Reviews

Impact Wrestling Against All Odds 2022 Review

By Kristian Thompson • Published 3rd July 2022
impact wrestling against all odds 2022 main

Impact Wrestling presents Against All Odds from Centre Stage in Atlanta, Georgia. This event took place on Friday, July 1.

Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt ran through the card as the pre-show began.

The highlights were:
* Black Taurus defeated Laredo Kid
* There was a short video package hyping the main event between Josh Alexander and the undefeated Joe Doering
* Brian Myers defeated Rich Swann to win the Impact Wrestling Digital Media Championship

The show opened with a video package promoting the main feuds for Against All Odds. There were plenty of highlights from Slammiversary, which only occurred 12 days ago. I have definitely noticed that Impact have improved their production quality over the past year and, whilst not rivaling WWE for video highlights and promo quality, they have certainly focused on quality rather than quantity. On most WWE shows you see many recaps and replays of what’s already happened (especially on Raw), yet Impact with only one show per week usually utilise their time better and that’s what I have noticed. Let’s get to the action!

Match #1: Chris Bey and Ace Austin vs The Motor City Machine Guns (Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley)

Ace Austin is the newest member of the Bullet Club, for those playing at home. There were plenty of ‘Too Sweet’ chants as the match began. Bey was starting out with Shelley. Shelley quickly took Bey down in a Crossface but Bey escaped to the ropes. Sabin and Austin both tagged in. These two had a great rivalry in 2021. Sabin hit a hip toss followed by a running kick for 1. Austin hit a drop toe hold then tried a Crucifix pin attempt for a 1 count. Sabin tagged in Shelley and they double teamed Austin with running elbows. Shelley with a running knee to Austin’s ribs and tagged in Sabin who targeted that body part with 2 dropkicks. Sabin hit another hard knee to the ribs of Austin to get a 1 count. Tag back to Shelley and the Guns hit a double team clothesline in the corner followed by a double stomp from the top rope from Shelley, but the pin was broken up by Bey. Bey sent Sabin to the outside with a dropkick but Shelley levelled Bey with one of his own. Austin finally gets in some offence as he sends Shelley out of the ring with a dropkick. Austin did his usual cartwheels on the ring apron to avoid the Guns’ offense as he and Bey went to work double teaming Shelley back in the ring. Austin locked in an armbar then used his playing card to try and slice at Shelley’s face. They then do the ridiculous back rake bit, which makes me want to fast forward every time, however I will endure it as I am reviewing the show! Bey tags back in and locks the headlock in. Shelley is stuck in the heel corner as the crowd tries to spur him on. Bey chops down Sabin on the ring apron, Shelley breaks free and goes to tag but Sabin is down. Shelley hits a Saito Suplex on Austin and makes the corner but once again Bey takes out Sabin as he is on the verge of tagging in. Bey with a flying clothesline off the top rope and Austin covers Shelley for a 2 count. The referee is being quite lenient in this match. Sabin finally tags in and hits a double Crossbody. He runs the ropes and hits a double clothesline. Sabin avoids a Chris Bey attack as he accidentally spears his partner in the corner. Sabin stacks them both up in the corner and performs some innovative kicks. Sabin hits a Fishermen’s Suplex on Bey for a 2 count. Sabin is looking for the Cradleshock but Bey breaks free, then cops a double team Flatliner/dropkick combo for a 2 count. All 4 men have been in the ring for about 2 minutes at this stage. Bey with a big Superkick on Sabin, followed by a knee drop by Austin for a 2 count. Austin tags back in, hits a quick clothesline and tags Bey back in. Shelley turns the tide on the heels and shoves Bey off the top rope. Sabin climbs to the top as Shelley has Bey on his shoulders. Sabin hits a dropkick off the top on Bey, followed by a Cradleshock but Austin and Shelley, who are brawling, fall on top to break up the 3 count. More double team work by the Guns on Bey as they turn Bey inside out with a modified swinging Suplex for the win at 14:16.

Winners by pinfall: The Motor City Machine Guns

Analysis: *** ¼ It was an exciting and fast-paced match up, but I couldn’t fathom how much the tag team rules were blatantly ignored throughout the match. It was definitely unusual for an Impact match up. Perhaps it was the Bullet Club influence but it felt like half the match was at least 3 men in the ring performing or receiving double team moves. I thought the new team of Bey and Austin may have picked up the win but they went with the established team who have only lost once in the last two years. The action was great, but the psychology just felt off.

