By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Pembroke Pines, Florida at Charles F. Dodge City Center
Aired December 15, 2022 on AXS TV
Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Dave Penzer was the ring announcer…
Eddie Edwards made his entrance for the opening match. Eddie now comes out to the Honor No More theme as his default theme. His opponent was Delirious. Hannifan noted that Delirious and Eddie Edwards were once tag team partners in Pro Wrestling Noah…
1. Eddie Edwards vs. Delirious. Eddie dominated the early collar and elbow. Delirious and Eddie ended up in a stalemate in the next chain wrestling sequence. A “where are your shoes?” chant ensued due to Delirious being barefoot. Delirious rallied with armdrags and rollups. Eddie ended the rally with a hard chop. Both men traded strikes to keep momentum even. Eddie gained the upper hand with an Atomic Drop and Belly to Belly Suplex. Eddie worked on Delirious with shortarm chops.
Delirious came back with a vertical suplex to get a moment of respite. Delirious confused Eddie by constantly running the ropes and juking on a dime. Delirious took down Eddie with a running tackle. Eddie escaped a Cobra Clutch and hit Delirious with a lariat in the corner. Delirious returned the favor with a lariat. Eddie came right back with a superkick. Both men took traded strikes. Eddie planted Delirious with a Tiger Driver. Delirious reversed Eddie into a Cobra Clutch. Eddie fell on his back to get Delirious’a shoulders on the mat for the pinfall win.
Eddie Edwards defeated Delirious via pinfall in 6:35.
Delirious got on his knees and bowed to Eddie in respect. Eddie put out his hand for a Code of Honor handshake, which Delirious accepted. Because Eddie’s a heel, Eddie hit Delirious with a kick and Die Hard Driver. Yuya Uemura ran out for the save but was disposed to ringside after Eddie hit him with a running axe handle strike. Eddie went on to try to take Delirious’s mask off; but all of a sudden, the man who’s ranked number 10 on this year’s PWI 500, Jonathan Gresham, made his entrance. Eddie left the ring as Gresham checked on Delirious while also keeping an eye on Eddie…
John’s Thoughts: I’m sorry, I had to make the PWI 500 joke at least once, I couldn’t resist. Anyways, the match was pretty good. It was cool seeing Eddie be more technical as opposed to his newly adopted brawler style. Some people don’t like abrupt finishes, but I personally like them because they freshen things up and add a bit of realism to matches. Very cool to see Jonathan Gresham in Impact. PWI jokes aside, I actually like Gresham’s decision to not be buried in AEW Dark hell (which is very easy to get buried in. Where’s Bandido been?). While the pay might not be much, Impact is amazing at their booking these days and having a talented technician like Gresham gives Impact another strong character to present on TV.
Scott D’Amore said he didn’t like Josh Alexander’s plan last week, but it led to something amazing with Josh delivering a 60 minute match with Mike Bailey. D’Amore said that Alexander is a wrestling machine. Alexander noted that he didn’t intentionally set out to go 60 minutes, but Bailey took Alexander to the fight of his life. Alexander noted that iron sharpens iron, and that match just made him sharper in preparation for his match against Bully Ray.
Alexander threatened to call out Bully again this week for a World Title defense. D’Amore denied that request. D’Amore said that Alexander had the match of his life last week, but at Hard to Kill he’s having the fight of his life. D’Amore said that he doesn’t want Alexander to interfere in Bully’s scheduled match this week. Alexander brought up Bully attacking his wife. D’Amore yelled that he understands because he knew Jen longer than Josh (well damn!).
