Impact Report, 12/8/22

Join us tonight for up to the minute results from Impact Wrestling.  Coverage begins at 8pm.

Deaner starts the show with a vignette coming off the hands of his apparent murder of Eric Young.  He lays out the formation of his new faction, The Design.  Sami Callihan appears to be their first target.

Match 1.  NJPW Strong Open Weight Tag Team Champions, The Motor City Machine Guns, Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin VS Impact World Tag Team Champions, Heath and Rhino

Rhino told The Guns last week he was going to rip them apart in the ring, and he looks angry right from the start.  Sabin is very cautious and appears a bit rattled. Rhino rings the arm and Sabin reverses, only to be clubbed.  Sabin crossbodies Rhino, but Rhino just throws him to the floor and tags Heath.  Shelley tags in and The Guns work his arm.  Heath finally reverses it.  This went on a few minutes.  Heath then shoulders Shelley off the ropes and works him over in the corner.  Heath misses a splash and eats an atomic drop.  Sabin dragon whips Heath’s leg threw the ropes to the apron.  They continue double teaming Heath in their corner.  Shelley dragon screws Heath again and Sabin tags in.  They make quick tags for a few minutes.  Shelley eventually locks on the figure four.  Heath gets to the ropes to break the hold.  Shelley uses the entire 5 count to further punishment.  Heath hits a powerslam and both men make the tag.  Rhino is all over Sabin, highlighted with a spinebuster for a two count.  Shelley hits Rhino from behind and Sabin gains momentum for a minute, until Rhino hits a back breaker into a shoulder drive.  Heath tags in and Sabin takes control.  Just then The Major Players, Matt Cardona and Brian Myers hit the ring and hit the wake up call on Heath and Sabin.

Match ends in no contest.

Everyone glares at the Major Players as they bail the ring and gloat, while going up the ramp.

We get a Bully Ray/Josh Alexander vignette next.

Impact World Champion, Josh Alexander has a conversation with Scott D’Amore backstage about doing something special tonight.  Zicky Dice and Johnny Swinger want to have a 2 and half hour meeting with him to discuss some ideas.  Scott tells them to win 50 matches and he will talk.  He walks away and Swinger celebrates saying, “So we have a chance.”

We get a faceoff backstage between Mickie James and Knockouts World Champion, Jordynne Grace.

Match 2.  Taya Valkyrie (with Jessika and Rosemary) VS Savanah Evans (with Tasha Steelz)

Taya is in charge from the outset and Savanah only gets an advantage when she bails the ring and sweeps Taya’s leg.  She then powerbombs her to the floor and we go to break.

Evans is in control as we return.  He shoulders Taya into the corner repeatedly and the butterfly suplexes her.  Taya rallies briefly, but Evans shuts it down with a clothesline.  Evans misses a pump kick and Taya scores with some kicks and a clothesline of her own.  After a blue thunder bomb, Taya gets a two count.  Taya locks on an Indian Death lock.  Taya reverses it into a modified STF.  Evans gets free with a hair pull.  Taya rolls her up for a two count.  Evans lands a full nelson slam and gets the pin.

Winner by pinfall, Savanah Evans

We get a cool highlight package of Chris Bey and Ace Austin in the NJPW Super Juniors Tag Tournament.

Moose is shown briefly beating up Bhupinder Gujjar backstage.  He says he wants Joe Hendry.

Delirious calls out Eddie Edwards in a very strange vignette.  They will go at it tonight.

Match 3.  Kon (with The Design, Deaner and Alan Angels) VS Sami Callihan

Deaner is looking very different as the new leader of this version of the former Violent By Design.  He dresses all in white and has a very sinister look about him.  Sami thumbs Kon to start the match, but Kon headbutts him and levels him with a clothesline.  Kon continues to dominate Sami in the corner.  Kon hits half a sidewalk slam on Sami.  It was somewhat botched.  Sami finally hits a sit down jaw breaker.  Sami then lands a slam.  Kon is in trouble and Sami works him over with chops in the corner.  Sami hits a running forearm, but only gets a one count.  The match spills to the floor.  Kon chokeslams Sami on the apron.  Deaner stalks Sami with Angels.  Sami grabs a chair.  Angels steals it and Sami gets caught on the apron.  Kon pins Sami after a slam off the top rope.

Winner by pinfall, Kon

Gia Miller interviews X Division Champion, Trey Miguel backstage.  It quickly gets out of hand and Trey threatens to spray paint her.  Krazzy Steve enters and this sets up Trey’s next challenger.

Josh Alexander enters the arena with his championship and grabs the mic.  Josh announces he wants to have an ‘Open Challenge Match.”  He says the only person he wants to answer the challenge is Bully Ray.  He tells Bully he has nothing to lose.  He still will have his fall back match in January at Hard to Kill.  Bully is on the screen.  He says he is busy looking at pictures of Josh and his wife after he abused them both.  He shows a series of pictures manhandling Josh’s wife.  Bully says he will meet at Hard to Kill and not before.