The commentators ran through some of the matches that are to come later in the evening.

The action cut to backstage where the Good Brothers, Heath and America’s Most Wanted joined Gia Miller. Gallows and Anderson put over his teams’ accolades. Heath was fired up. He talked about kicking Honor No More’s asses. Storm put over the fact that America’s Most Wanted were lacing up the boots one last time. Chris Harris said this was the way to go out, fighting as a team.

There was a video package highlighting the upcoming women’s tag team match. It showed Chelsea Green’s heel turn, where she took out Mickie James after being an alliance for many months, as well as Mia Yim’s return.

Match #2: Chelsea Green and Deonna Purrazzo vs Mia Yim and Mickie James

These are both newly formed tag teams and all key players in the women’s division so it should be a solid match up. The face team entered first, both wearing cowgirl hats. Purrazzo and Green entered next, looking confident. The 4 women had a face off in the ring before the heels attacked cheaply. The match was yet to officially begin as Yim hit a Cannonball in the corner on both Green and Purrazzo. The face team hit a double dropkick on both opponents through the ropes. Yim rolled Purrazzo back in and the match officially began. Purrazzo ran the ropes and slid through Yim’s legs, allowed Green to enter with the distraction and hit a dropkick on Yim. Purrazzo back in the ring and tags in Green, legally this time. Quick tag back to Deonna. Big clothesline on Yim for 2. Purrazzo flips off Mickie in the corner and whips Yim to her corner. Purrazzo distracts the referee as Green pulls the hair of Yim, then chokes her out using the middle ring ropes. This match is following the double team mania of the opening contest. Tag back in to Purrazzo and Yim is cut off as she tries to dive across to tag James. She hits a double dropkick and finally makes the tag. Mickie James comes in on fire and takes down Purrazzo with a Lou Thesz Press and a neckbreaker. She sets up the MickDT but Green comes in for the save, dumping James hard on her head. Yim comes in for the save but eats a pump kick from Green. Green hits the Curbstomp on James and Purrazzo locks in a chokehold in the centre of the ring. Mickie gets to her feet but Purrazzo uses the hair to shove her down to the mat. Purrazzo uses the 5 count to choke Mickie out in the ring ropes. Suplex on James for a 2 count. Green tags in and attempts a few quick pins for no success. Green drags Mickie over to Yim and mockingly uses James’ arm to reach out for the tag. Great heel work there. Tag back in to Purrazzo who stomps away on James. Purrazzo with a double arm stretch submission with the knee right in Mickie’s back. Mickie shrugs Purrazzo off to her corner and Green tags in. Purrazzo tries a running spear but misses and hits the post. Mickie finally tags in Mia Yim who takes down Green with a hard drop kick into the corner followed by a Helluva Kick. Green misses an enziguiri in the corner which gives Yim the chance to hit a DDT for a 2 count. Purrazzo tries to attack Yim but James cuts her off with a Thesz Press off the top rope. James dumps her outside the ring. Green blocks eat Defeat from Yim but then takes a German Suplex for 2. Yim tags in James and both of them climb to the top rope. Purrazzo shoves Yim off the top and Mickie misses a diving attack on Green. Double team neckbreaker on Mickie James for the 3 count after 9 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Deonna Purrazzo and Chelsea Green

Analysis: *** A good effort here by the ladies as the match definitely had a personal feel to it. Again, the lack of following of the tag team rules annoyed me a little bit, but at least most of that was short and sharp. It was a needed win for the heel team and might propel Purrazzo in the direction of Jordynne Grace in the near future.

Honor No More are holding a pre-match meeting backstage. Eddie Edwards says they are bound by circumstance and a group that trust one another, and for that reason PCO is out of the match tonight. Vincent isn’t happy with this decision and persuades Edwards to let PCO join.

