By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Live
Aired December 16, 2021 on AXS TV
An “in memory off…” graphic aired for the late Jimmy Rave…
Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired…
Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown were on commentary. Dave Penzer was the ring announcer…
1. Rohit Raju (w/Raj Singh) vs. Josh Alexander. Rohit stalled and kept his distance from Josh to start the match. Once Josh got his hands on Rohit he tossed him around and dominated the match. Raj pulled Rohit aside to prevent Josh from hitting his signature back crossbody. Rohit managed to dominate for a stretch with his signature strikes and a few takedowns.
Alexander made a comeback with a fireman carry senton. Rohit came back with a Final Cut and rope suplex. Alexander recovered and hit Raju with a series of Belly to Belly suplexes. Raju managed to get a Jackknife pin in but Josh kicked out with a bridge. Josh quickly reversed a camel clutch into an ankle lock. Raj distracted Alexander enough for him to break the hold. Raju missed the sweep but he managed to get him in the corner. Raju hit Alexander with a Yakuza Kick and double stomp.
Raju used his weight to block a Jay Driller attempt. Alexander tangled Raju in the rope and gave Raju’s shin a stomp. Alexander hit a staggered Raju with a Jay Driller for the victory.
Josh Alexander defeated Rohit Raju via pinfall in 8:29.
John’s Thoughts: While the outcome wasn’t in doubt (they need to get back on the horse in terms of giving Raju some credibility back), Raju and Alexander put on another good match against each other. Raju and Alexander are two of Impact’s best in-ring young stars and delivered in terms of the in-ring. Impact continues to do a decent job not rushing Josh Alexander back into the title picture by having him wrestle in decent side stories. Too bad their main event sucks with “Always ready” Zack Ryder being pushed as the top babyface.
Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown checked in from the commentary table where they hyped up the Throwback Throwdown happening this Saturday. They also ran through advertised segments for this week’s show…
Gia Miller interviewed The Good Brothers and Violent by Design about their potential alliance. Karl Anderson talked about how everyone’s gunning for their tag titles so they decided to enlist the help of VBD to fend off those teams. Anderson said they aren’t stupid and understand that they can’t trust Violent By Design. Gallows said while they can’t trust VBD they acknowledge that VBD are strong.
Gallows said he understands first hand how violent by design VBD can be because he got put through the stage by Joe Doering. Eric Young said this isn’t an alliance, but rather a business deal that’s happening by design. Young said two of the baddest big men in the world, Gallows and Doering, will show the world tonight what Violence is all about…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Eh, the Impact tag division kinda sucks. The Good Brothers take all the air out of the room, the actual tag teams are random New Japan teams that are wrestling for no reason, and the teams in the title picture are all teams that have wrestlers who should be in meaningful singles programs. Heck, when are we ever going to see a singles run for Joe Doering. They even referenced it here, but Doering carried Doc Gallows to the best singles match I’ve ever seen Gallows wrestle in when they did that street fight.
An ad aired for Impact’s Throwback Throwdown…
Gia Miller interviewed Chelsea Green about being in the historic first women’s Ultimate X match. Green said it’s going to be legendary and the world can’t wait to see Chelsea Green vs. Mickie James or Deonna Purrazzo. Moose showed up to confront Green. Moose said Green is a great wrestler, but she’s also very loyal, deciding to wake up every morning with a man who’s always been and always will be a midcarder.
Green talked about how Moose came to her to talk smack when he should be confronting Cardona. Green said Moose is signing his fate away. Moose said that his match against Cardona at hard to kill will be short by wrestling standards…
John’s Thoughts: Yeah, it’s tough to get into the world title picture when everything the heel champ says about him rings true. Where the hell are wrestlers like Jake Something or Trey Miguel in the main event picture? Rich Swann or Willie Mack wouldn’t be bad picks to elevate to the upper card too. Heath? I hope they get Jonah up there soon.
