By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Las Vegas, Nevada at Sam’s Town Live
Aired November 17, 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…
Crazzy Steve personally introduced Black Taurus for his X Division Tournament Match. His opponent is former Impact King of the Mountain champion PJ Black…
1. Black Taurus (w/Crazzy Steve) vs. PJ Black in a semi final match of the Impact X Division Championship Tournament. Taurus gave Black a shoulder tackle. Black gave Taurus a sweep. Black and Taurus had a bit of a stalemate. Black hit Taurus with a Monkey Flip. Taurus gave Black a rising palm. Black came back with a wrecking ball kick and plancha.
Steve hyped Taurus and inspired him to beat the ten count. Taurus hit Black with a Back Elbow and power slam combo for a two count. Taurus hit Black with a series of sling blades for a two count. Taurus hit Black with a Samoan Drop for a two count. Black came back with a meteora and missile dropkick for the two count.
Black caught Taurus with a Spanish Fly for a two count. Taurus and Black took each other out with clotheslines. Taurus and Black traded alternating strikes. Taurus hit Black with a headbutt and Destination Hellhole (Delayed Michinoku Driver) for the win.
Black Taurus defeated PJ Black via pinfall in 6:19 to advance to the finals of the Impact X Division Championship.
The updated graphic showed that Black Taurus will face Trey Miguel in the finals of the tournament at Overdrive…
John’s Thoughts: A short and sweet lucha style match with some hard hits. Very weird that they kept this half of the bracket isolated on their Before the Impact show while all the actual stories played out on the other half, mostly revolving around Kenny King and Mike Bailey. Taurus is actually my favorite to win the tournament now. Yes, I know Trey Miguel is the safe pick, but I feel like they’ve gone to the well with Miguel as champ too many times (and his last reign involved him barely appearing on TV). Miguel can be good, but I feel like it wouldn’t hurt to try to make Black Taurus via the tournament.
Scott D’Amore was moderating a backstage contract signing between Josh Alexander and Frankie Kazarian for their match at Overdrive. Scott D’Amore was sitting in front of a fancy piece of abstract art that stood out. Traci Brooks and Jen were alongside their respective husbands. Alexander was first to sign. He said he respects Kaz and Kaz was one of the people that inspired him to be a wrestler.
Alexander said that when they tag teamed together last week, Kazarian proved that he’s just as good as when Kazarian was younger. He said he’s looking forward to the match. Kazarian was next to sign. He said that he’s proud to see the way Alexander carries himself as a man, husband, and father, which actually inspired Kaz. Kazarian said that also inspired him to cash in Option C. He said he wishes he didn’t have to win the title at Alexander’s expense, but he’s been working at this for a long time.
Alexander said Kaz isn’t winning. Kaz said as a champion, Alexander needs to understand that disappointments happen and Josh needs to understand that along with Josh’s family. Jen cut in. Jen talked about going through a lot of hardship with Josh over the past year (which included Moose constantly harassing them). Jen said this won’t faze them and Josh is leaving with the title. Kazarian cut off Jen and told her that no one was talking to her.
This fired up Josh who defended his wife. Scott D’Amore got in between both men and told them to save the physicality for Overdrive. Kazarian calmly agreed and pat D’Amore on the back. Kaz and Traci left…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good of them to mix in some backstage contract signings every once in a while as to not make the in ring ones repetitive. This one was simple and effective. Adding the wives of both men seem to be a bit extra. Maybe they’re going to have them play into their championship match?
Kazarian apologized to Josh Alexander for things getting a bit tense. Bully Ray showed up with his Money in the Cup. Bully said that he’s still pissed off at everyone talking crap about him. He said he’s happy to see Kaz because Kaz is one of the few familliar faces he knows from the Impact locker room. Bully assured Kaz that if Kaz wins, Bully is calling his shot straight up ahead of time.