D’Amore said that Jen is family to him too. D’Amore said that Alexander needs to focus on Hard to Kill to get revenge on Bully. All of a sudden, Tommy Dreamer interrupted the conversation, which caused Josh to sigh. Dreamer said he apologizes for vouching for Bully Ray. Alexander refused to accept the apology and handshake. D’Amore vouched that Dreamer was giving his honest thoughts, and even though the thought were wrong, Dreamer is an honest guy. Alexander walked off, saying that he thinks that Dreamer might have been scheming with Bully the whole time…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good segment aside from D’Amore oddly talking about how close he is to Josh’s wife (I get that he is legit good friends with Jen, but is that something you also bring up to another friend that is the husband of the friend?). Impact has done a solid job building up Bully as a main event player in Impact in a short amount of time, utilizing the power of ethos. That said, it’s going to be hard to sell Bully vs. Josh as a “fight of your life” coming off Alexander vs. Speedball.
2. Bully Ray vs. John Skyler. Skyler backed down a bit when Bully stared a hole into him. Bully dominated Skyler with three body slams in succession. Bully picked up the pinfall after a Pile Driver.
Bully Ray defeated John Skyler via pinfall in 1:06.
Tommy Dreamer made his entrance to confront Bully Ray in the ring. As expected, an EC-dub chant ensued. Dreamer acknowledged the EC-dub chants and noted that the fans were chanting about “history”. Dreamer talked about being Bully’s friend, putting his credibility on the line to vouch for Bully in his latest run in Impact. Dreamer said he feels like the one gullible person in the locker room because he’s the only one that couldn’t see Bully’s lie. Dreamer said he’s 50 years old and doesn’t want to be in Bully negativity. Dreamer said he doesn’t want to fight, but their friendship is done.
Dreamer said they can still do their things on Busted Open Radio, but they would mind each others’ business. Dreamer said he’s not working with Bully again, unless its on Busted Open Radio and behind the scenes. Dreamer told Bully that he’s running around trying to put everyone on the spot. Dreamer called Bully a bitch and said he just put Bully on the spot. Bully continued to stare a hole into Dreamer.
After Dreamer left the ring, Bully encouraged Dreamer to continue leaving. Bully said that what he learned from their friendship is that Dreamer is a coward. Bully said that people call Dreamer the “heart and soul of pro wrestling”, but in the end Dreamer is simply a nobody. Bully said that D-Von was in Bully’s shadow, while Dreamer was ten steps behind Bully’s shadow. Bully said he was a bigger star than Dreamer in ECW, WWE, and TNA. Bully said that some would call Dreamer a loser. Dreamer entered the ring.
Bully said Dreamer should walk away because that’s what he was just doing. Bully noted that while Bully got himself into the best shape of his life, turning into a fight machine; Dreamer turned himself into a fat bastard that works in the office. Bully then revealed that he laid out Ace Austin in the parking lot. Bully noted that he knew Dreamer was naive, so he used Dreamer to manipulate everyone. Bully pointed out that Dreamer was crying now and is being the real bitch here.
Dreamer said he’s crying because his mom is in the hospital. Bully said he doesn’t give a shit about Dreamer’s mother. Dreamer tried to, but couldn’t hold back from crying. Dreamer pointed out all the scars he put on Bully’s body. Dreamer pointed out fighting back mental health pressures in order to work for the business he loves. Dreamer said he’s the innovator of violence. Dreamer said “motherf–ker, if you want to do this, let’s do this right here right now!”. Bully laughed and pointed at Dreamer before walking to the back, saying that he’s in Dreamer’s head…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Great stuff. I’ve pointed this out before, but young wrestlers should be taking notes and classes to replicate things like this. Both men played their role well. It helps that Dreamer has been off TV for a long time, so his whole crying and emotional bit has more impact than when he’s crying on TV every other week. Bully was even better as the, well, bully. Lots of good melodrama here with just the right amount of callbacks. Lots of good pathos, with Dreamer bringing up his mom’s health and his own mental health issues. Kudos to Impact, they’ve turned Bully Ray into a main event player in 2022. To reiterate to younger wrestlers, note this melodrama. Feuds mean more when the viewer can get invested in the characters of a story. Mike Bailey vs. Josh Alexander worked last week because we care about Josh Alexander and Mike Bailey via character development. Character development and world building are vital parts in making the viewer care at all.