Match #3: X Division Championship: Mike Bailey (c) vs Trey Miguel

This is our first championship match on the main card and should be a terrific contest. Bailey extends the hand but Miguel just wants to get on with the match. Miguel targets the arm using the ring ropes. He rolls Bailey back in and performs a springboard hip toss. Bailey responds with a Moonsault from inside the ring to the outside, taking out Trey. Both men are back in the ring and Miguel takes out the knee of Bailey. Miguel is showing some heelish traits in his relentlessly pursuit of the championship. Miguel has Bailey trapped in a leg lock in the centre of the ring. He turns it in a pin for a 1 count. Bailey returns fire with a Dragon Screw on Miguel in the corner. Bailey has Miguel trapped in a modified ankle lock in the centre of the ring. Miguel is screaming in pain but reaches out and causes the break. Both men have targeted body parts in the early moments here. Bailey with hard kicks on both Miguel’s front and back. Bailey misses a running Moonsault and gets hit with a double stomp to the back. Miguel hits a German Suplex with the leg locked for a 1 count. Bailey tries a standing Moonsault but Miguel puts the knees up. The referee gets to the count of 5 and both men are up. Bailey targets the legs of Miguel as they trade kicks, taking each other clean off their feet. Bailey hits a Dragon Screw and Miguel lands one of his own. They trade a few counters before Bailey nails a huge kick to Miguel’s chest. Bailey hits a standing Moonsault where his knees land on the back of Miguel. Bailey measures him in the corner but Miguel blocks and gets an inside cradle for 2 followed by a Brainbuster. Miguel heads to the top but misses the Meteora. Both men are struggling to get to their feet. Miguel is first up and he runs and jumps over the top rope to perform a Hurricanrana to Bailey to the outside! The crowd loved that. Both men are trading blows on the ring apron. Bailey trips the leg of Miguel and perform another standing Moonsault but this time on the apron! He lands a big spinning kick in the corner but misses the follow up flying move, so Miguel capitalises with a roll up for a very close 2 count. Miguel with the running Meteora for another close nearfall. Miguel climbs to the top but Bailey cuts him off with a kick. Miguel slams Bailey back down to the mat and takes too long to set up a double stomp. Bailey hits the Flamingo Driver on Miguel to retain at 14:30.

Winner by pinfall and still Impact X-Division Champion: Mike Bailey

Analysis: ***3/4 That was really good and not the style of match that I was expecting them to wrestle. I was expecting a high-flying contest, yet they both targeted body parts and there was both good psychology and selling throughout the match. Bailey realised he was getting the job done with his kicks so had to dig deep with the Flamingo Driver to pick up the win. I really enjoyed this match.

Match #4: Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Championships: Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie (c) vs Tenille Dashwood and Gisele Shaw w/ Madison Rayne

Gisele Shaw is replacing Madison Rayne, who has a broken nose. The storyline has been that Shaw has been trying to prove herself to the Influence in order to get a tag team championship opportunity. Shaw starts off against Valkyrie and Taya dominates the early goings of the match up. Shaw takes out Rosemary in the corner with a right hand. Taya gets the upper hand and hits a running German Suplex with Shaw tied up in the ropes. Tag in to Rosemary who hits a clothesline and mounted right hands. Shaw gouges the eyes of Rosemary and tags in Dashwood. Sidewalk Slam by Rosemary who tags in Valkyrie. Double team clothesline in the corner for a 2 count. Taya hits a running clothesline in the corner but Dashwood grabs the hair and makes the tag to Shaw. Shaw hits a modified Suplex for a 2 count. She pounds away on Taya with right hands and tags in Dashwood. Valkyrie is whipped hard into the ropes and Dashwood uses her hair pull her against the top rope. Valkyrie misses an attack and Dashwood hangs her up on the ropes with a neckbreaker for 2. Another tag in to Shaw and both ladies exchange hard chops to the chest. Shaw with a few of her running uppercuts in the corner, followed by a big running uppercut for a 2 count. Shaw tries a Tornado DDT but Valkyrie catches her and hits a Suplex. Both women are down and tag their partners in. Rosemary takes out Dashwood with 2 clotheslines and Slingblade. Exploder Suplex by Rosemary for a 2 count. Dashwood eats an elbow from Rosemary and then she chokes her out in the corner using her legs. Rosemary climbs to the top but Shaw throws her down to the mat. Dashwood hits a running Crossbody on Rosemary in the corner. Shaw climbs to the top and hits a twisting Splash but lands on Rosemary’s leg. Bad botch but Dashwood gets a 2 count. Rosemary makes the tag and her and Valkyrie nail a double team X-Factor on Dashwood for a 2 count. Shaw comes back in but Rosemary clotheslines her out. Valkyrie runs the ropes but Madison Rayne trips her up. Shaw and Dashwood try a double team Russian Leg Sweep on Valkyrie but Rosemary breaks it up, allowing Valkyrie to pin Dashwood with a small package for the win at 8:47.