Entrances for the next match took place. Striker said Gallows and Doering remind him of Brody and Hansen…
2. Doc Gallows (w/Karl Anderson) and Joe Doering (w/Eric Young, Deaner) vs. Willie Mack and Rich Swann (w/Heath, Rhino). Swann and Mack used quick strikes and quick tags to cut the ring in half on Gallows. Swann sidestepped to cause Gallows to crash and burn to ringside. Mack and Swann hit stereo dives on Gallows heading into commercial.[c]
Swann was dominating the match. Gallows managed to turn the tables by hitting Swann with a kick. Doering tagged in. Doering worked on Swann with methodical offense. Doering and Gallows isolated Swann for a stretch. Swann tagged in Mack after staggering Doering with an enzuigiri. Mack rallied at Doering with strikes. Mack and Swann hit Doering with Total Elimination.
Swann hit Gallows with a diving crossbody. Doering shoved Swann off the top rope. Doering and Gallows hit Mack with a double chokeslam for the victory.
Doc Gallows and Joe Doering defeated Willie Mack and Rich Swann via pinfall in 5:59 of on-air time.
Rhino and Heath went to check on Mack and Swann. VBD and The Good Brothers put the boots to Heath and Rhino. Eddie Edwards ran out with a kendo stick to make the save and clear the heels from the ring. The segment ended with the babyfaces standing tall and Eddie’s theme playing…
John’s Thoughts: While I think Impact’s tag team picture is weak, this was a really good match and clash of styles for as little time as they got on tv. Gallows and Doering actually had good chemistry and big-man synergy. It was refreshing to see Gallows work with a different tag partner other than Anderson. As for Eddie Edwards, his run-ins as the crazy leprechaun man are getting old. Can Impact somehow sign Davey Richards and slap that dumb claw mark on Eddie’s chest just so we can put the always-dull Crazy Eddie character to rest?
VSK and Zicky Dice were worried at being berated by Brian Myers. Dice said he got them a chance to redeem themselves in a match against Decay. VSK said that Dice better not go into the match drunk. Dice said he won’t drink before the match. When VSK left he said “or drink less, hehhehheh”…
Jonah was walking backstage in front of bright lights cutting a promo. He said people are asking what “Top Dog” means. He said when he was a kid his dad did a stint in prison and was clocked in the back of the head on the first day. Jonah noted that rather than snitch, his father took it and told the guard that he just fell. Jonah said that earned his dad the respect of the top dog. Jonah said that Josh Alexander got clocked in the head and should have stayed down like Jonah’s dad to earn the top dog’s respect. Jonah said he’s going to beat Alexander at Hard to Kill and that Josh is looking at mass destruction…
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Impact X Division Champion Trey Miguel vs. John Skyler in a non-title match. Trey dominated the early match with chain wrestling. Skyler came back with a forearm. Trey came back with a dropkick. Trey gave Skyler a suicide dive. Skyler blocked another dive with a slingshot spear. Skyler worked on Miguel with methodical offense. Trey came back with a back elbow and big boot. Skyler hit Trey with a Belly to Belly suplex.
Trey punched his way out of a suplex and hit Skyler with Cheeky Nandos. Trey hit Skyler with a feint kick followed by his finisher, the diving meteora, for the win.
Trey Miguel defeated John Skyler via pinfall in 3:45.
Steve Maclin attacked Trey Miguel at the top of the ramp. Maclin hit Miguel with a belt shot to the head. Maclin dragged Miguel to the back heading into commercial…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid dominant win for the champ. I am starting to get intrigued by the X Division title picture with Miguel and Maclin. Miguel has been dominant, but he’s been unable to pin or submit Maclin. Miguel and Maclin are two wrestlers Impact should be getting behind and I hope they continue to push this as a singles feud with an actual story as opposed to booking multi person matches.
Trey Miguel was tied up like a hostage against production equipment. Maclin splashed water on Miguel’s face to wake him up. He had a bandana covering his eyes and his gloves jammed into his mouth. Maclin said the boss telling him no isn’t going to stop him. Maclin said it’s a pity that Miguel doesn’t have friends around here…
Entrances for the next match took place. Matt Striker said that Chris Bey vs. Laredo Kid will be this generation’s Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid…
John’s Thoughts: Ugh, there goes Matt Striker and his hyperbole.