Kazarian nodded, but said that he knows that nobody can trust Bully Ray. Bully said that even Kaz is talking crap like everyone. Kaz said it is what it is. Bully sarcastically wished Kaz good luck. After Bully left, Kaz was the lastest person to tell Alexander not to trust Bully Ray. Josh told Kazarian that it doesn’t matter if he doesn’t trust Bully (Thank you!).
Alexander said he understands that sometimes the mental games happen before the match and he should be prepared for anyone to backstab him. Alexander said he doesn’t like that everyone’s trying to tell him who to trust or not. Alexander said that people who do things the right way are a threat too. Kaz said that Alexander still has to be weary of Bully. Kazarian told Alexander to ask Tommy Dreamer. Kazarian then joked that it won’t even matter anyway because Kazarian’s winning tomorrow…
John’s Thoughts: Yes, they are still laying the whole “don’t trust Bully” thing a bit too thick, so it was fun to have Josh Alexander lash out at everyone who’s annoying him with the same repetitive statement. Heck, I was getting annoyed that every Josh Alexander segment in the past month was a random person telling Alexander to not trust Bully.
Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley were the only ones who got a televised entrance for the next match. Hannifan noted the following four way was an exhibition match…
2. “The Motor City Machine Guns” Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley vs. “Aussie Open” Kyle Fletcher and Mark Davis vs. Mahabali Shera and Raj Singh vs. “Bullet Club” Ace Austin and Chris Bey. Ace and Fletcher started the match with methodical chain wrestling. Hannifan noted how young both men were. Bey tagged in for some tandem offense with Ace. Bey got a two count off Fletcher.
Ace tagged back in and ate a body slam. Raj Singh tagged out Fletcher. Raj gave Ace Snake Eyes. Shera tagged in and hit Ace with an elbow drop. Shera and Raj traded tags to cut the ring in half on Ace. Singh hit Ace with a Flatliner for a two count.[c]
Back from break, Shera and Singh continued to cut the ring in half on Ace. Ace was forced to tag in Sabin so he could recover. The Guns hit both Bullet Club members with combo moves. They hit Raj with their Muta Lock dropkick combo. Shera took down the Guns with lariats. Davis tagged in. Aussie Open cleared Raj and Shera from the ring. They slammed both Guns into each other. Ace tagged out and dumped Fletcher from the ring.
Davis slammed both Bullet Club members around. Davis threw Bey in Fletcher’s kick. Fletcher hit Bey with an assisted top rope cutter for a two count. Fletcher tagged in . Ace prevented Aussie Open from hitting Bey with Coriolis with a distraction. Bey escaped the move by hitting Davis with a huracanrana. Ace hit Fletcher with a Disaster Kick.
Bey kicked Shelley with a flip thrust kick to knock him to ringside. Bey hit the pile of wrestlers with a flip dive while giving Ace a too sweet, which counted as a tag. Bey hit Fletcher with a springboard cutter. Ace hit Fletcher with the fold for the pin.
Bullet Club defeated Aussie Open, Singh and Shera, and The Motor City Machine Guns via pinfall in 8:30 of on-air time.
John’s Thoughts: Fun tag team four way and time filler. A bit much, which made the Motor City Machine Guns get lost in the shuffle. Interesting to see Aussie Open take so many losses in Impact. I thought Raj Singh was in this match to eat a pin from someone. I’ve actually been very impressed with Aussie Open in Impact because they aren’t hidden in the shadow of Will Opsrey. I wouldn’t mind them sticking around more in Impact because Impact has really done a good job allowing Aussie Open to shine on their own merits.
Rosemary asked Taya backstage where Jessicka was? Taya showed Rosemary that Jessicka has been posting dance videos on Tik Tok. Rosemary said that’s horrible. Taya said that Scott D’Amore allowed her to face Tasha Steelz later if Jessicka can’t make it. Rosemary said Jessicka better be here for Overdrive…[c]
An ad aired for the Impact Plus Overdrive show…
Jordynne Grace cut a promo last week after her match talking about how she’s still standing after Masha’s attack. Grace challenged Masha to a Last Knockout Standing match at Overdrive…
John’s Thoughts: Are they pulling the trigger on a Masha title win at Overdrive? Maybe. My guess is that Masha gets the title soon to set up a thrilling Career Threatening match against Mickie James where Mickie will finally be the underdog in one of her Last Rodeo matches.
