catches him with a kick. Ace kicks Bailey and sends him to the outside. Ace looks to catch Bey with something but he gets hit with a cutter. Bey covers for two but Laredo dives onto Ace, Bey moves out of the way and hits a cutter on Laredo himself but Bailey back into the ring. He hits a moonsault on Laredo. Bailey with a shooting star knee drop onto the back of Ace Austin and covers for the victory in 8:30.
Rating: ***1/4
Review: This was a high flying, fast paced match, there were a couple of very small slip ups but Bailey did a really good job covering them up and it made for a really fun debut match for him. Bailey’s been an awesome addition to the roster I’m with commentary I’m excited to see what’s next for him. 

-that ends the pre-show two solid matches to get the crowd ready for an exciting night!

– We get a good promo to open reminding us why the talent are Hard to Kill and this crowd is actually pretty hot for this one. We’re opening things up with the knockouts Ultimate X Let’s GOOO.

Ultimate X
Tasha Steelz vs. Lady Frost vs. Alisha vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Rosemary vs. Chelsea Green

This is the first ever women’s ultimate x match up and the winner will become #1 contender to the Impact Knockouts championship. Alisha was added as a last minute replacement for Rachael Ellering. The match starts off crazy with Jordynne and Tasha trying to climb early but they’re stopped. Chelsea with the blockbuster on Alisha sends her to the outside and Chelsea starts to climb but Steelz catches her and they exchange strikes. Steelz sends Chelsea into the corner and we get some grappling before Steelz sends Chelsea to the outside with a tilt-awhile head scissors. Jordynne in the ring and she hits Steelz with a spinebuster before throwing her outside the ring into Alisha and Lady Frost. Rosemary catches Jordynne before she can start to climb. Savannah Evans comes out and Jordynne hits a ddt off the apron onto Tasha outside. Havok comes out and lifts Rosemary up to grab the X but Chelsea Green with a dropkick prevents it from happening sending Havok and Rosemary out. Chelsea and Alisha try to scale the beam on the outside and then both dive onto opposite sides taking out all four women on the outside. Everyone is down after a pretty sweet spot. Everyone starts to get up and Lady Frost is on the top ropes she hits a huge corkscrew dive onto everyone outside of the ring. Lady Frost begins to climb up the scaffold but Jordynne Grace climbs up to prevent her from getting the X. Jordynne sends Frost face first into the steel before she climbs onto the ropes. Jordynne begins to climb her way to the X and Lady Frost jumps onto her back but Jordynne doesn’t fall. Rosemary catches Frost looking for a powerbomb but Frost reverses it. Tasha Steelz comes in and pulls Jordynne down. Frost hits a yoshitonic on Jordynne with the assist from Chelsea. Chelsea began to climb for the X but is stopped crashing into Tasha. Rosemary and Chelsea begin to climb for the X but Alisha gets in the ring and starts nailing them both with the kendo stick. She lays into Rosemary with Kendo stick shots as the crowd chants “She’s Hardcore”. Alisha climbs to the top and starts to climb the scaffold getting to the rope and climbing. Chelsea has the kendo stick and looks to hit Alisha but Rosemary hits her with a spear off the ropes. Tasha starts to climb the scaffold and gets to the ropes but Jordynne follows quickly behind. Tasha and Jordynne meet in the middle and Jordynne starts kicking at Tasha . They wrap each other and both drop to the mat. tailbone first. OUCH. Lady Frost climbs up the scaffolding and hits a moonsault to the outside on Havok Rosemary and Savannah. Somehow Jordynne grace is back up and she starts to climb up to the rope. Tasha and Jordynne meet each other again and Tasha drops Jordynne with a right to the face. Chelsea and Tasha meet in the center and begin fighting over the X. Tasha Steelz grabs the X and falls to the mat to win in 10:12
Rating: ***
Review: This was an exciting ultimate x and a great showing for the women, the finish may have felt a bit off but its the only way to do it without it being completely anti climatic I think. I really thought Chelsea was going to win and it was going to come off even more awkward but it was ok. Shout out to all the women for leaving it all in this one that was fun.