Entrances for the next match took place. Footage from “earlier today” was shown, where Brian Myers and Matt Cardona tried to bully Crazzy Steve. Steve started laughing. This caused Myers to say, “the bull is behind us, right?”. The Major Players ran away when Black Taurus gave them a boo…
As Decay was entering the ring, Trey Miguel showed up out of nowhere to leave Crazzy Steve lying after hitting him in the head with a metal spray can. Miguel spray painted his logo on the back of Steve. Cardona and Myers mocked Taurus when he went to check on Steve. Steve claimed he was ok even though he was hit in the head with a metal can..
3. “The Major Players” Matt Cardona and Brian Myers vs. “Decay” Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus. Taurus pressured Cardona into the corner. Taurus no-sold a shoulder tackle and worked on Cardona with strikes. Cardona hugged Myers in fear. Hannifan noted that Cardona looks like a coward. Rehwoldt noted that Cardona’s just a good person who donates to charity via his recent toy drive. Taurus took down Myers with a kick and chop combo.
Taurus hit Myers with a sling blade. Taurus dumped both Major Players to ringside and hit them with a flip dive. The camera focused on Steve as he was still selling Trey Miguel’s attack. The show cut to commercial.[c]
The Major Players cut the ring in half on Taurus back from the break. Taurus got a window of opportunity after hitting Myers with Will-o-wisp. Steve and Cardona tagged in. Steve hit Cardona with a crossbody and a bite to the head. Steve rolled up Cardona for a two count. Steve hit Cardona with a Flatliner. Cardona dumped Taurus to ringside. Myers punched Steve in the back of the head, which Hannifan noted probably hurts more due to Trey’s pre-match attack. The Major Players hit Steve with a Samoan Drop Blockbuster to give Cardona the win.
The Major Players defeated Decay via pinfall in 4:30 of on-air time.
John’s Thoughts: Smart booking to give the Major Players a win while also protecting Decay for their feud against Trey Miguel. Protecting Decay here actually boosted the Players because their win helped the character development of both teams as opposed to Decay being cannon fodder. I’m even more excited to see what they do with Trey who seems to be coming into his own as a heel. He’s really making the whole spray can thing work for him. It’s very cool to see Dezmond Xavier (in NXT) and Trey Miguel break out of their “tag team specialist” shells and be featured on TV as strong singles champions.
Hannifan sent the show to Scott D’Amore who was moderating a contract signing between Mickie James and Jordynne Grace for their Career vs. Title match. D’Amore hyped this match as historic. D’Amore reiterated that Hard to Kill is the end of the Last Rodeo one way or another with Mickie either leaving as champion or in retirement. D’Amore handed the title to Grace to sign first. Grace said she doesn’t have much to say other than she understands how big this match is. Grace said she’ll say the rest in the ring.
Grace handed the contract to D’Amore to pass to Mickie. Mickie said that Grace is acting like this is a foregone conclusion and that she’s acting like Mickie’s career is over. Grace denied it. Mickie pressed Grace and told Grace not to assume that. Mickie talked about having big moments with everyone and at Hard to Kill she will have one more. Mickie signed the contract. Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans showed up with Tasha ranting.
Tasha pointed out that Mickie claimed to want to face everyone in the Last Rodeo, but she hasn’t faced the person who beat Mickie twice with the title on the line, Tasha. Mickie said there’s one month before Hard to Kill, which is enough time to kick Tasha’s ass. Grace interrupted, saying that Tasha was too late with this request and can’t have her match due to the contract being signed. Mickie said Grace is acting like Mickie can’t beat Tasha.
Tasha started chuckling due to Mickie and Grace bickering. D’Amore yelled for everyone to stop, and booked Mickie and Grace vs. Tasha and Evans. Tasha said next week the Last Rodeo ends. Mickie told Grace she didn’t need her help…
John’s Thoughts: Good contract signing segment. There was a bit of awkward tension, but that’s the tone this feud is going for. There should be awkward tension because of Mickie’s high stakes. Tasha Steelz was great here herself. Who knew that Tasha would be the breakout star of the tag team with Kiera Hogan (though I really think Kiera needs to redirect herself somewhere into more of a plucky babyface role). The thing that really won me over with Tasha here was when she chuckled while Mickie and Jordynne were at odds.