Enter Mike Bailey to the arena to accept the challenge.

Match 4.  Impact World Champion, Josh Alexander VS Speedball, Mike Bailey 

The two have a nice back and forth for a few minutes with neither really gaining an advantage.  Josh eventually knees Mike off the ropes and that slows the match down.  Josh goes to work on the ground and pound.  Bailey gets to his feet and levels Josh with the machine gun kicks.  Bailey sails himself on the floor to Josh as we go to break.

Bailey is punted by Josh as we return.  Josh apparently was taking a lot of punishment during the break.  Josh drives the knee to the sitting, Bailey next.  Josh surfboards the arms.  After releasing the hold, Josh lays in chops in each corner.  He then back breakers Bailey.  Mike bridges himself out of the pin.  Bailey connects with a single leg drop kick off a rope whip.  He then begins using his educated feet in a variety of kicks.  He gets a two count off a twisting flip onto Josh.  Josh ducks a kick and starts with the consecutive Germans.  He gets a two count after 4.  Bailey avoids a C4 and locks on an shoulder lock.  The two start going at it strong style briefly, but Bailey locks on an octopus.  Josh can’t break free even after ramming Bailey into the turnbuckle.  Bailey finally spins the hold into a reverse ranna.  After a tv break, Josh  and Bailey are trading forearm shivers and armbars.  Bailey reverses a C4 into a roll up for two.  This match is so fast. Josh ducks a top rope dive, but fails to hits a C4.  Josh dropped Bailey badly on his shoulder.  Josh goes for a C4 again and Bailey shifts his weight, spilling them on the floor.  Bailey is really amazing to watch.  Bailey is still nursing his shoulder, but punts Josh who was trying to return to the ring.  He then moon-saults Josh on the floor from the top rope.  Back in the ring, Bailey missile drop kicks Josh.  Bailey starts kicking Josh with roundhouse kicks.  Josh goes down eventually.  Josh blocks another spin kick and locks on an ankle lock.  Bailey punches free.  The two start going at it strong style in the middle of the ring.  Both of these guys are spent.  Josh lands a running knee, but Bailey gets up and they go at it with repeated forearms.  They both eventually spill to the mat.  Josh is on the apron.  He catch Bailey diving at him and slams Mike on the apron.  We go to another break.  What a match.

Josh hits a rolling back breaker as we return.  He gets caught on the top rope by Bailey.  Josh blocks a ranna and goes for a Styles clash, but Bailey kicks free.  Josh slips free and slams Bailey and locks on another ankle lock.  Bailey gets free and connects with the Ultimate Weapon, but he was too hurt to pin the champ.  Both men regroup.  Bailey is quicker and lands a version of a yes kick.  He then hits another one.  He is moving slowly.  After a third, he he hits a moonsault knee drop.  Bailey continues with the kicks all over Josh’s upper body.  His shoulder is wore out.  Josh fights off the pain and begins another series of Germans.  We go to another break.  That was a weird cut from the action.  It didn’t seem planned.

Bailey and Josh are going at it on the top rope as we return.  Josh hits the Olympic slam.  Delirious and Eddie Edwards has been delayed until next week due to the time of this match.

Bailey gets hit with another Olympic slam, this one off the top rope.  He gets a two count.  The two are both weak and having a hard time continuing.  Both are hurting everywhere, particularly the shoulders.  Bailey tries to get up, but collapses.  The fans cheer him on.  He gets up and starts with a series of kicks with adrenaline seemingly back for the moment.  The ref announces there is 10 mins left in the match. Josh locks on an ankle lock.  Bailey rolls threw, but can’t break free.  Josh reverses to a piledriver for a two count, then back to the ankle lock.  Crazy sequence.  Josh holds the ankle lock and stomps Bailey.  Josh grapevines the leg after stomping the leg on the ropes.  Bailey refuses to tap and gets to the ropes.

Josh seems bewildered after not being able to finish Bailey.  It is officially after 10pm.  Impact is in overtime.  Josh locks on a facelock into a rack.  He climbs the ropes.  Bailey elbows free, but falls violently.  His leg is also hurt.  Bailey tries to scale the ropes, but Josh drops him.  5 Mins remain.  Bailey heads back to the top again and falls in the tree of woe.  Josh is above him.  Speedball sits up and gets stomped, but Bailey doesn’t care.  He ends up rannaing Josh off the top.  Bailey hits the ultimate weapon again, but only gets a two count.  The fans are about to riot.  They want Bailey to win.

3 Mins now remain.  Bailey is now using yet another series of kicks.  He places Josh on the top rope.  Josh reverses a flamingo driver and hits an Styles clash into a another ankle lock.  Bailey gets to his back and kicks himself free.  Josh grabs Bailey from the ropes and piledrives him.  He then sets up the C4 and nails it. He then sets up another and nails it.  Mercifully he gets the pin before time expires.

Winner by pinfall and still Impact World Champion, Josh Alexander.

What a fantastic match.