– Mickie James discusses the news about her going to the Royal Rumble later this month, she says the excitement of that will not get in the way of her championship match tonight. She says it’s no secret she and Deonna don’t like each other and tonight’s match is very fitting because everything is bigger in Texas. She says Deonna’s not getting up for the ten seconds and last night was glorious but it will be more glorious when she walks out champion.

– Deonna is backstage with Gia and she asks about the news, Deonna says she’s glad Mickie’s confident but tonight it ends. She says it’s the only night in the last two years she’s walked into a pay per view without her championship. She says she has a plan A and a plan B. Gail Kim says she put in a no contact clause and that ends tonight but if Matt Rehwoldt puts his hands on Mickie she loses and Matt is fired. Deonna says this happens time after time but she doesn’t care and tonight Mickie’s done. Deonna says Mickie can walk out tonight but she’s not walking into the Royal Rumble.

X-Division Championship
Steve Maclin vs. Trey Miguel (c)

Maclin’s had a number of X-Division championship opportunities but never a singles match with champion Trey Miguel. Tonight he gets that opportunity but if he loses Gail Kim has informed him he will not receive another championship opportunity down the line. They teased the Rascalz and Miguel made his entrance. Maclin attacks Trey before the bell beating the champion up the entrance ramp. Trey with a dropkick sends Maclin down the ramp. Trey regains the offensive and sends Maclin into the ring starting the match. Trey looks for a moonsault but Maclin catches him and sets him up in a tree of woe. Maclin looks for a spear but Trey moves sending Maclin to the outside. Trey hits a dive onto Maclin that ends up with Trey in the front row. Trey lays into Maclin with a forearm but Maclin spears him back first into the ring apron. Maclin chops Trey against the barricade before tossing Trey into the ring. Trey looks for his spin through but Maclin catches his legs and slams him back first into the barricade. Maclin back into the ring and taunts for a moment before sliding back out to spear Miguel into the apron yet again. Maclin tosses Trey into the ring and covers for a two count. Maclin with a uranage to the knee. Maclin sets Trey up on the middle rope and clotheslines him off the rope. Maclin backs Trey into the corner but Miguel fights back and rolls through but runs right into another BIG uranage and Maclin covers but Trey kicks out at two again. Maclin with a strike to the back and taunts Miguel before hitting him with another backbreaker before covering for a two count. Maclin starts taunting the crowd before sending Trey into the ropes and Trey goes to the apron before Maclin kicks him in the face to the outside. Maclin with an elbow drop off the apron to Miguel on the outside. Maclin goes to D’Lo and Tom and flips them off lol. Maclin with a backdrop on the apron. Maclin covers Trey for a two count. Maclin with a submission but the crowd wills him to his feet. Maclin with another forearm to the back sends Trey to the mat before hitting another backbreaker into a stretch. Trey with the knee strikes to fight out of the stretch and starts hammering Maclin with some more strikes. Miguel catches Maclin and rolls him through before hitting him with a double stomp. Trey looks for a springboard clothesline but Maclin ducks it. Trey pulls Maclin face first into the apron before climbing to the middle rope. Trey looks for a meteora on the apron. Maclin sets Trey up on the ropes and spears him into the ropes and both men roll outside. Maclin rolls Trey in and covers but he kicks out at two. Maclin fires away with elbows to the head and neck of Trey. Maclin looks for Mayhem for all but Trey rolls through into a freakin piledriver. Trey hits the scorpion kick and covers Maclin for two. Trey to the top but Maclin charges, Trey drops off onto the apron but Maclin hits him with an elbow. Both men on the apron and they’re exchanging strikes. Trey with a knee to the face. Trey hits the meteora off the apron to the outside. Maclin’s head hit the damn guardrail. Trey rolls back into the ring and the refs at 8 before Trey rolls him into the ring. Trey with another meteora to Maclin and covers but Maclin kicks out at the LAST SECOND! Trey slaps Maclin and hits him with a flurry of strikes and Maclin talks shit through all of it. Trey with a brainbuster before climbing to the top. Trey with ANOTHER Meteora and covers Maclin for the victory in 12:58.
Rating: ***3/4
Review: First off, I hope Maclin is ok, outside of that wow what a bad ass match. I can’t believe Trey won but he looks great as does Steve Maclin. I wonder where Maclin goes from here, but he certainly won me over tonight. 

