Mickie James’ career lives on, and the wrestling veteran has now added another reign as Knockouts World Champion to her impressive resume.
In the main event of the show, James dethroned Jordynne Grace to start off her fifth reign as Knockouts Champion.
The finish saw Grace lock in a sleeper on the veteran, who slammed Grace into the ring post to break the hold, and leveled her with a tornado DDT to become the new champion.
Speaking backstage after the match, James spoke about the odds being stacked against her going into Hard to Kill.
Last Rodeo
In September of last year, James kicked off her Last Rodeo, vowing to retire from wrestling the next time she lost a match in pursuit of the Impact Knockouts World Championship.
The list of opponents James has defeated in that time includes Mia Yim, Taylor Wilde, and Gisele Shaw, among others.
What’s Next?
Mickie James’ career continues on, but the new Impact Knockouts World Champion will soon face a mammoth challenge.
Hard to Kill also saw Masha Slamovich become the new number-one contender for the Knockouts title, winning a fatal four-way.
Slamovich demolished Deonna Purrazzo, Taylor Wilde, and Killer Kelly to earn a spot at James.
Impact Wrestling has yet to confirm when their title match will take place.
Slamovich debuted for Impact Wrestling in June 2019, but it was only after impressing Impact Wrestling official (and Hall of Famer) Gail Kim) that she was offered a contract in 2021.
Results
Here are the results for Impact Wrestling Hard to Kill 2023.
- [PRE-SHOW] Kushida defeated Angels, Delirious, ”Speedball” Mike Bailey, Mike Jackson and Yuya Uemura by submission
- [PRE-SHOW] Impact X-Division Champion Trey Miguel (c) defeated Black Taurus by pinfall (title match)
- Impact World Champion Josh Alexander (c) defeated Bully Ray by submission (Full Metal Mayhem. Title Match.)
- The Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley and Chris Sabin) (c) defeated Heath and Rhino, The Major Players (Brian Myers and Matt Cardona) and Bullet Club (Ace Austin and Chris Bey) by pinfall (Fatal Four-Way. Title Match)
- Impact Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry (c) defeated Moose by pinfall (Title Match)
- Masha Slamovich defeated Deonna Purrazzo, Killer Kelly, and Taylor Wilde by pinfall (Number One Contenders Match)
- Steve Maclin defeated Rich Swann by pinfall (Falls Count Anywhere Match)
- Eddie Edwards defeated Jonathan Gresham by pinfall
- Mickie James defeated Jordynne Grace (c) by pinfall (Title Change)
