Impact Wrestling Results: Winners, Grades, Reaction, Highlights from December 9

The journey to Hard to Kill, Impact Wrestling's first pay-per-view of 2022, continued Thursday on AXS with an episode of Impact Wrestling headlined by Matt Cardona vs. W. Morrissey.

The heated bout, which saw Cardona bloodied, headlined a show that also featured the latest in the rivalry between Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo, Josh Alexander's message to Jonah and a street fight pitting Rhino against Eric Young.

Dive into each of this matches and segments with this recap of the December 9 episode. 

The opening, mixed tag team match came about from last week's match between Chris Sabin and Matthew Rehwoldt in which Mickie James and Deonna Purrazzo got involved and brawled around ringside.

Thursday, the Knockouts champion and The Virtuosa started the show, but Purrazzo and Rehwoldt downed Sabin and cut him off from his Hardcore Country teammate. Sabin tagged James in and the babyface took the fight to the opposition.

Purrazzo wiped Sabin out, only for James to take both the former X-Division champion and The Virtuosa out on the floor. 

Back in the ring, the female foes fought on the top rope before Purrazzo stacked James up and Rehwoldt added leverage for the win.

Result

Rehwoldt and Purrazzo defeated Sabin and James

Grade

B

Analysis

This was a fun, energetic opener that saw the women physically interact with their male counterparts in a nice change of pace from other major wrestling promotions.

Purrazzo working a tougher, more physical style and dressing the part, leaving her regal ring gear at home, has been a nice touch to her post-title reign character.

Rehwoldt helping to keep James down was probably unnecessary but a great heel move.

A great start to the show that highlighted the Knockouts title feud and gave us an always-appreciated dose of Sabin. 

Before the match between Rohit Raju and Lawrence D could get started, former world champion Josh Alexander hit the ring, wiping out the Desi Hitman and demanding Jonah come down the ramp.

Instead, Impact EVP Scott D'Amore appeared. He informed The Walking Weapon that Jonah wasn't coming.

Alexander said the longer he has to wait to get his hands on the big man, the longer he has to wait for his rematch with Moose for the world title. Urged to keep his emotions in check, Alexander grabbed Raj Singh from ringside and delivered the C-4 spike.

"This is me keeping my emotions in check," Alexander said. He walked off, leaving a dismayed D'Amore.

Result

No contest

Grade

A

Analysis

It was about time we saw some anger out of Alexander. He had the world title stolen from him by Moose and was the first ragdoll in Jonah's quest for dominance in Impact Wrestling. We needed to see him lash out after a month of professional frustration.

Could the segment have been more? Sure, but it was a solid bit of booking that demonstrated the mounting anger on the part of Alexander and D'Amore's continued attempts to focus The Walking Weapon on the task at hand: the world title and his success at the top of Impact Wrestling.

How long before the EVP sets him up opposite Alexander?

FinJuice's David Finlay and Juice Robinson battled The Learning Tree's Zicky Dice and VSK in the night's next match.

The heels isolated Robinson and cut him off from his partner. Robinson fought back and tagged Finlay in, igniting a comeback that saw the New Japan Pro-Wrestling stars deliver the Decapitation Device and score the victory.

Result

FinJuice defeated The Learning Tree

Grade

C

Analysis

This was a sprint of a match that didn't really accomplish much.

FinJuice was the competent, experienced, credible team at the start of the match, and the win did nothing to change that. Dice and VSK impressed but came up short, losing without the presence of Brian Myers at ringside to guide them.

That is likely to be the story coming out of this one, rather than FinJuice's victory.

The feud between Rhino and his former leader in Violent By Design, Eric Young, continued Thursday in a Street Fight.

The heel controlled a large portion of the match at one point, wearing Rhino out. When The Man-Beast fought back from underneath, Deaner and Joe made the save. Heath hit the ring to support his friend, taking the invaders out.

Young utilized his hockey mask to layout Rhino and set him up for a piledriver, only for Rich Swann and Willie Mack to hit the ring and make the save for the babyface. Impact tag team champions The Good Brothers attacked them and came face-to-face with VBD. Young scored the win with the piledriver.

The heels acknowledged each other, with Young and Co. standing tall to end the segment.

Result

Young defeated Rhino

Grade

C

Analysis

What was billed as the latest, great chapter between Rhino and Young was, instead, a backdrop for a renewed emphasis on the tag team division.

The four teams involved make up the backbone of the division, while FinJuice and The Learning Tree help to bolster things.

What looked to be one of the weaker areas of the roster just two months earlier now has a wealth of talent, many of whom are former world champions. That is a testament to the current depth of the Impact roster and evidence of the company's ability, and willingness, to cycle talent in and out of its main event scene.

Decay's Rosemary, Havok, Crazzy Steve and Black Taurus battled The IInspiration's Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee, and The Influence's Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood, in an eight-person mixed tag match.

The heels cowered when confronted by Taurus, Rayne was toyed with by Steve and Dashwood was tossed over the top rope with a gorilla press slam by Taurus as the babyfaces asserted their dominance.

Rosemary ended the farce, downing Rayne and scoring the pinfall victory for her team.

Result

Decay defeated The IInspiration and The Influence

Grade

D

Analysis

This was not good. In fact, the only thing that saved it from achieving a failing grade was the character work of The IInspiration and The Influence.

There was a wealth of talent involved, but the dynamic was a mess, the match was nonexistent and the execution wasn't particularly good.

Decay is always a highlight, and both teams involved on the other side of the ring are immensely talented. This just didn't work at all. Luckily, those involved should have no problem rebounding as the knockouts tag team title picture heats up.

With his championship opportunity at Hard to Kill at stake, Matt Cardona battled W. Morrissey in Thursday's main event, knowing a loss would lead to his dismissal from a match he has fought his entire career for. 

His would be an uphill climb, thanks to a particularly savage Morrissey, who waste little time busting his opponent open at ringside and taunting him along the way. Cardona, showing guts and determination, fought through the crimson mask to deliver a missile dropkick and the Reboot for a near-fall. 

Caught up in the moment and frustrated by Cardona's gutsiness, Morrissey inadvertently got himself disqualified. When referee Brian Hebner attempted to explain why, the big man wiped him out with a big boot.

An infuriated Morrissey delivered a big jackknife powerbomb to his opponent before Chelsea Green made her presence felt. Impact world champion Moose entered the ring and ate a big boot from Morrissey for his trouble. When Morrissey put his hands on Green, Cardona fired up and took him down. He cleared the ring of his foe and stood tall to close out the show.

Result

Cardona defeated Morrissey via disqualification

Grade

B+

Analysis

Morrissey looked like an unstoppable force, brutalizing and bloodying Cardona before losing via disqualification because of his own inability to contain his ferocity rather than anything the Long Island Broski did.

Cardona is a great babyface and generates sympathy well. Booking him in this role, as the consummate underdog repeatedly robbed of championship opportunities now one win away from achieving the unthinkable, is a great move by Impact.

Unfortunately, Moose vs. Josh Alexander is the long game here, thus rendering Cardona's story a relative one-off. It is disappointing because Cardona is one of the best stories of the year, and kicking off 2022 by crowning him as champion would make for an interesting and compelling start.