– The Influence are backstage with Gia and say the Iinspiration are unprofessional for not showing up to work. Madison says they should’ve made it a priority and shown up for work. Madison says they’re still going to have the match and become Impact Knockouts Tag Team Champions. They say the match will be in Ft. Lauderdale on January 27th. Kaleb has already started the photoshops of them with the belts and they walk away.

ROH World Championship
Jonathan Gresham vs. Chris Sabin

This is the first time the ROH World championship has been defended in Impact and it’s sure to be a standout wrestling match. Bobby Cruise is here to ring announce and Ian Riccaboni is here for commentary. Cruise runs down the ROH rules. Sabin is due a championship opportunity but he never received it for some reason so this is three years in the making. Handshake and this is under way. Chain wrestling early and Gresham takes Sabin to the mat with a single leg but both men back to their feet and a sign of respect between the two. Lockup and Sabin with an armdrag before another stare down. We get another handshake, Sabin with a headlock but Gresham with a unique reversal out locking Sabin into a modified ankle lock. Sabin grabs Gresham’s wrist and fights out before rolling Gresham up for two. Lockup and Gresham to the mat using his legs for an arm twist attacking the arm of Sabin. Gresham attacks the ankle before trapping Sabin into a cover for two. Gresham holds Sabin down and starts attacking the fingers and joints of Sabin. Gresham with a roll up for two followed by an armdrag right away. Sabin sends Gresham to the outside and hits Gresham with a kick to the face. Sabin sends Gresham into the ring and Gresham kicks at the arm but Sabin moves. Gresham with an elbow to the face and looks for a submission but Sabin with a forearm to the face. Gresham rolls through and covers Sabin for two but Sabin bridges out. Sabin with a lifted rotating DDT and covers Gresham for a TWO. Gresham barely kicked out. Sabin lifts Gresham onto his shoulder but Gresham with a wristlock but Sabin sends Gresham into the ropes. Gresham bounces out with a shoulder block. Sabin catches Gresham with a knee to the gut before setting Gresham on the ropes for a swinging neck breaker. Sabin covers for a two count and Gresham uses his first of three available rope breaks. Gresham rolls through and again hits the arm with that kicking arm twist. Gresham slaps Sabin right in the face and hits him with a dragonscrew. Gresham kicks at the arm again but Sabin moves again. Gresham off the middle rope and hits Sabin with a moonsault. Gresham with the elbow strikes before covering Sabin for a two count. Gresham locks in a crossface. Sabin tries to crawl to the bottom rope but Gresham grabs his arm. Sabin grabs the rope and forces his first rope break. Gresham locks in a crossface yet again but Sabin rolls through and nearly steals it. Gresham stomps on Sabin’s foot and locks in the octopus hold. The ref asks but Sabin wont tap. Sabin grabs for the rope but Gresham grabs his arm. Gresham with the hammer fists to the side of Sabin’s head. Sabin fights out and hits Gresham with the cradleshock. Sabin covers and gets a three count but Gresham’s leg was under the bottom rope. The referee almost calls it but sees the foot under the rope. Both men look to get to their feet and start exchanging elbow shots as they’re getting up. They start exchanging chops. They chops the hell out of each other and Gresham falls to e knee before they get back up and start palm striking each other. Sabin drops Gresham but he kips right up but Sabin ducks an enziguri and drops Gresham with an enziguri of his own. Sabin lifts Gresham up for the cradleshock but Gresham rollls out, they roll each other up but Gresham stacks Sabin up for the victory in 12:41.
Rating: ***3/4
Review: This was such an awesome display of good as wrestling. I’m far from a graps guy but this was such a good match and they did a great job trying to enhance the idea of ROH and made this match stand apart from most of what we’ve seen so far tonight. I really like the Pure Rules especially the rope break, I hope we see more of this in the future it’s made Gresham feel really important and keep ROH relevant.

