12 Ups & 4 Downs From Impact Wrestling Hard To Kill 2021

7. Farewell Taya?

Deonna Purrazzo and Taya Valkyrie's Knockouts Championship contest was far from the best match on the card, but they delivered something decent that encompassed what the current state of the knockouts division looks like.

Pure professional wrestling.

A chaotic beginning to the bout with Rosemary, Crazzy Steve, Kimber Lee, and Susan all being ejected from ringside was too all over the place for this writer's liking. Once the match officially got underway, the goods arrived. 'The Virtuosa' worked on Taya's knee for the duration of the contest here, resulting in a nasty visual of Valkyrie's leg bent back to touch her head. 'La Wera Loca' still managed to fight back to an extent, with a spear downing the defending champion, but the joint manipulation from Purrazzo was too much. A double Fujiwara armbar resulted in a submission win for Deonna.

Favouring Taya's knee didn't really result in anything and was essentially a waste of time from the champion, but aside from that, this was a good match. Purrazzo is doing phenomenal work as the head of the knockouts division. By placing her against the longest-reigning Knockouts Champion allowed Purrazzo to shine better than she ever has before. Should this be Taya's final Impact appearance before her contract expires this month, then what a way to go out.