4. Chris Bey (w/Hikuleo) vs. Laredo Kid. Kid and Bey traded pin attempts. Kid hit Bey with an armdrag and taunted him with a kip up. Bey came back with more methodical offense. Kid came back with a huracanrana. Kid jawed with Hikuleo at ringside. Bey came back with a feint kick followed by tossing Kid into the ringpost. Kid came back with knee strikes. Bey hit Kid with a baseball slide and dropkick for a two count.
Hikuleo dragged Kid’s head on the ropes when Bey distracted the ref. Kid came back with kaymakers. Bey came back with an enzuigiri combination and diving clothesline for a two count. Bey worked on Kid with methodical offense again. Kid stepped back to avoid an elbow drop. Kid dumped Bey to ringside and hit him with a nice suicide dive. Kid hit Bey with a back suplex. Kid went to the top rope and was shoved by Hikuleo.[c]
Kid hit Bey with a Michinoku Driver. Kid hit Bey with two moonsaults for a two count. Bey rolled up Kid for a two count. Bey hit Kid with a reverse TKO for a two count. Bey went for a superplex, but Kid reversed it into a Super Michinoku Driver for a two count. Bey recovered and gave Kid a double stomp while Kid was draped over the top rope. Kid recovered and hit Bey with a flip DDT. Kid gave Hikuleo a cannonball. The dive allowed Bey to recover and brawl with Kid to the top rope. Kid shoved Bey off. Kid did a dive right into Bey’s version of the RKO (a la Orton vs. Christian) to give Bey the win.
Chris Bey defeated Laredo Kid via pinfall in 13:06 of on-air time.
John’s Thoughts: A great indie highspot match, but at the same time this match was hurt by no one given a reason to give a damn about anything involving this Bullet Club-lite stable in Impact. I want to care more about these two, but so far they are just having decent to great matches without any storyline investment. I feel like they have really dropped the ball with Chris Bey. They seemed to be elevating him as a fun babyface before Bullet Club showed up. When they showed up, he just hangs out with them and gets booked in what seems like 50-50 booking.
A replay aired of Deonna Purrazzo challenging Ring of Honor women’s champion Rok-C to a winner take all match from the Final Battle PPV…
The show cut to Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo jawing a bit in the lobby of Sams Town Casino while Deonna was at a merch table. James left and Deonna caught up with her to start a pull apart brawl…
Scott D’Amore and Gail Kim met up with Mickie James, Deonna Purrazzo, and Matthew Rehwoldt in a lounge. D’Amore yelled at them for all the madness they’ve caused and he noted that he was re-instituting the no-contact rule between James and Deonna. D’Amore noted that Rehwoldt was also included in the clause and that he would be fired if he laid his hands on Mickie. Gail Kim said the match at Hard to Kill will be a Texas Deathmatch. James said they do things bigger in Texas and for Deonna to be welcomed to Hardcore Country…
A static vignette aired which spotlighted several landmarks. It said that someone was coming soon, but I couldn’t make out the name behind all the static (I even rewinded it a few times to try to catch it)…
5. Tenille Dashwood (w/Madison Rayne, Kaleb Konley) vs. Jessie McKay (w/Cassie Lee). McKay and Dashwood had a bit of a comedic shoving match early on. Dashwood then put McKay in a side headlock. McKay took down Dashwood with a shoulder tackle.[c]
Dashwood hit McKay with a draping neckbreaker for a two count. Dashwood worked on McKay with methodical offense. Dashwood hit McKay with an Emma-mite sandwich for a two count. Dashwood worked on McKay with a Full Nelson. McKay got to a vertical base to escape. McKay hit Dashwood with an axe and smash. McKay got a two count on Dashwood. Dashwood rolled up McKay for a two count.
McKay slammed Dashwood and Kaleb pulled the referee to ringside to break up the pin (no dq call?). During all of the distractions, Dashwood hit McKay with a Spotlight Kick for the win.
Tenille Dashwood defeated Jessie McKay via pinfall in 5:51 of on-air time.