Winners and STILL Impact Knockouts World Tag Team Champions: Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie

Analysis: **1/2 It was okay and they worked hard, but some things in the match didn’t run very smoothly. Shaw is still learning and made a real mess of that top rope splash in the middle of the match. Rosemary and Valkyrie have only just been crowned champions so I expected them to retain.

Post-match the heels beat down the champions with their own titles and celebrate their dirty work. As Shaw and the Influence walk up the ramp, Masha Slamovich’s music hits. She hands an envelope to Tenille Dashwood, which is a photo of Dashwood marked with a red X. Slamovich is coming for the Influence.

Analysis: It looks like Masha might join forces with Valkyrie and Rosemary, however they didn’t need any help to retain the titles so that’s not super logical. They looked to be going in the Havok direction but we will see. The angle isn’t very interesting as the champs are fresh and I would rather see Valkyrie in singles action anyway. The division needs more teams badly.

Match #5: 10 Man Tag Team Match: Honor No More (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Kenny King, PCO and Eddie Edwards) w/ Maria Kanellis-Bennett vs The Good Brothers, America’s Most Wanted and Heath

There was a video package showing Honor No More’s attacks over the past few months and how the face team was quickly thrown together to make a match for this event. I think Honor No More should expand to fighting for some championships soon as they’ve just been in lots of 6-man and 10-man tag teams against modified teams of opponents.
The heel team is out first, followed by the Good Brothers, Heath and AMW up last. Storm sprays beer all over Maria’s hair pre-match and she tries to wipe it off on a fan at ringside.
The match begins with Anderson and Edwards locking up. Loud PCO chants early on. Anderson takes down Edwards with a dropkick to the knee. Exchange of forearms and Anderson tags in Gallows. Double team clothesline on Edwards, followed by a running elbow by Gallows and some hard rights. Gallows hits a Suplex on Edwards for 2. Edwards pokes the eye of Gallows and tags in Taven. Taven gets the Back Body Drop for a 1 count. Gallows tags Anderson back in then gets a quick tag to Heath. Heath sends Taven into the corner and hits a jumping forearm followed by one in the opposite corner. Heath hits 10 punches in the corner and plays to the crowd, allowing Taven to back him into his corner. Taven hits a Swinging Neckbreaker and tags in Bennett. Dropkick by Taven for a 2 count. Bennett attacks Heath in the corner and whips him hard into the opposite side, taking him down. Kenny King tags in and stomps away on Heath in the corner. King locks in a Camel Clutch right in front of Heath’s team mates. Tag back in to Edwards who hits a headbutt and locks in a sleeper. Heath escapes and counters the Irish Whip into a Power Slam. Heath tags in Storm who tees off on Edwards. Running forearm by Storm followed by a neckbreaker. Bennett comes in to help out but Storm holds his arm as he tags in Harris. AMW hit double team moves galore and Harris tags Storm back in. Storm is sent to the outside and PCO hip tosses him on the floor. It’s breaking down into a bit of chaos as Edwards tags in PCO. PCO with hard forearms to Storm’s back. PCO hits a running clothesline in the corner and then another one to the back of the Cowboy. Reverse DDT by PCO who climbs to the top but Taven tags in, to the disappointment of the crowd. Taven tries a Frog Splash but Storm rolls out of the way. Taven holds Storm’s leg as Edwards tags back in. Storms blocks a Suplex and nails one of his own. Edwards tags PCO who cheap shots the Good Brothers in the corner. PCO sends Anderson over the top rope and runs the ropes, looking for a Suicida but Edwards tags back in. Storm and Edwards clothesline each other and Edwards makes it to the corner first to tag King in. Storm tries for the Last Call, King counters but Storm nails a Backstabber. He finally tags in Harris who nails King with a barrage of clotheslines. All of Honor No More come in but Harris takes them down. Delayed Vertical Suplex on King for 2. Heath comes in to confront Bennett but eats a huge Spinebuster. Anderson then nails one on Bennett. Then King hits a Spinebuster on Anderson. Harris then nails one of his own. Spinebustermania! Harris tags in Storm and they set up for a double team finisher but the heel interrupt that. Gun Stun by Anderson on Edwards. Bennett nails a huge right on Anderson then takes a Pumphandle Slam from Gallows. PCO sends Gallows out and Storm hits him with a DDT. Kenny King hits a Blockbuster off the top rope on Storm with such ease. King drags Storm over to the corner for PCO to hit the PCOsault. He changes his mind and turns his attention to the athletes on the outside but loses his balance and luckily falls on to the crowd of wrestlers. He almost landed on his head on the apron. Back in the ring, Storm hits the Last Call on Kenny King then Harris climbs to the top and hits the vintage AMW Death Sentence finisher for the 3 count.

