Impact recap & reactions: W. Morrissey stalking Moose and the world title

Impact Wrestling (Jan. 13, 2022) featured fallout from Hard to Kill. W. Morrissey isn’t done chasing Moose for the Impact world title, Deonna Purrazzo won the ROH women’s championship, and a group of violent ruffians from ROH invaded the Impact Zone.

At Hard to Kill, Moose walked out keeping the Impact World Championship in a three-way against Matt Cardona and W. Morrissey. Moose retained by hook and by crook. He pulled the referee out of the ring when Cardona appeared to have Morrissey down for the three-count. Moose was also saved after Morrissey crushed him with a powerbomb. Morrissey pined Moose for ten seconds, but the referee was knocked out. Moose ended up spearing Cardona for victory.

To kick off Impact Wrestling, Morrissey was grabbing cheeks of security personnel and searching for Moose to get an immediate title shot. He marched to the ring demanding satisfaction. Morrissey dared Moose to have balls for once in his life and face him man to man. Moose answered from the big screen to say he would be busy defending the world title against someone who has never received a shot.

The challenger turned out to be former NWA TV champ Zicky Dice. His preparation included carbo loading on a giant pizza from Serious Pizza.

When it came time for the world title fight, Moose didn’t even bother changing into his wrestling gear. Moose ate a punch then uranage slammed Zicky to the mat for the easy win.

After being warned by Scott D’Amore not to interfere, Morrissey kindly waited for that fiasco to finish before heading to the ring. Moose didn’t back down, but Morrissey got the upper hand with punches. Dice woke up from his stupor to wander in front of a big boot. That allowed Moose space to escape from the ring but without the belt. Morrissey held the gold high then turned his attention to VSK, who was tending to Dice in the ring. While Morrissey chokeslammed VSK, Moose snatched his title back. Morrissey gave chase backstage only to find Moose zooming away in an automobile.

Ohhh wee, this feud has me excited. Morrissey and Moose going one-on-one is what I have desired ever since they teamed together as associates. Since both are heels, I really hope Impact doesn’t insert a babyface for a three-way. Just give me those two huge mean men beating the stuffing out of each other. I assume Moose probably won’t lose the Impact title until Josh Alexander challenges for the belt, but Morrissey is so imposing with physicality that I can talk myself into thinking a title change could take place before Alexander gets his shot.

Let’s blitz through the rest of the show.

Black Taurus defeated Drama King. Pre-show action ended with Taurus using a fancy sitdown piledriver.

Matt Taven tried to take over the commentary table. When D’Lo Brown resisted, the invading ROH faction beat him up. Mike Bennett, Vincent, and Maria Kanellis were in on the chaos. PCO crashed onto D’Lo through a table.

Laredo Kid defeated Chris Bey. X-Division champ Trey Miguel filled in on commentary, since D’Lo was incapacitated. Bey was focused on making a statement to Trey. All signs pointed to Bey being the next challenger, but Laredo pulled out the win with a Spanish Fly.

Eddie Edwards, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Heath, and Rhino were angry that the ROH goons attacked them at Hard to Kill and stole their moment to celebrate victory in a Hardcore War. Edwards suggested they split up to take out ROH before they strike again.

“Speedball” Mike Bailey defeated Jake Something. Ace Austin and Madman Fulton were on commentary. It sounded like Ace versus Bailey will be in the near future. During the bout, Bailey was pounded by the more powerful Jake, but Speedball rallied with speed and balls. Bailey connected on a double spinning kick then finished with a shooting star press double knees.

Even though the Good Brother and Violent by Design lost the Hardcore War, they decided to stick together to serve a greater good of beating up tag team contenders. They found Heath and Rhino backstage beat up by ROH. Instead of uniting as Team Impact, the Good Brothers and VBD put the boots to the already injured Heath and Rhino.

Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green didn’t win their matches at Hard to Kill, but they put a positive spin to always be ready. Tasha Steelz interrupted to rub in her win in the Knockouts Ultimate X match. Trash talk set up a singles bout for next week.

Masha Slamovich defeated Vert Vixen. The Russian took care of business with a modified Michinoku driver.

Josh Alexander was done waiting for his shot to take back the Impact World Championship from Moose. Charlie Haas interrupted to request a match. Alexander declined at first, but he would gladly oblige after he wins the title. Haas poked the bear, fisticuffs broke out, and Alexander accepted for next week.

Mickie James warned Rok-C about Deonna Purrazzo willing to do whatever it takes to win the ROH women’s title.

D’Amore relayed news that the ROH faction is not acting on behalf of the ROH company. They have gone rogue!

JONAH defeated Raj Singh. Singh demanded a fight, so D’Amore obliged with JONAH. Running senton and flying splash for the squash win.

The Influence are waiting for their Knockouts tag title shot after the IInspiration missed Hard to Kill. Rosemary and Havok offered to help fill the time with a match next week.

Eddie Edwards was found beat up backstage, presumably by ROH.

Jonathan Gresham denied any involvement with the ROH hooligans. Steve Maclin interrupted with accusations, so Gresham offered a title match to defend the honor of the ROH World Championship. That will go down next week.

Deonna Purrazzo defeated Rok-C. The main event bout was winner-take-all with the AAA Reina de Reinas Championship and ROH Women’s World Championship both on the line. Purrazzo was in trouble with the Rok Lock submission, but she managed to counter and transition for an armbar. As Rok-C was fading, the referee was close to calling for the bell. She grabbed his pants to show she was not defeated in spirit. Purrazzo snatched that free arm for the Venus de Milo double armbar victory. Purrazzo is a double champ once again.

After the match, Maria Kanellis demanded Purrazzo hand over the ROH belt. Purrazzo didn’t listen, so the ROH faction surrounded her. Drama King would not stand for such insolence toward his queen. His attempt at a save was quickly dispatched by the numbers game, but it did allow Purrazzo room to escape. Swann and Mack ran to the ring, and they were beaten down. ROH stood tall to close the show.

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Impact started the next chapter after Hard to Kill on a strong note, both short-term and long-term. Laredo Kid versus Chris Bey, Mike Bailey versus Jake Something, and Deonna Purrazzo versus Rok-C were very good matches. On the short-term, next week’s show was set up nicely for Jonathan Gresham to defend the ROH World Championship. With so much going on, it is easy to forget about Charlie Haas returning to action against Josh Alexander. That was a neat blast from the past.

The storyline with ROH is full of intrigue as a developing long-term angle. It has me hooked. I’m not necessarily interested in Matt Taven leading the charge, but I am curious about how it unfolds. Intrigue is abound with Gresham and Rok-C not part of the takeover, so it goes to show there must be a more targeted goal than company against company.

One story I’m a little confused on is the recent interview sessions with Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green. Cardona is staying true to form of always being ready, but Green seems to be planting seeds of some sort. It feels like she believes more in Cardona than he does in himself. Could that lead to a heel turn from Cardona with Green reverting back into the Hot Mess? Impact has a consistent track record of late to do things with a planned purpose. That leads me to believe something will evolve from these segments.

One last item for the wish list. When the IInspiration return, I really hope Impact brings back Jai Vidal as their valet. He was hilarious during the Las Vegas tapings, especially in contrast to Kaleb Konley.

Share your thoughts on Impact Wrestling. What was your favorite match? Who stole the show?

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