John’s Thoughts: A good match while it lasted. Bit of an overbooked finish made to protect Kay I guess. The IInspiration are babyfaces now? My guess is this leads to a Cassie Lee vs. Madison Rayne match that I hope doesn’t get an overbooked finish because those two can have a fun one-on-one match with a lot of talent in the ring. Not shot against McKay and Dashwood though. Dashwood is always good in the ring and McKay has gotten a lot better over time. Lee is just the one who stood out the most between the two and I thought that she had singles women’s title potential. That said, McKay always had the fans rallying behind her with her oddball charisma.
Matt Striker hyped up the Throwback Throwdown event and Hard to Kill PPV…[c]
An ad aired for the Impact Plus Throwback Throwdown show…
Scott D’Amore stood in the middle of the ring with a table set up to moderate the Moose, W Morrissey, and Matt Cardona contract signing. The challengers got their individual entrances. Chelsea Green escorted Matt Cardona to the table. D’Amore talked about how Cardona debuted at Hard to Kill 2021 and came to Impact to seek the thing that has eluded him his entire career, a world championship. D’Amore said that Cardona has a chance to wrestle for the title at his 1 year anniversary in Impact.
Morrissey took a mic and talked about how he didn’t come here to play games or make friends, he came here to become Impact World Champion. He said he’s going to exactly do that at Hard to Kill. Morrissey signed the contract and walked to the back. Cardona talked about the last few weeks being full of games and BS with the mind games and sneak attacks. Cardona talked about how Moose is trying to kill Cardona’s spirit by saying all these negative things about him. Cardona said there has been nobody in the business who has been knocked down and come back more than Matt Cardona. Cardona said he’s Hard to Kill, but his passion is impossible to kill.
John’s Thoughts: So Cardona is ripping off Matt Hardy’s old Never Die gimmick? I kid I kid.
Cardona said he’s never been more ready then he will be at Hard to Kill. Cardona signed the contract. Moose said before he signs the contract he wants to ask Cardona if Cardona really wants to do this. Moose said he’ll step in the ring with the greatest world champion in all of pro wrestling. Cardona said Moose stalling is just proving that Moose is scared he’s going to lose to Matt. Moose said he already knows the outcome and it’s the same story where Cardona disappoints everyone and never amounts to more than he is now. Cardona asked Moose to sign the damn contract. Moose signed.
Moose said Cardona is going to have a tough challenge at Hard to Kill, but so does Chelsea Green. He reiterated how he admires Green’s loyalty to a man who’s been so average his entire career. He said he knows Matt wants to be a top guy one of these days. Moose said he’ll crush Cardona’s dreams and prove that Cardona will always be a MidCardona.
Moose wondered if Green will stick with him then or leave like the whore she is. This fired up Cardona who attacked Moose. Moose came back with a big boot. Moose gave Cardona a uranage through the table. Green yelled at Moose to leave as she checked on Cardona. D’Amore berated D’Amore on the ramp, but he ignored him. Moose went back to the ring to attack Cardona some more.
Moose wrapped Cardona’s neck in a chair. Green and D’Amore begged for Moose to stop. Green held the chair so Moose wouldn’t hit Matt. Matt recovered and accidentally hit Green with a chair to the head (protected). Moose retreated up the ramp with a grin on his face. Cardona sold concern at accidentally hitting his fiancé. Matt Striker closed the show with a somber voice…
John’s Thoughts: Pretty decent in terms of contract signings, but the biggest issue is still vanilla Zack Ryder in the Hard to Kill main event with the heel’s criticisms of him having a lot of merit behind it. The last two weeks, they’ve tried to lay it on thick with Cardona being a gritty and bloody babyface, but it comes off as forced. What also came off as a bit forced was Moose throwing in the “whore” line and Green taking a chairshot to the head. Both impactful moments, but again it feels like they are trying hard to get Cardona over as a top babyface to no avail.
A middle-of-the-road episode of Impact. The year is winding down and it feels like Impact is creatively phoning it in a bit heading into the new year. Hopefully they get a break to recharge their batteries. Speaking of which, is there a show next week?
“D’Amore berated D’Amore on the ramp, but he ignored him.”
Always impressive when you berate yourself!
Fantastic show from start to finish. This whole review felt phoned in!