Winners by pinfall: The Good Brothers, AMW and Heath

Analysis: ***1/2 This was a decent 10-man tag match but it followed the usual formula of Honor No More’s matches where it starts off slowly, they use double team moves to gain the advantage and by the end it’s everyone brawling and hitting their finishers. Honor No More can blame PCO for the loss as he distracted King and that led to the Death Sentence and 3 count. It seems that they also used the match to keep the PCO face turn rolling, shown by frequent tags when he was in the ring to keep him out. Putting over a 54-year old when you have a decent young roster is an interesting booking decision, but we will see where that goes. That botch off the top looked ugly though.

A video package hyping the Clockwork Orange match aired, with highlights of Raven’s hardcore antics from his career.

Match #6: Raven’s Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match: Moose vs Sami Callihan

This is the first match of this type in Impact since 2009. Raven’s music hits and he comes out through the crowd to take a seat on commentary. Raven said that Moose and Sami will confront pain and brutality in this match, which Raven seemed to be happy about. This is No-Disqualification, Falls Count Anywhere match where a variety of hardcore items surround the ring and have been hung above it. Callihan is out first, followed by Moose who is already in the ring when the lights come on and hits a huge spear on Callihan before the bell. He is in a tracksuit rather than his traditional wrestling trunks. Moose takes a steel chair and smashes Callihan over the back twice. Moose sets up a table between the ring apron and the guard rail. He tries for a Uranage but it’s blocked by Callihan who throws a chair at Moose. Moose comes back with a Pump Kick to the face. Both men are back in the ring. Moose takes a trash can lid and smashes Sami over the head twice. Callihan backs up against the ring ropes and Moose runs at him with the trash can lid, but Callihan back body drops him over the top rope through the table set up beforehand. Callihan sets up a steel fence in the corner and then brings in a door for the opposite corner. He goes back to the outside and chops away at Moose. Back in the ring and Callihan slams Moose into the door three times. Moose goes for a Powerbomb but Callihan goes low to block it. Callihan hits a Death Valley Driver through the steel fence set up in the corner for a 2 count. Callihan unhooks a For Sale sign and beats Moose with it. He unhooks a trash can and tries to put Moose’s head in it. Moose reaches in to the trash can and smashes a glass bottle over Callihan’s head. Callihan is busted open as Moose rakes a piece of glass from the bottle across Callihan’s forehead! Moose grabs 2 steel chairs and sets them up with one of the doors wedged between them, making a makeshift table. Moose lifts Callihan to the top rope and sets up for a Superplex. Callihan tries to block and bites at the forehead of Moose. Moose brushes him off and hits a Sky High through the door! Moose gets a 2 count then smashes a piece of the door over Callihan’s head. Callihan returns the favour and then Moose nails him again repeatedly until the door disintegrates. Moose takes his time to follow up and Callihan clotheslines him inside out. Callihan sets up two chairs near the corner of the ring and tries for a Piledriver but Moose shoots him in the leg with a staple gun! Moose shoots Sami in the forehead with the staple gun as he stands over him in the corner. Sami somehow is able to pull Moose down and Powerbomb him through the steel chairs. Callihan gets the staple gun and goes low on Moose. Oh boy! Moose crawls to the corner and return to the ‘Box-o-Fun’. Callihan has his own box in his corner. The fans are chanting “What’s in the box?” Moose tips his box out and it’s a pile of LEGO. Callihan’s box is full of broken glass. Both men exchange right hands in the centre of the ring. Moose hits a Pump kick and Callihan almost falls into the glass. Callihan throws a handful of LEGO into the eyes of Moose and nails the Cactus Driver 97 on the pile of LEGO (Yes you’re reading that right) for a close 2 count. Callihan then rakes a piece of glass against his own head. He takes Moose over to the pile of glass and hits the Cactus Driver 97 on it. That looked like a rough landing for Moose. Callihan unhooks the barbed wire bat. He is about to nail Moose with it but the ‘camera man’ comes into the ring and nails Callihan with a huge low blow. He unmasks to reveal himself as Steve Maclin. Maclin with the barbed wire bat to the face of Callihan. Moose hits the Spear in the centre of the ring to pin Callihan after 17:42.

