IMPACT! Wrestling Review - January 12, 2023

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Impact World Champion Josh Alexander and Bully Ray Exchanged Words

This took place over Zoom with Josh Mathews serving as the moderator. It wasn't exactly ideal to have their final exchange ahead of Hard to Kill to go down that way, but this was still strong stuff from both guys, specifically Bully. Say what you will about Bully being in a world title picture in 2023, but he has played his role in IMPACT exceptionally well since returning at Bound for Glory and the storyline has had my interest. This left me looking forward to their Full Metal Mayhem match on Friday night.

Heath def. Brian Myers

It's funny thinking that this was likely a WWE Superstars/Main Event match at one point, but to the credit of both men, they've raised their respective profiles since leaving WWE. This served as a small preview of what to expect in the upcoming four-way tag team elimination match for the Impact World Tag Team Championship at Hard to Kill and was a nice outing. Heath and Rhino aren't regaining the tag titles, but this was a fine momentum boost for them with Heath winning.

Savannah Evans def. Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Rosemary

Evans' recent match against Taya Valkyrie was decent enough and this also managed to be quite solid. Props to Evans for improving, though working with women as experienced and as talented as those two certainly helps. This was designed to make Evans and Tasha Steelz look like a threat to the Impact World Tag Team Championship. I don't care who holds the gold, but it makes sense for the challengers to rack up wins before they get their title shot.

The Design Recruited Sami Callihan

Callihan previously tried to join The Design but was declined and attacked, but he was actually successful this time. It wasn't a ruse, either, as he shaved his own head and stood alongside The Design to end the segment. It's an interesting use of Callihan and I'm willing to see where it goes, especially since The Design are dead in the water without a star of Callihan's caliber in their ranks. This story feels a little too similar to what was previously done with Violent By Design and Rhino, though.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Anthony Greene

Bailey will take on Kenny King at Hard to Kill, so this gave him a victory before then. Greene recently impressed against Black Taurus in his IMPACT debut and this was another enjoyable, well-wrestled affair featuring him. As I've said before, he'd be the perfect fit for the X-Division if IMPACT decides to sign him. I really like that Bailey and King have built up an issue that doesn't involve a title.

Moose, Eddie Edwards and Steve Maclin def. Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry, Jonathan Gresham and Rich Swann

There was plenty of star power in this one and it definitely delivered as a main event for the go-home show. All six stars worked well together and Gresham in particular shined whenever he was on offense. The action was entertaining and there was never a dull moment. Hendry has embarrassed Moose on more than one occasion, so Moose pinning him here for the win was logical. The lights flickering afterward while Edwards was in the ring obviously indicates PCO is on his way back soon to exact revenge.

Overall Show

Hard to Kill is shaping up to be one of IMPACT's most must-see specials in a while between the Impact World Championship, the Impact Knockouts World Championship match and everything else advertised for the undercard. I thought this go-home show successfully hyped up the event while also featuring a fair amount of quality wrestling. The episode ended on a high note with that above-average main event.

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