They cut to footage from last week where Mike Bailey was being cheered by everyone backstage at the Gorilla Position. Kenny King was sarcastically over the top in praising Bailey. King spat water in Bailey’s face. Super Scott D’Amore got in King’s face and yelled “What the hell, Kenny!?!”…
This week, Gia Miller congratulated Mike Bailey for a good match and noted that King spat in Bailey’s face last week. Bailey calmly said that he understands that King is simply trying to get in his head. Bailey said he’s totally fine with challenging King to another match as a part of his quest to be the best…
Violent By Design made their entrance. I thought that Deaner changed his name last week, but apparently their faction is no longer “Violent By Design”. Their faction is now called “The Design”. The commentary team stressed that Deaner is a different and more calm man these days. Angel’s tights now has a flapping bird wing hanging off it…
4. Alan Angels (w/Deaner, Big Kon) vs. Sami Callihan. Callihan quickly hit Angels with a power bomb to send him into retreat with his faction. Sami hit Angels with a snap suplex into the bottom buckle. Angels escaped a pile driver and hit Callihan with a high kick. Callihan trapped Angels in the apron skirt and hit Angels with a chop. Callihan worked on Angels with chops while keeping his eyes on The Design guys at ringside.
Callihan went for his finisher, but Angels escaped when Callihan did his thumb thing. Angels hit Callihan with a STO on the apron. Deaner was putting together his fingertips while calmly standing over Callihan. Angels hit Callihan with punches and a PK. Angels hit Callihan with a Big Ending into a Crossface. Callihan escaped by biting Alan’s hand. Callihan blocked a discus elbow with his own roaring elbow. Callihan hit Angels with a brainbuster for a two count.
Callihan and Angels traded standing strikes and tackles. Callihan no sold a lariat and gave Angels a lariat. Angels raked Sami’s eyes and gave Sami a discus lariat. Angels got a two count after a frog splash. Callihan avoided another frog splash. Callihan did his thumb pose and planted Angels with a Cactus Driver for the win.
Sami Callihan defeated Alan Angels via pinfall in 6:54.
Deaner calmly frowned and glared at Callihan while he pressed his fingertips. Kon tackled Callihan from behind and then hit Callihan with right hands. Deaner ordered Kon to slow down and put Callihan in a Full Nelson. Deaner then ordered Angels to lay out Sami with a superkick. After Callihan was laid out, Deaner sat on Callihan’s back like Callihan was a bench…
John’s Thoughts: Interesting choice to have the Design lose their 2nd match. I was happy they gave Kon the dirty win last week, but I wouldn’t have minded if they did the same with Angels who I don’t think has ever had a win in Impact ever. Are they going with the old VBD template with Deaner now in the Eric Young role, Kon in the Joe Doering role, and Angels filling in Deaner’s old fall-guy role? What I do hope is that they do what they originally had Eric Young do by having Deaner punish Angels for his loss. On another note, they way Deaner is playing the cult leader, it reminds me of the way Joe Gacy plays his cult leader character. I have more hopes for this one, because what hurt Gacy’s act was the forced over-the-top left wing buzzwords he would shoehorn in.
The show cut to a backstage skit featuring Gisele Shaw, Deonna Purrazzo, and Shaw’s new “Content Creation Specialist” Jai Vidal. Shaw proposed her and Purrazzo putting the band back together. Purrazzo claimed that Shaw was more like Yoko Ono by breaking up her and Chelsea Green’s team. Shaw insisted that Yoko Ono was the best Beetle ever. Shaw said team offers like this don’t happen all the time. Purrazzo told Shaw to apologize.