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Tasha Steelz (w/Savannah Evans) vs. Taya Valkyrie (w/Rosemary). Taya tossed around and gave Steelz boots. Taya took down Tasha with a boot combination for a two count. Taya gave Tasha a few lariats and a hip attack.
Taya gave Tasha a meteora in the corner. Tasha sent Taya into the ringpost by sidestepping and gave Taya a Codebreaker. Tasha tried to reverse Road to Valhalla with a Victory Roll, but Taya sat on Steelz for the pinfall.
Taya Valkyrie defeated Tasha Steelz via pinfall in 2:20.
Tasha put the boots to Taya after the match. Rosemary tried to cut in but Savannah Evans attacked her. Jessicka walked out for the save. She was wearing a beer sipping cap. Jessicka gave Tasha and Savannah lariats and Dusty punches. Jessicka gave both heels a splash in the corner. Jessicka gave Rosemary and Taya a group hug…
John’s Thoughts: Good win for Taya, but I feel like Taya is still criminally underutilized. Ever since she came back to Impact, she’s been mostly utilized as a background character to prop up Jessicka. For most women, I wouldn’t mind, but Taya is one of the greatest knockouts champions in the company’s history, but you wouldn’t know that in her current run. Even this last match was used to prop up Jessicka.
Josh Alexander met up with Tommy Dreamer and asked him for his thoughts on Bully Ray. Dreamer lectured Alexander how he and Bully have been at odds many times over the years and have scars to prove it. Dreamer talked about how Bully even attacked his wife with a Bully Bomb. Dreamer said that Bully is a changed man. Josh asked if he can trust the guy that attacked Dreamer during his wedding? Dreamer said he should trust Dreamer that Bully is changed…[c]
Trey Miguel cut a promo after his match last week where he was still confused as to why Kenny King interfered in his match with Mike Bailey. He said he’s going to win the match against Black Taurus at Overdrive…
Entrances for the next match took place…
4. Tommy Dreamer vs. Steve Maclin in an Old School Rules match. Dreamer gave Maclin shortarm strikes. Dreamer hit Maclin with a hip toss and then dumped himself and Maclin to ringside with a lariat. Dreamer hit Maclin in the face with a cookie sheet. Dreamer exposed the floor. Maclin blocked a Pile Driver and tossed Dreamer into the ringpost. Maclin gave Dreamer an elbow drop from the apron.
Maclin put Dreamer in a cravate. Maclin tossed chairs in the ring. Dreamer hit Maclin with a lariat to prevent him from hitting Dreamer with a kendo stick. Dreamer gave Maclin a Bionic Elbow to make Maclin sit on a chair. Dreamer gave Maclin a running crossbody. Dreamer went for an elbow drop (look like he just fell), but he missed and hit a chair. Maclin pummeled Dreamer with stick shots.
Dreamer reversed with a stick assisted legsweep. Maclin came back with an Angle Slam for a two count. Dreamer tried to choke Maclin with a stick, but Maclin escaped. Dreamer chucked a trash can at Maclin. Dreamer drank a water bottle from the trash can and pulled out a takeout food container from the trash. This was an ode to his old nasty food eating gimmick.
Dreamer gave Maclin a mist with the water and then tossed the express chinese food in the face of Maclin. Dreamer gave Maclin punches and a bit in the corner. Dreamer hit Maclin with a cutter for the two count. Dreamer called over one of the fans at ringside. It’s the guy who’s been going to every Impact Show for years (You may remember him as the EC3 and El Hijo Del Fantasma Jacket guy). EC3 Jacket Guy helped Dreamer put a table in the ring.
Dreamer tried to give Maclin a Death Valley Driver into the table he set up, but Maclin escaped and tossed Dreamer into a trash can in the corner. Maclin gave Dreamer Dirty Deeds on a steel chair for the win.
