IMPACT Wrestling Hard to Kill: Results, Highlights and Grades

Sami Callihan (c) vs. Tessa Blanchard – IMPACT World Championship

Callihan immediately with a pump kick and a piledriver for a near fall. Then chops her in the corner. Puts her up top, but Tessa bites his forehead and dives off to hit Magnum for a near fall. We’ve just seen two finishers within a minute of the match.

Back to their feet, Tessa forearms Sami and sends him outside with a hurricanrana. Goes for a dive, but Sami halts her, only to get kicked and hit with a trifecta of suicide dives, but Sami catches her on the third, but Tessa hits a rana to reverse a powerbomb attempt. She dives off the top with a senton onto Sami.

Tessa goes back to Sami, but he grabs a fan’s beef cup and smashes it into her face before smashing her knees into the barricade, then blowing a booger at her. Tessa is riving in pain and struggles to hobble back in the ring to avoid the 10 count. He then wraps her leg around the steel post and smashes it repeatedly.

Back in the ring, he locks an Indian Deathlock onto Tessa’s injured leg. He breaks the hold after chopping her in the back. Tessa struggles to get back to her feet, but gets forearmed back down. Sami revels in the boos from the crowd and the audience wholeheartedly cheers Tessa on.

Tessa still has fight as she’s willed to hit some forearms of her own, but he nails a spinebuster for a near fall. He lodges his knee into Tessa’s back before goading the crowd. He then steps and sits all of his weight onto Tessa’s chest. He continues stomping and attacking Tessa’s injured leg.

She finally avoids an elbow drop. She chops him, but he uppercuts her in the face before sending her to the outside.

He goes to powerbomb her through a nearby table, but she grips the top rope and breaks Sami’s grip. Superkick off the apron, then a senton dive off the apron, but Sami catches her to follow through with the powerbomb through a table.

The ref goes to count her out and at the count of nine, she barely makes it back in the ring. Both find themselves on the apron. Staredown. Trade forearms and chops. Sami thumbs her in the eyes and teases a piledriver on the apron until Tessa rakes his eyes. She climbs up top to hit Magnum off the apron. Both wrestlers are down as the ref counts.

At almost the exact same time, both performers make it back in. Both are eye to eye now and on their feet. She forearms him. He knocks her down with two hard chops, but she’s begging for more each time as Sami urges her to stay down. He teases one last chop, but he superkicks her injured knee. He runs at her, but she hits a Samoan Drop.

She runs at him in the corner, but he catches her with a pump kick. He climbs to the middle rope, but she kicks him and hits a Lungblower Codebreaker for the near fall. She climbs up top once more as Sami struggles to make it to his feet and the crowd cheer her name. He avoids Magnum and she lands on her feet. He hits “Get Outta Here” for a near fall.

Back to their feet, they trade forearms again. She runs into a pump kick, but recovers with a forearm, but he hits a snap German suplex. Back to her feet, she hits a Cutter for the nearest near fall you could possibly imagine. “That was three!” The fans chant, along with “Ref, you suck!”

Callihan hits a snap sit-out powerbomb before locking in a Brock Lock, into a Single Leg Boston Crab with his other knee in her spine, until she grabs the bottom rope. He pulls her away to lock in an STF.

The ref lifts Tessa’s arm twice, but on the third, she fights to the rope. She nearly grabs it, but Sami wrenches the arm. She’s forced to reach with her foot to force a rope break.

Sami grabs his belt and plans to bash Tessa with it, but the ref wrestles it away from her. While he puts the belt back, he goes to hit her with brass knuckles, but Tessa low blows Sami behind the ref’s back. This allows her to hit Magnum for a near fall. She floats over for a Crossface.

He gets to his feet while the hold is locked in. He bites her hand to hit a piledriver for another kickout.

Sami signals for another piledriver, but she turns it into a jacknife cover for a kick out. Sami picks her up, but she fights back with forearms. He spits on her and flips her off. She continues the forearms. Runs into a pump kick, but he runs into a Canadian Destroyer.

She climbs to the top one more time for a diving Canadian Destroyer. Thumbs up by Tessa, thumbs down. Hammerlock DDT for the win. We have a new champion!

Winner: Tessa Blanchard

Grade: A

Trying my best to ignore the, um, “events” from yesterday, this match told a great story told by two great performers with incredible chemistry. Another Match of the Year candidate from this PPV.

Overall Grade: B

First hour and first three matches had a lot of great stuff. Then, it started to fall down a cliff in the second hour, after the RVD stuff. Elgin vs. Edwards somewhat won me over by the end, but Moose vs. Rhino brought me back down again.

Third hour, starting with the Tag Title match, featured two fantastic matches. Not a perfect night, but I enjoyed the show for the most part. Recommended viewing.