The second major pay-per-view of the year is already upon us and Impact is looking to make a statement with this show. A career vs title match, two stipulation matches, and a personal main event are my Hard to Kill 2023 predictions.
Pre-Show:
The Death Dollz (Jessika, Rosemary, and Taya Valkyrie) vs Gisele Shaw, Savannah Evans, and Tasha Steelz: Since Taya has been aligned with Rosemary and Jessika this has made for an entertaining trio of women’s wrestlers. The team of Rosemary and Valkyrie makes for a great representation of the Knockouts Tag Division. As for the other team, Steelz had a great 2022 and has the chance to have a better 2023 if she can get back into the title picture. This match should be fun and a great way to kick off the action. In the end, go Death Dollz! Winners: Death Dollz (Jessika, Rosemary, and Taya Valkyrie)
Angels vs Bhupinder Gujjar vs Kushida vs “Speedball” Mike Bailey vs Mike Jackson vs Yuya Uemura: This match potentially can steal the whole show, and this is only on the pre-show. All six of these wrestlers are extremely talented and have something to prove. Angels is representing Violent by Design and hoping to get a big win to make his group proud. Gujjar, who won the Impact End of Year Award for someone to look out for in 2023 is looking to gain that momentum early on in the new year. Kushida is looking to prove himself amongst some of the best in the world. Bailey after his match-of-the-year performance against Josh Alexander is also looking to gain early momentum. 73-year-old “Action” Mike Jackson is looking to prove that he can still hang with some of the younger talents. As for Uemura, while he is here in the US is looking to prove that he can hang with the best America has to offer. I am going to assume that whoever wins this match is going to be the number one contender for the X Division Championship at some point down the line and for that reason alone I am going with the superstar who is someone we should all be watching for in 2023. Winner: Bhupinder Gujjar
Main Show:
Falls Count Anywhere: Rich Swann vs Steve Maclin: Maclin is going to have a huge 2023 and for that reason alone he should be getting the easy victory over Swann in this match. Maclin should be the one to defeat Alexander later on in the year because if last year proved anything he can be Impact’s next star. He can not put on a bad match, and every victory he did get was monumental. This will be a fun match as both competitors will be able to show why they are some of Impact’s biggest stars. Sorry Swann, Maclin needs this one. Winner: Steve Maclin
Impact Digital Media Championship: Joe Hendry vs Moose: Joe Hendry is one of the most entertaining people on Impact TV right now and I am not just saying that because of the parody he made of his theme song to make fun of Moose. In the ring, he is great as well as his character work and promo work he is one of those wrestlers who just gets it. As far as Moose goes I truly think he has done everything he can in Impact and he is in the position to put over talent, which is why he is probably going to lose this match. Winner: “And Still” Joe Hendry
# 1 Contenders Match for the Knockouts Championship: Taylor Wilde vs Deonna Purazzo vs Killer Kelly vs Masha Slamovich: This match is interesting, especially considering the implications of the Knockouts title match later on in the card. Every woman in this match has a reason to win the match and would make a viable contender for either Grace or James. To me this is Slamovich’s year no matter if it’s Grace or James this is the year she finally wins the Knockout’s title, this match is going to be great and I think Slamovich gets her much-needed win here. Winner: Masha Slamovich
X Division Championship Trey Miguel vs Black Taurus: Can we please put the X Division Championship on someone other than Trey Miguel in 2023? Don’t get me wrong, I love him as a wrestler, but other people in the company deserve this title more than Miguel. Unfortunately, I do not think he loses the title here, but I would like to see him lose the title to an up-entry at some point in 2023. Winner: “And Still” Trey Miguel
Four Way Elimination Tag Team Championship: Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) vs Heath and Rhino vs The Major Players (Matt Cardona and Brian Myers) vs Bullet Club (Ace Austin and Chris Bey): Impact has a stacked tag team division and with veterans such as MCMG this year can see a more elevated tag team division. Heath and Rhino do not need the belts and since the rumor mill suggests Cardona’s wife is going back to WWE it is a matter of time before he joins her. As the Bullet Club seems to be falling apart in New Japan I think that winning the tag titles can give them the boost they need in 2023. Too Sweet prediction. Winners: “And New” The Bullet Club (Ace Austin and Chris Bey)
Jonathan Gresham vs Eddie Edwards: Jonathan Gresham is back in the Impact Zone… Well, guess he needed something to do after the whole Death Before Dishonor debacle. This match should be fine, nothing special but expect these two to beat the living hell out of each other. Guess the new guy in town has to get his momentum started for the year right? Winner: Jonathan Gresham
Impact Knockouts Championship Title vs Career: Jordynne Grace vs Mickie James: This is the match that I am most excited about because this match can go both ways. I can see Grace winning this match and James coming out in two weeks at the Royal Rumble and her signing with WWE. However, I can also see James getting one last title run before she is done in Impact. I think a Slamovich vs James match is more intriguing than Slamovich vs Grace since we have seen that already, which is why you can not count out “Hardcore Country” just yet. Winner: “And New” Mickie James
Impact World Heavyweight Championship Full Metal Mayhem: Josh Alexander vs Bully Ray: This is the most personal match on the card especially since Bully has gotten Josh’s wife and child involved in the match. I personally do not understand why Bully came back to Impact because I think there are enough people on the roster for Josh to face for his championship. I think Alexander had a great 2022 and I would not be surprised when his contract is up he goes to either AEW or WWE. I think this match is going to be fun, especially with all the weapons involved. At the end of the day, I think the ultimate weapon gets the huge win to end Impact’s first pay-per-view of the year. Winner: “And Still” Josh Alexander
Hard to Kill 2023, which airs on January 13th, 2023 exclusively on FITE.TV and pay-per-view providers.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMdaSx7FOR4