Steve Maclin defeated Tommy Dreamer via pinfall in 8:12.
Bully Ray ran out and gave Maclin a spear. Moose ran out and put the boots to Bully. Hannifan said he’s shocked to see Moose and Maclin on the same page again. Josh Alexander ran out to clear the ring and prevent Moose and Maclin from chokeslamming Bully through a table.
Bully stared down Josh while holding the title. Bully then joined Josh in giving Maclin a double chokeslam through the table. Josh picked up the cheap looking trophy while Bully picked up the world title. They traded both items, while also teasing a bit of tension…
John’s Thoughts: A nice little hardcore match to give Maclin a win. Dreamer has been off TV for a long time so he isn’t as overexposed as he once was when he would be losing to heels week after week around a year ago. That said, I hope they don’t overexpose Dreamer this time around. As for this match, I did get a chuckle of Dreamer doing an ode to his old nasty food eating gimmick. It was also fun to see EC3 Jacket Guy get to do something on Impact. That guy deserves a lot of props for being seemingly at every Impact show for years. He probably has more television time on Imapct shows than most Impact legends, being in the front row.
Tom Hannifan sent the show to what he dubbed was Masha Slammovich’s first interview in Impact. Gia Miller had a sitdown interview with Masha. Gia asked Masha how she feels after her first loss in Impact. Masha was subtitled and spoke in Russian. She told Gia that only a little girl would ask such a question. Masha said Gia knows nothing about fighting, winning, and losing.
Masha said that Gia knows nothing at all, so why the hell would she ask such a question. Masha said she’s been beating everyone for about a year, but Gia is asking her a question about a single loss? Masha told Gia to just forget about it. Gia (hopefully it was translated to her that Masha just roasted her) then asked Masha where the disappeared to for a month.
Masha said that only an idiot would ask that question. Masha said Gia still knows nothing about fighting. She said she does what she wants. Gia asked Masha about what she thinks will come out of her match at Overdrive against Jordynne Grace. Masha said “Death”…
John’s Thoughts: Yo! That was a good promo. Masha’s great. Who knew. I really liked her poise and it was hilarious to see her roast poor Gia Miller. Good usage of subtitles because it allows the wrestler to sell things with proper body language, confidence, and not look awkward like we’d see from a lot of foreign wrestler in WWE Pre-Paul Levesque (Hunter used subtitles in NXT). Masha’s slick roasting reminded me of some of Pentagon Jr’s great promos in Lucha Underground when he would roast people via subtitle.
Sami Callihan was shown slapping himself to psych himself up…[c]
Entrances for the next match took place. Tom Hannifan plugged Brian Myers and Matt Cardona running a holiday charitable toy drive for Christmas…
John’s Thoughts: Eh, small detail, but do you really want to promote your top heel tag team as very wholesome dudes?
5. Laredo Kid vs. Rich Swann. Kid hit Swann with a huracanrana. Kid caught Swann at ringside with a plancha. Kid body slammed Swann and gave Swann a corkscrew moonsault for a two count. Swann caught Kid with a high kick combo. Swann hit Kid with a running mule kick. Kid dodged a 450 and hit Swann with a German Suplex on the neck. Kid hit Swann with a Buzzsaw Kick. Kid hit Swann with a Frog Splash which invoked Eddie chants.
Swann blocked a Spanish Fly and hit Kid with a Hook Kick. Swann hit Kid with a Lethal Injection for a two count. Swann hit Kid with a 450 Splash for the win.
Rich Swann defeated Laredo Kid via pinfall in 3:44.
Rich Swann danced heading into the break…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Good while it lasted. I’m surprised they gave both these talented high flyers only 4 minutes. I kinda want to see these guys go for 15 or 20 given the talent level here. Hopefully they build up Laredo Kids one of these days because I feel like he’s been in Impact for a long time, yet he rarely wins or gets focus.