– Tasha’s backstage with Gia and she says there’s no history if there’s no flava in it. She say’s she created history, She says they have a date on the wrong side of the street with Tasha Steelz.

Josh Alexander vs. JONAH

These two have had issues since JONAH made his Impact debut a few months ago. Since then JONAH has beat down Josh and caused some internal bleeding. Now Josh looks to settle the score. We got a nice promo package ahead of the match. Staredown early before Josh kicks Jonah right in the face and we get a Walking Weapon / Lets Go Jonah chant battle. Josh catches JONAH in the corner and hits him with a flurry of strikes. Commentary discusses that Josh is just being emotional here. Josh looks for a second rope dropkick but JONAH wont fall. JONAH goes for a senton but Josh moves. Josh goes for the ankle lock but JONAH shoves him off to the outside. JONAH follows Josh to the outside and hits him with a chop before sliding him back into the ring. Josh attacks the leg and gets it trapped in the ropes before the ref helps get it out. Josh stomps away at JONAH’s ankle before sending him to the outside with a diving cross body to the back. Josh on the outside with a chop of his own before looking for a suplex but JONAH blocks it and lifts Josh up dropping him ribs first into the apron. Back in the ring and JONAH with a chop on Josh in the corner before lifting him up and dropping him rib first on the top turnbuckle. JONAH puts Josh onto his shoulders and tosses him onto the mat in the center of the ring. JONAH covers for a two count. JONAH lifts Josh up for an inverted torture rack but he fights out. Josh tries to backslide the big man but JONAH blocks it. Josh grabs Jonah’s ankle and hammers away at it. Josh looks for the c4 spike but he can’t. JONAH tosses Josh onto the top rope and follows with a senton before covering for two. JONAH lifts Josh back up into the torture rack. Josh elbows JONAH in the face to get out. Josh tries to grab the leg but JONAH hammers at his back, Josh responds with a chop. Josh and JONAH go face to face. Josh tells him to hit him and JONAH DROPS him with a huge elbow. Josh fights back and kicks JONAH in the ankle. Josh tries to clothesline JONAH out but he can’t do it. He tries another two times before finally hitting it after a third time. Josh and JONAH fight into the crowd and the front row is a bit concerned. The finally move and JONAH clotheslines Josh back into the ring area. Josh punches JONAH and he falls into someone’s seat. Josh climbs to the top turnbuckle. JONAH gets to his feet and JOSH dives over the guardrail and hits JONAH with a clothesline taking both men to the ground. Josh makes it back to the ring. JONAH is back to his feet and makes it just in time. Josh looks for the c4 spike but JONAH hits the backbody drop. Josh with a knee to the back of the head and covers JONAH for a two count. Josh climbs to the top rope but JONAH shoves him off rib first into the post. Both men on the top and JONAH hits a HUGE superplex on Josh. Both men just barely beat the count and start exchanging strikes. BIG STRIKES and JONAH lays in some combos, Josh with some Combos. JONAH catches Josh and hits him with a powerbomb for two. JONAH with a clothesline and covers Josh for a two count again! JONAH lifts Josh up and headbutts him three times yeesh. JONAH with a brainbuster! JONAH covers and Josh kicks out again. JONAH climbs to the top but Josh locks in an ankle lock the ref forces a break. JONAH with ah headbutt and it sends Josh to the mat. JONAH goes for a moonsault but Josh moves and hits JONAH with a suplex and follows with a damn powerbomb. Josh covers and gets a two count. Josh locks in an ankle lock and Josh stomps away at JONAHs face then ankle. Josh locks in the ankle lock and finally JONAH taps at 17:07.
Rating: ****
Review: That was such an awesome match with a solid story, many great spots. It was tough to pick a winner here but I can’t say i’m mad Josh won hopefully now he can refocus on the Impact world title. This definitely makes me want to see more of JONAH though this was awesome. 