Winner by pinfall: Moose

Analysis: ***3/4 That was a fun, chaotic, weapons-filled fight. The only difference to Monster’s Ball was that there were weapons suspended above the ring. Maclin turning on Callihan will add some intrigue to the upcoming weeks. Callihan and Moose are 1-1 now so if there’s a rubber match then that would be fine with me too. They’ve had 2 hardcore-style matches so maybe they could have a regular match as a reverse blow-off to the feud. It’s difficult to have a creative No-DQ match in 2022 but they tried some innovative spots and it’s always fun to see LEGO used to your advantage!

Backstage Heath says he’s going to take out Honor No More one by one until he cuts the head off the snake (Edwards).

There was a video package highlighting Jordynne Grace’s Championship win at Slammiversary. Tasha Steelz has a contractual rematch so that’s an easy way to set up the match with only 12 days of build-up.

Match #7: Impact Knockouts Championship match: Jordynne Grace (c) vs Tasha Steelz w/ Savannah Evans

Steelz is out first followed by Grace to a good reception. The bell is yet to ring and Steelz takes out Grace’s leg with a chop block. Steelz works away on Grace in the corner but Grace powers out. Grace hits a Spinebuster for 2 as she tries to get her right knee going again. Grace whips Steelz hard into the corner. Steelz tries a running attack in the corner but is met by an elbow. She overacts its impact and as the referee checks on her, Evans grabs Grace and slams her knee into the ring post. Steelz goes back to work on the right knee of Grace. She stomps away on Grace but the referee breaks up the count as they’re in the ropes. Steelz tries to whip Grace but she blocks it with her power. Grace blocks a kick and turns it into a high knee. Both women are down in the middle of the ring. Grace recovers first and they exchange right hands. Grace hits a Scoop Slam and follows up with another. Grace hits a combination of strikes and locks in Torture Rack, turning it into a Spinning Powerbomb as Steelz kicks out just before 3. Grace goes for a Powerbomb but it’s blocked by Steelz. Grace sends Steelz into the top turnbuckle but misses a double knee attack in the corner. Steelz turns a Suplex into a Bulldog off the middle rope for a close 2 count. Steelz goes for a Code Red but Grace counters, sending Steelz into the ropes. Steelz comes back with a dropkick to the knee. Steelz locks on a single crab submission but Grace is able to roll over and trap Steelz in a Sleeper Hold on the mat. Steelz punches the injured knee of Grace to break free. Grace lifts Steelz to the top rope and hits the Muscle Buster. Evans jumps up on the apron to distract the referee. Steelz sneaks up behind Grace and rolls through Grace into a cutter for a 2 count. Steelz slowly climbs to the top but Grace recovers and hits an uppercut. Grace hits an impressive stalling Superplex and crawls to the cover but it’s only a 2 count. Grace sends Steelz into Evans who is up on the apron and it knocks her down. Grace catches Steelz in mid-air and awkwardly hits the Grace Driver, dropping her right on her neck. Grace covers for the 3 count to win the match after 16 minutes.

Winner by pinfall and STILL Impact Knockouts Champion: Jordynne Grace

Analysis *** It started off at a slow pace but they worked into the match well. I liked the amount of counters in the match that showed it was quite even. The finish didn’t look smooth as Grace hit the Grace Driver but not from the usual position she delivers the move from. Post-match, the referee held up the X symbol showing that he feared that Steelz may have been injured. Hopefully she isn’t, but that looked really nasty.

Hannifan and Rehwoldt promote the next Impact Plus special, Emergence, on August 12th from Chicago.