Shaw noted that even though Purrazzo wants a knockouts title shot, the Knockouts title is on ice now due to Mickie already set to challenge Grace in a month. Shaw brought up that Purrazzo and Green are owed a tag title shot and that Purrazzo should team with Shaw due to Green not being around anymore. Purrazzo reluctantly agreed to the idea…
The Motor City Machine Guns were warming up backstage…[c]
The show cut to a vignette of a woman sitting at a table with various spiritual artifacts. There were tarot cards, random salts, an obelisk, and a burning effigy. The person started flipping over the major and minor arcana cards. She said she’s both masculine and feminine. She said her power is her shadow and that without the darkness there is no light. She talked about how from all this rises the wild witch. The person held the Devil arcana card to her face. Matthew Rehwoldt clarified that this was a repackaged Taylor Wilde…
John’s Thoughts: The “Wilde” witch? Well, it beats her last gimmick of being Ms. Stars and Stripes despite being Canadian. Interested to see this more mythical character, but it also is very very similar to the stuff Scarlett Bordeaux is doing in WWE. Similar to Isla Dawn too. I hope Taylor doesn’t win matches via poisoning the ref a la Isla.
Bhupinder Gujjar made his entrance wearing a leather jacket. His tag team partner is Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry. Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice were already in the ring. Hendry took the mic for a promo. He said he doesn’t know what sick stuff happens in Swinger’s Dungeon. Swinger nodded that he likes the stuff that happens in his dungeon. Hendry said he heard screaming, slapping, moaning, and whining.
Hendry then talked about “Joe Hendry’s Dungeon”. He said you only hear one sound there, “we believe”. The crowd chanted “we believe”. He said they believe in the answer to life’s problems, Joe Hendry. Rehwoldt yelled, “I believe”. Hannifan let out a sigh. Hannifan also noted that Swinger was on his quest for 50 wins to get the title shot D’Amore promised him…
4. Bhupinder Gujjar and Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry vs. Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice. Hendry and Dice started the match. Hendry planted Dice with a body slam. Swinger tagged in and stalled. Hendry hit Swinger with a body slam and delayed vertical suplex. Hendry did squats during the suplex. Gujjar tagged himself in. All of a sudden Moose showed up at ringside, but Hendry saw it coming.
Hendry took the mic and backtracked as Moose chased him to the back with a steel chair. Bhupinder dominated Swinger and Dice with strikes. Gujjar hit Dice with a lariat to dump him to ringside. Gujjar hit Dice with a knee and 2nd rope spear for the win.
Bhupinder Gujjar and Joe Hendry defeated Johnny Swinger and Zicky Dice via pinfall in 3:16.
John’s Thoughts: There’s something that actually intrigues me about the Joe Hendry character, and this happened last time too when he was tag teaming with Grado a few years ago on Impact. Hendry’s over as the over-the-top singing babyface, but at the same time he’s so over the top that he might come off as condescending. That’s not a bad trait because it makes it easy for him to turn heel on a dime if he wants. What was intriguing here was he left Gujjar out to dry instead of taking care of Moose at ringside.
John Skyler was hanging out with Jason Hotch (I think) backstage. Skyler said if he were booking he show, Hotch will be a top guy in the company. Skyler said people call people like him and Hotch “good hands”, which sounds like a backhanded comment. Hotch said really wanted to hear that and he would be honored to step in the ring with Sykler. Skyler said he’d be honored to step in the ring with Hotch too, as a tag team. Hotch wanted a handshake, but Skyler offered a “Hance”(?) shake, where they shook hands with their ring, thumb, and middle fingers…
Heath and Rhino were shown warming up at the Gorilla Position…[c]
The show cut to a Steve Maclin backstage promo. Maclin talked about how he was trained in the military to do everything by the book. Where getting everybody home was the reward. He said things like that in Impact because despite beating every former world champion that he could, there has been no reward. Maclin said maybe he has to do things differently to get to the world title. Maclin hyped up a match against Rich Swann next week…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the commentary table. They announced the following segments for next week: The Death Dollz vs. Shaw and Purrazzo for the Knockouts Tag Titles and Mickie and Jordynne vs. Tasha and Savannah. Tom Hannifan noted Jonathan Gresham vs. Eddie Edwards was added to the Hard to Kill card. Hannifan read an x factors graphic that outlined the next match on the show…
The Motor City Machine Guns made their entrance with their New Japan Strong Openweight Tag belts. Rehwoldt noted that the MCMGs can become double tag team champions after the next match. Hannifan pointed out that Cardona and Myers are banned from ringside…[c]
5. Heath and Rhino vs. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin for the Impact Tag Team Championship. Rhino dominated the initial chain wrestling sequence with his power. Rhino no sold chops and took down Shelley with a shoulder tackle. Heath tagged in and was dragged to the Guns corner so Sabin could tag in. Heath managed to launch Sabin with a front suplex. A “he’s got kids” chant ensued.