An ad aired for the Overdrive show…
Taylor Wilde and Mickie James shared a hug backstage. Mickie said she’s excited for their match at Overdive, but she’s disappointed that Wilde got involved in her match against Chelsea Green. Wilde said she wanted Mickie to lose her career on her own merit and not due to interference. Wilde then threw in if anyone will end Mickie’s career, it’ll be her, Taylor Wilde…
A hype package aired to hype up the Josh Alexander vs. Frankie Kazarian match at Overdrive…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary. They ran through the advertised Overdrive card…
Entrances for the main event took place. Alan Angels, Deaner, and Big Kon attacked Sami Callihan during his entrance. Callihan was bleeding after some headbutts from Deaner. Hannifan noted that if Callihan continues, he’s already in danger of getting pinned due to having blood on his forehead…[c]
6. Sami Callihan vs. Eric Young in a Death Machine Double Jeoperdy Match. Young hit Callihan with an Air Raid Crash. Young beat up Callihan around the ring. Callihan tried to rally with right hands, but he was knocked down by Young’s right hand. Callihan got a breather after giving Young a suplex at ringside. Callihan picked up a random picture of The Death Dolls and used it to give Young a paper cut on Young’s mouth (Callihan’s fiance is Jessicka [Havok], so fun tribute)
The commentators noted that it didn’t draw blood. Young recovered and hit Callihan with a back suplex and elbow strikes on the apron. Young gave Callihan methodical strikes on the apron. Callihan got to his knees and did his thumbs up thing. Callihan put a thunb in Young’s eye, and Young gave Callihan a claw to the eye. Callihan bit Young on the head and gave him an Air Raid Crash on the apron. This caused Young to bleed.[c]
Hannifan noted taht both men were able to lose now due to the blood. Callihan pulled Young into a headlock against the ringpost. Young escaped and pulled Callihan into the post. Both men took turns pulling each other into the post. Callihan used a back body drop to escape a Pile Driver attempt by Young. Young tossed a trash can in the ring.
Young slammed Callihan on the head and leg with a can lid. Young put Callihan in an Indian Deathlock. Callihan reversed the move into a Figure Four. Both men kicked out of pins, when their shoulder’s hit the mat. Young and Callihan traded headbutts while on all fours. Both men staggered from chops. Young and Callihan fell to the mat after trading headbutts. Young had a crimson mask at this point.
Young caught a running Callihan with a pile driver for a nearfall. Callihan reversed Young’s next pile driver attempt by grabbing Young in the balls. Callihan gave young a Cactus Driver. Young kicked out of Callihan’s finisher. After hitting Young with a few more trash can lid shots, Callihan gave Young another Cactus Driver for the win.
Sami Callihan defeated Eric Young via pinfall in 14:09 of on-air time.
Callihan did his thumbs up-thumbs down post to celebrate. After Callihan left, Alan Angels, Big Kon, and Deaner entered the ring to stand over the fallen Eric Young. The show closed with Young looking up to his teammates with a crimson mask…
John’s Thoughts: A great bloody brawl. Yes, violent matches like this aren’t for everyone, but Impact doesn’t overdo the violent blood brawls which makes this novel. This might have been the most Violent match Violent by Design have been in. Callihan, we know he and Jon Moxley love em some blood, so it works for him. Young takes another loss after the VBD reboot, but I’m not complaining because it was cool to see Callihan overcome the odds for a clean win. I’m happy VBD didn’t run out during the match too.
Speaking of which, the scene at the end was interesting. Are they going to boot Eric Young out of Violent By Design? I actually wouldn’t be opposed to that. If anything, it gets Young out of the dead end cult faction, but at the same time I think VBD might actually work with a new leader to match their new direction. My pick for new leader would be Deaner. Deaner has done a splendid job wiping away his tried and true Larry the Cable Guy gimmick, to becoming one of the most entertaining in-ring technicians in Impact. Let’s reward the guy. Good episode of Impact again. No complaints.
Good review as always although I’d like to just point out Trey has only been X Division champion once