There’s a video package showing Josh Alexander’s feud with Violent by Design, which leads us into the main event for this evening.

Match #8: Impact World Championship: Josh Alexander (c) vs Joe Doering w/ Deaner

The challenger, the undefeated Joe Doering, is out first with his stablemate Deaner. Alexander is out to a good pop, as they get to the in-ring introductions. Doering is in control early as he backs Alexander into the corner with elbows. Doering dumps Alexander out of the ring, but Alexander gets straight back in and targets Doering’s arm. Doering fights out with a big forearm and tries for a Crossbody but misses. Both men to the outside where Doering bulldozers Alexander with a clothesline. Doering rams Alexander into the ring apron and throws him back into the ring. Doering with clubbing blows to the back of the champion. Doering takes down Alexander with a sloppy kick and hits an elbow drop for 2. Alexander fights back with chops but Doering knocks him off his feet with a chop of his own. Doering hits a Scoop Slam and a follow up elbow drop for 2. Doering sends Alexander to the outside again as Deaner berates him. Doering stalks Alexander around the ring, clubbing him on the back. Alexander fights Doering off until Deaner grabs his leg in the corner, allowing Doering to hit the running clothesline in the corner. Doering with another elbow drop for a 2 count. They trade blows and Alexander gains a bit of an advantage but can’t quite get the German Suplex until he ducks a Doering attack and uses his own momentum to hit the move. Alexander nails a Northern Lights Suplex for a 2 count. Alexander is targeting the ankle of Doering, who tries to fight out of it and eventually does. Both men fight on the ring apron, exchanging forearms and chops. Doering clotheslines Alexander back into the ring. He climbs to the top rope uneasily but Alexander cuts him off. Alexander nails a Superplex and goes for the C4 but Deaner gets up onto the apron for the distraction. Alexander takes him out and heads to the top. He jumps off but Doering catches him and slams him down hard, followed by an elbow drop for 2. Alexander fires up again and nails 3 consecutive German Suplexes. He goes for a running kick but Doering swats him away and clubs him half way across the ring. Doering hits a Death Valley Driver and holds on to the arm, looking for a Lariat but Alexander fights out. Doering nails a running Crossbody for a close 2 count. Doering hits the Chain of Sorrow for another close 2 count. Doering sets up for the Revolution Bomb but Alexander jumps off his shoulders and locks in the Anklelock. Alexander shifts to the seated position and Doering somehow stands up in the submission move. Doering holds on and hits another huge lariat for a 2 count. Again, Doering goes for the Powerbomb but Alexander tries to take out the leg and cops 2 huge lariats. Alexander blocks the third one and Doering backs him into the corner with clubbing shots. Alexander keeps fighting and targets the ankle again with a dropkick. Alexander hits the C4 Spike out of nowhere for the 3 count after 17 minutes.

Winner and STILL Impact World Champion: Josh Alexander

Analysis: ** 3/4 It was about what I expected from this match up, hard-hitting but limited to what they could do because of Doering’s limitations. He hit some stiff-looking moves that made Alexander look like he really earned the victory and at 17-minutes it was about 7 minutes longer than I expected. There were some moments in the ring where you could tell that Doering was fatigued and some of the spots were a bit rough, but it was a hard-hitting fight that gave Alexander another opponent to defeat, which is all they needed with such a short turnaround from the PPV. The show ended with Alexander selling the fatigue of the win and celebrating with his championship.

Final Rating: 7/10

Impact delivered another solid show, this time despite only 12 days after their last Pay Per View. I enjoyed the hardcore-style brawl between Moose and Callihan, as well as the 10-man tag match the best on the card. The main event was slightly better than I expected, but I’m happy for Josh Alexander to now move on from Violent by Design. Whilst the Honor No More angle is not becoming stale by any means, I also think it’s time for them to move on from 10-man tags at these shows, as we have been seeing this for a while with just a few opponents changing here and there. Unfortunately, there were definitely more mistakes than we are used to when watching Impact, which could be down to a lack of time to build the matches or perhaps because some of the wrestlers were working with new opponents.

I’ll be back Friday with the Impact Weekly Review and as always feedback and comments are welcome. Here’s my email address kristian.l.thompson@gmail.com in case anybody wants to get in touch with me and Twitter is @thomok6 as well. Any feedback or comments are welcome. Thanks for reading!