– Gia’s backstage with Swann, Willie, Heath, Rhino and Eddie Edwards. Eddie hypes up his team before Swann and Willie say they’re ready for a fight. Rhino tells Eric Young he doesn’t care how many people he has to go through to rip his head off and kick it down the street put it back on his body then rip his intestines out and choke him with them hahaha damn Rhino. They follow this with a violent by design promo package setting up this match.

Hardcore War
The Good Brothers & VBD vs. Heath, Rhino, Edwards, Mack, & Swann

These teams are constructed of a variety of competitors who might not always work together but the enemy of my enemy is my friend and there are plenty of enemies here. This is basically a war games match without the cage or two rings. Timed entries and the like. Rich Swann and Deaner start this off with a chair and a trashcan. Swann hits Deaner with the chair then they turn to striking each other. Swann with a bulldog on Deaner. He waits for Deaner to get up then hits him with a suplex. Swann follows that with a rolling splash on Deaner. Swann wedges the chair in between the ropes, it takes a second but he finally gets it. Swann looks to run Deaners face into it but Deaner rakes his eyes and hits him in the back with a trashcan. Deaner runs at Swann with the can but gets it dropkicked into his face. Swann looks for a 450 but Deaner moves and gets right up. Deaner sends Swann face first into the chair and waves the VBD flag high. Deaner yells VBD at Swann but he eats a spinning heel kick. Swann goes for a cutter but Deaner catches him and uses the flag to do a Russian leg sweep on Swann. Deaner grabs a steel chair and slides it into the ring before setting it up. Deaner gets Swann onto his shoulders but Swann fights out and hits Deaner with a superkick. Deaner with a drop toe hold sending Swann face first into the chair. Karl Anderson is coming out with the golf driver but Swann takes it and hits Karl in the groin. Swann sets up the chair and hits Deaner with a step up cutter on the chair. Karl has the tag team title and uses it to crush Swann in the face. Willie Mack comes out with a piece of wood and hits Deaner with it before sliding in weapons to Swann. Swann hits Deaner with a buzzsaw kick. Willie slides in a door and they set it up on the chairs GCW style! Look at that. They look to hit Deaner with a double suplex through the makeshift table but Karl breaks it up. Willie with an atomic drop on Deaner. Willie lifts Deaner up for the 3-D and Swann hits a bulldog variation of it. The big lg Doc Gallows is coming to the ring with a chain in hand. They take advantage of this match up and start taking out Swann and Mack. Deaner grabs the door and throws it into Swanns face. Deaner stomps away at Swann in the corner as Karl nails Willie with the chair. They set the can on the groin of Willie Mack and hit it with the golf club sheesh. Again Deaner throws the door face first into Rich Swann. Eddie Edwards is out next and he brings kenny the kendo stick with him. Eddie Edwards with a dive to the outside on Deaner then catches Gallows and Anderson on the other side. Damn those were sick dives. Eddie takes a beer from a fan and I must say 2022 is not the year to do that Eddie. Eddie brings out a table. Look at that catering to all demographics. Eddie sets the table up but Karl Anderson cuts him off as Eric Young hits the ring with trash can lids in hand smashing them on Eddie’s face. They slam Eddie face first on the ring barrier. Eric Young slides Edwards back into the ring