9 Ups & 3 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling Hard To Kill 2022

1. They Got You!

Mickie James is in the women's Royal Rumble match - she can't possibly retain the Knockouts World Championship!

But she did.

Mickie James will enter a WWE event while an IMPACT champion. It's mind-numbingly tantalising.

James defeated Deonna Purrazzo in a bloody Texas Death Match to close out Hard To Kill, pinning The Virtuosa via Mickie-DT after bashing a guitar over the head of Matthew Rehwoldt. Though a flat ending, given the nature of the stipulation, the remainder of the match made up for it, with thumbtacks, chairs, and a table being used throughout. One particularly brutal spot saw Deonna full-force push a production crate into Mickie's face, drawing blood.

The match had a big fight feel to it, as it should have. The ramifications of this were simply too high, irrelevant of who walked out of Dallas the champion. If Mickie won, she'd enter the Royal Rumble match as Knockouts World Champion. If Deonna won, her impending match with Rok-C would be for the KO title, as well as the ROH Women's World and AAA Reina de Reinas Championships.

IMPACT Wrestling has moved the needle to previously unimaginable heights. They can't be touched. 2022 is their year.