Impact Hardcore Justice preview: Tommy Dreamer reveals mystery team for Hardcore War

Impact is back with another monthly special in Hardcore Justice, today (Apr. 10) at 3 pm ET through the Impact Plus app. They were in a bit of a pickle with Impact World Champion Rich Swann being tied up in a feud against AEW World Champion Kenny Omega in title versus title at the Rebellion PPV on April 25. The tag belts were also unavailable, since NJPW’s FinJuice won them from the Good Brothers then took a tour in Japan. What’s a promotion to do?

Give the book to Tommy Dreamer for some hardcore action, of course. Dreamer was granted authority to make a host of hot matches for Hardcore Justice. There is a WarGames style of fight, a title versus career bout, a weapons scramble, and a blindfold match.

The main event was put into motion when Dreamer was tired of watching Eric Young’s group of goons (Joe Doering, Deaner, & Rhino) run roughshod over the locker room with violence. Dreamer had enough, and it is time to go to war, Hardcore War.

Rules are simple. Two teams of four will tussle. One-on-one to start for 5 minutes, then a new man joins the fray every 2 minutes. Once all participants enter, the match can come to a conclusion. The last rule is no disqualification. What that really means is that it will be hardcore.

Dreamer just needed a few good men to fill out his squad. He left it as a tease during Thursday’s episode of Impact Wrestling to break the news last night. Dreamer couldn’t have picked a stronger crew on the Impact roster. Rich Swann, Willie Mack, and Eddie Edwards are reporting for duty.

In a nutshell, this duel should be a crackerjack of violence with potential to produce a few memorable moments. In the bigger picture, it seems irresponsible of Dreamer to allow Swann in a hardcore fight two weeks prior to the biggest match in Impact history at Rebellion.

The full lineup for Hardcore Justice contains:

• Hardcore War: Eric Young, Joe Doering, Deaner, & Rhino vs. Tommy Dreamer, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, & Eddie Edwards
• Knockouts Championship in title vs. career: Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. Jazz
• #1 Contender Weapons Scramble: Jordynne Grace vs. Susan vs. Tenille Dashwood vs. Havok vs. Rosemary vs. Alisha Edwards
• Hardcore Blindfold: Brian Myers vs. Jake Something
• Ace Austin & Madman Fulton vs. TJP & Fallah Bahh vs. Josh Alexander & TBA
• Chairly Legal: Shera vs. Hernandez
• Luke Gallows vs. Black Taurus

The stories for this card are pretty simple for any wrestling fans that want to jump right in. Jazz put her career on the line in exchange for a title shot from Deonna Purrazzo. This match has the emotional hook to steal the show.

The women’s weapons scramble was tossed together by Dreamer. One thing to observe is if Su Yung will emerge from the shell of Susan. Purrazzo previously made a deal with Father James Mitchell to find a way to corral Su and Susie. The result of his dark arts was Susan. She took a hit to the head earlier this week then had a creepy flashback. There is a very good chance Su returns after Susan is bludgeoned with weapons.

Brian Myers has an eye injury and injured Jake Something’s eye, so it made sense to Dreamer for both men to battle blind.

Ace Austin, TJP, and Josh Alexander are feuding for the X-Division Championship. Dreamer booked a three-way tag bout, but they need partners. Austin logically selected his big man. Josh Alexander still needs a partner, since his trusty pal Ethan Page is off in AEW. I’m leaning toward Alexander picking a man who is always ready, and that would be Matt Cardona. TJP picked up his pal, Fallah Bahh, who is homeless after gambling all his money away at Swinger’s Palace casino.

Shera has beef with Rohit Raju. Rohit has money. Hernandez likes money. Thus, Hernandez has beef with Shera. Shera was tired of goon status under Rohit, so he split. The man is too large for Rohit to handle alone, so he purchased the services of Super Mex to handle the situation.

Luke Gallows and Black Taurus were put together after a previous encounter of Rosemary and Decay rubbing in the tag title loss by the Good Brothers to FinJuice. Taurus is awesome as a heavyweight luchador who wrestles in a bull mask. He’ll put on a good show against Gallows.

Prediction time.

I’m siding with Violent by Design. It would dampen their feud with James Storm, Chris Sabin, and “Wildcat” Chris Harris if they lost. Rich Swann, Willie Mack, and Eddie Edwards are riding high after defeating Kenny Omega’s Bullet Club in trios action, so Dreamer is the likely person to eat the pin.

Purrazzo will retain, and Jazz will retire. A Knockouts title change in this match would be contender for upset of the year. Purrazzo’s next challenger is a tough one to call. She’s already pretty much cleaned out the division. Susan turning into Su Yung could be a scenario, but that transformation might be too rushed with only 2 more TV episodes until the Rebellion PPV on April 25. There is a possibility of Taylor Wilde returning to win as a surprise participant. Rosemary should be the favorite due to being a demon assassin. I think I’ll roll with Havok as a chance to prove to Nevaeh that she is not the weak link. Havok would also present an interesting puzzle for the Virtuosa to solve.

The other matches don’t matter much in the grand scheme of Impact. I’ll pick Myers by peaking, Alexander with his mystery partner, Hernandez, and Gallows. That last one is tough as well. Gallows is a main guy, but Taurus has not been pinned yet since joining Decay.

Get in the mood for this afternoon’s event with Impact’s countdown of the greatest matches at Hardcore Justice. Top highlight is Tito Ortiz hitting Rampage Jackson with a hammer.

5. Bad Influence (SCU) vs. Generation Me (Young Bucks) - ONO: Hardcore Justice 2 (July 5, 2013)
4. Kurt Angle vs. Eric Young - Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice (May 1, 2015)
3. Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels - TNA Hardcore Justice (Aug. 12, 2012)
2. Chris Sabin vs. Bully Ray - Impact Wrestling: Hardcore Justice (Aug. 15, 2013)
1. Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu - TNA Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand (Aug. 8, 2010)

Share your predictions for Hardcore Justice. Are you exciting about Tommy Dreamer’s choice for teammates?