and chokes away at him. Doc Gallows tosses a chair right into the head of Willie Mack. Deaner starts biting away at Eddie Edwards face. Gallows to the other side and slams the chair face first into Rich Swann this time. They uses a fork to stab away at Edwards. Deaner smashes Edwards over the head with a trashcan lid as we await the next opponent. Heath comes out next and meets Karl Anderson on the ramp. He hits Karl with powder then Eric Young and hits Young with a lead pipe. Heath uses the pipe on Deaner and Gallows. Eddie and Heath set the garbage can on Deaners head and Heath hits him with the lead pipe again. Willie climbs to the top and Heath hands him the trash can. He tries too moonsault onto Deaner with the trashcan but Deaner moves and Mack crashes. Joe Doring is out last for VBD. Edwards tries to dive on Doring but he shoves him into the ground and then attacks Heath. Swann and Mack look to suplex Deaner but Doring double powerbombs both of them. VBD and the Good brothers have taken control of this match laying the opposing team out. Gallows hits Heath in the head with a metal beer bottle then chugs it. Rhino comes out with his own steel chain and drops Eric Young with it then Karl Anderson. He swings for Deaner and clearly misses but Deaner sells it. Rhino sends Gallows into the ring steps but Eric Young attacks from behind. Rhino sends Young face first into the table then the ring before sliding him back in. All ten men are back up in the center of the ring and they start brawling. Rhinos choking Karl outside of the ring with the chain. Doring throws Willie into the guardrail outside the ring. Eric Young domes Eddie Edwards with the trashcan and they exchange trashcan shots before Eric takes over nailing Edwards multiple times. Young off the ropes but Eddie ducks and drops Young with a trashcan shot. Eddie grabs Kenny and starts swinging the kendo stick before nailing Young right across the head. Eddie drops everyone on the other team with the kendo stick. Eddie grabs a replacement kendo stick and lights it on fire. It takes a second to light. Then he swing it and it goes out. Eddie catches Eric on the apron but Doring catches him. Eric Young lifts Eddie up for a piledrive, It delays but he finally hits it on Eddie through a table. Rich Swann with a 450 to Eric Young on the outside!  Willie goes under the table and pulls out a barbwire board they slide into the ring. They set the board up but Doring is in the ring and gets Swann onto his shoulders. Doring slams himself and Rich Swann through the barbwire board. Swann is screaming bloody murder. Willie Mack clotheslines Doring out of the ring then hits Deaner with a pop up punch with the steel chain. Karl hits a cutter on WIllie. Rhino gores Karl and Heath covers him for the three count in 25:50.
Rating: ***
Review: This was an alright hardcore match. They tried some stuff that obviously didn’t work but all of these guys went out there and worked their asses off so you can’t hate them for it. 
Post match: Matt Taven and Mike Bennet come out and beat down Rhino and Heath!! YES THE OG KINGDOM! Vincent joins them and drops Swann with a clothesline. They beat down Willie Mack and Rhino tries to make the save but PCO is here HOLY SMOKES. PCO drops Swann with a powerbomb. Bennet and Taven spike piledriver Willie Mack and PCO rolls Swann over onto the apron. PCO climbs to the top rope and they lay Swann there to get splashed by PCO. Maria is here to escort Bennet and Taven. D’Lo implies this is a ring of honor invasion. Interesting.