Heath smiled and showed respect to Sabin as he dominated the lockups. Shelley tagged in to nail Heath with a bow and elbow bulldog combo. Shelley put Heath in a hammerlock and dropped a knee on the neck of Heath. The Guns traded tags for double team moves on Heath. The Guns hit Heath with stereo Shotgun Dropkicks to the head. Heath escaped Sliced Bread and hit Shelley with a power slam heading into break.[c]
Heath and Rhino cut the ring in half on Shelley. After a few minutes, Shelley managed to get a window of opportunity by giving Heath an STO into the buckle. Rhino tagged in and gave Shelley a bear hug. Heath and Sabin tagged in with Sabin being the fresh one. Sabin hit Rhino with a PK and hit Heath with a diving crossbody for a two count. Heath and Shelley traded short-arm chest slaps. Sabin hit Heath with a spike DDT. Sabin put Shelley on Heath for a Tornado DDT. Rhino broke up Sabin’s pin.
The Guns hit Rhino with stereo superkicks. They hit Heath with Stereo Yakuza Kicks. Heath crotched Shelley to prevent Skull and Bones. While the referee was sending Shelley to his corner, Rhino nailed Sabin with The Gore. Sabin kicked out of Heath’s pin after the Rhino finisher. Sabin leapfrogged a Gore into a Sunset Flip for the clean pin on Rhino.
The Motor City Machine Guns defeated Rhino and Heath via pinfall in 14:16 to win the Impact Tag Team Titles
Tom Hannifan declared that The Motor City Machine Guns are the best tag team in Impact Wrestling history. The Guns held up their Impact and New Japan Strong tag belts. Rhino and Heath leaned against the ropes to sell the agony of defeat. The Guns posed with both sets of title belts to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A good television main event. This was a bit of a step down from some of the recent Motor City Machine Guns matches. I attribute that to Rhino being fairly plodding. That said, it still was a solid match and they finally have the tag team titles on the right team. They keep putting the title belts on teams that end up leaving the company like The Kingdom, The Briscoes, and The Good Brothers. On top of that, who knows if Matt Cardona is sticking around? Heath and Rhino aren’t leaving, but I don’t think there is much interest in the Cheese and Crackers tag team from Smackdown in 2016? With the Motor City Machine Guns as champions, there’s stability and the potential for great matches down the road. (I really hope that Impact doesn’t randomly lose The Guns to Triple H. The only reason I have a tiny bit of fear is because Hunter has used Alex Shelley several times on NXT TV in the past as a part of the Time Splitters Tag Team).
Another week, another solid show for Impact. Hey, Raw and Smackdown seem to be creatively taking a break for the holidays, while Impact is out there pumping out good show after good show. Hey, Tony Khan, want someone to book Rampage and Ring of Honor? Homeboy Scott D’Amore is right here and putting out some fine pro wrestling television with his crew. There’s good matches, but also logical storytelling. All it took was them getting rid of their public access supernatural stuff, and Impact has evolved to being a top tier wrestling company, at least in terms of entertainment. And also look, Hunter Johnston is wrestling on this show too. That guy we know can book some good Ring of Honor shows. (And while I joke about that, there’s also a part of me that prefers Scott and crew in Impact because Impact is such a good alternative week-to-week to the bigger companies).
Be the first to comment