Impact World Championship
Matt Cardona vs. W. Morrisey vs. Moose

Moose has played mind games with both of his opponents and now that could all come back to bite him. Cardona attacks Moose but Morrisey tosses him off, Cardona ducks a clothesline and goes right after Moose but Moose sends him outside. Morrisey with a big boot to Moose and he covers but Cardona breaks it up. Morrisey sends Moose to the outside and Cardona follows both, taking them out with a dive. Cardona attempts to send Moose into the guardrail but Moose reverses it and sends him into the metal instead. Moose sends Cardona back into the ring. Morrisey powerbombs Moose back first into the ring apron. Back in the ring and Moose hits a step up cross body on Cardona. Moose catches Morrisey in the opposite corner and powerbombs him out of the corner. Moose covers and Cardona breaks it up with a modified radio silence. Cardona hits Moose and Morrisey with boots in opposing corners before Morrisey bets up and sends Cardona into the corner. Morrisey chases Cardona but eats the knees tot he face. Cardona and Morrisey make their way to the top ropes but Moose gets underneath Morrisey. Moose with the powerbomb on Morrisey who hits Cardona with a fall away slam off the top ropes wow. Moose sends Cardona to the outside and sends him into the guardrail. Moose pulls Morrisey near the stage and threatens a powerbomb but Chelsea comes out and hits Moose with a crossbody. Morrisey sends Cardona into the ring and drops him. Cardona fights back and hits Morrisey with a codebreaker that sends Morrisey to the outside. Moose back in the ring and he exchanges shots with Cardona. Moose flips out Cardona but eats a forearm from Cardona. Moose climbs to the top but Cardona shoves him from behind through the table. The cameras have been horrible with these spots. They replay it and Moose landed NASTY. Morrisey is back in the ring with Cardona and Cardona looks for an unprettier but Morrisey fights out and chokeslams Cardona. Morrisey taunts Cardona rather than covering. Morrisey lifts Cardona up but he fights out and goes to the corner. Morrisey runs into the knees and Cardona hits the drive by. Cardona covers for two but Moose pulls the ref out of the ring. Cardona tosses Moose into the ring and exchanges strikes with Moose. Moose goes for a Uranage but Cardona rolls through for a cover but Moose kicks out. Moose looks for a spear on Cardona but Cardona moves and Moose takes out the ref. Cardona hits the drive by but Morrisey sends him out of the ring. Morrisey with the powerbomb on Moose and covers but there’s no referee. Morrisey goes under the ring and starts sliding in chairs. Morrisey sets the chairs up in the center of the ring. Morrisey looks for the powerbomb on the chairs but Moose fights out with a low blow. Moose starts wailing away at Morrisey with the chair. Cardona slides in as Morrisey slides out and jams a chair into the ribs of Moose. Cardona drops Morrisey off the apron and looks to hit Moose but gets hit with a low blow. Moose shoves Chelsea and Cardona goes to hit him with the chair but Moose moves and Cardona nearly hit Chelsea again. Cardona rolls up Moose and nearly steals it. Moose sends Cardona into the corner with the ref and Chelsea taking all three out. Moose hits Cardona with a spear and the first referee slides in and slowly counts the pinfall. Moose wins after pinning Cardona to retain.
Rating: ***
Review: There was a lot of weapon use in this match and after the last match and a deathmatch coming up I could’ve done without that. This felt like a weird triple threat and the pacing felt strange because of that. I don’t mind Moose winning but the finish was a bit much as well. 

Texas Death Match – Knockouts Championship
Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mickie James (c)

These two have had their issues for months and now they’re looking to settle it once and for all in a Texas Death match. We get some hairpulling early and Deonna starts to work the arm and we get some mat wrestling to kick this one off. Deonna sends Mickie into the ropes and looks for a clothesline but Mickie ducks it. Deonna catches Mickie and hangs her up on the top rope. Deonn locks in a venus lock and Mickie taps out forcing Deonna to break the hold. Rok-C is sitting front row for the main event. Mickie slaps Deonna and she has some choice words for her opponent. Deonna slides out and tosses a chair into the ring. Mickie rolls out and they both start tossing chairs into the ring. Deonna changes it up and grabs a table but Mickie slides out and drops her with a forearm to the face. Mickie grabs a chair and hits Deonna in the back. Mickie grabs the golf club and hits Deonna in the midsection with it. Mickie tosses Deonna into the time keepers table and we have a wheelbarrow at ringside. They brawl up the ramp and Deonna drops Mickie before heading to the back. Mickie grabs the road case and slams it into Mickie James and covers for the three count. And the ref begins his ten count. Mickie gets to her feet at the count of nine and Deonna is pissed. She starts hammering away at Mickie and she’s busted open. Deonna spears Mickie back first into the ring apron but Mickie fights back and sends Deonna back first into the apron instead. Deonna climbs back into the ring and grabs a chair creating space between the two. Mickie slides in and grabs the leg locking in a single leg boston crab. Deonna crawls to the ropes but there are no rope breaks, fortunately for her Mickie lets go anyways. Deonna on the apron and Mickie drops her off with a drop kick. Mickie takes off the chaps and it’s getting serious now. Deonna gets back into the ring and eats a couple of knees from Mickie. Mickie drops her with a third knee right to the side of the face. Mickie goes back to the table and slides it into the ring. Mickie tries to set it up and Deonna catches her from behind and sends her face first into the table. Deonna slides out of the ring and grabs a black bag and dumps thumb tacks into the center of the ring. Deonna sets Mickie on the table and goes for a spear but Mickie moves Deonna catches herself and Mickies goes for  MickDT but Deonna dodges it and sends Mickie back first into the Thumbtacks. Deonna sends Mickie to the outside and chokes her out with her gear forcing her to tap and the ten count begins again. Mickie gets to her feet but Deonna sends her back into the ring and starts hammering away with the chair to her knee. Deonna sets the chair up on her knee and climbs to the top rope. Mickie escapes and grabs the chair. Mickie slams the chair into headfirst into Deonna but then falls back into the tacks. Mickie with a Thesz press off the apron on Deonna and covers her for the pinfall starting the ten count. The ref nearly hits ten but Rehwoldt comes out and lifts Deonna up. Mickie goes to the top and takes both of them out. Mickie sets up the table and sets Deonna on top of it. Deonna gets up top with Mickie and Deonna hits the queens gambit through the table both women with a tough fall but Deonna gets the cover and the ref begins his ten count. Mickie once again back to her feet and that receives some boos. Deonna grabs the chair and aims to hit Mickie in the stomach with it. Mickie rips it out of her hands and sends her knee first into the tacks. Deonna goes for the lowblow I guess but Mickie no sells it does her little hand lick and drops rehwoldt with the guitar. Mickie hits the MickDT and covers for the three count. The referee begins his count and Mickie buries Deonna in the garbage so she can’t stand up. Mickie retains the Knockouts world championship after a brutal Texas Death match!
Rating: **3/4
Review: These two did all they could for this match but I think following the traditional rules was an awful decision. These two would’ve worked a better traditional match than trying to go to a realm neither really works much in. I applaud them for trying but it didn’t really hit and when it’s the main event it can be hard. I think the crowd was worn out and confused by the rules, I’m sure they explained them but even I missed the official rules here, with a match like this they should’ve announced them various times throughout the show because it felt deflating to the live crowd when a pinfall or submission occurred. Often these falls were happening off moves that don’t typically end matches either so it made it worse. Overall I get why they closed with this but it didn’t deliver as it really needed to in this spot. I really think Deonna and Mickie can go but I don’t think this match was it for so many reasons, no need for those two to be in a hardcore match and if it’s a deathmatch it should’ve honestly been more hardcore. I hate to be so picky as I love that they got the main event slot, but it didn’t do anything for me. 

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

This show was full of some really great stuff but I think it ended pretty flat personally. I believe the stipulation matches would've been better served spread out, or honestly no stipulation or a different one entirely for Mickie/Deonna. The deathmatch was hardly that and I understand why but in that case, do something that feels a bit better for the audience. The triple threat was also not all there for me, but honestly, I had high expectations for both matches so I imagine i'm being overly critical. The rest of the show seriously delivered. JONAH vs. Josh Alexander and Sabin vs. Gresham were fantastic singles bout as was Maclin vs. Trey. Even the preshow had awesome matches so please don't let me critique of the final two matches turn you away or think I hated the show, this is easily the best Impact event i've watched in a long time and i'm actually excited to see where they go next. This next set of tapings will be a serious breath of fresh air after an awesome PPV not much else you can ask for beyond that.