Final Impact - Impact Wrestling recap for January 5, 2023

"The Quintessential Diva" Gisele Shaw beats KiLynn King in the BTI match.

In memory of Don West, 1963 - 2022.

"The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo guests on commentary for the next match.

Taylor Wilde beats Masha Slamovich after Slamovich talks trash to and spits at "The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo. After the match, Masha Slamovich grabs ring announcer Masha Slamovich, then hits the Snow Plow on a security guard who confronts her. Referees have to get Masha Slamovich to the back.

We hear from Sami Callihan, who says that a beatdown will not deter him and that he knows The Design (Deaner, Angels, Kon) is intrigued about him, and while they killed Eric Young, he softened him up. He wants The Design, but he wants to know if The Design wants him by the end of the night.

We hear from Rich Swann, who says that Steve Maclin will not get to the Impact World Championship by count-outs, then challenges him to a Falls Count Anywhere Match with no disqualifications or count-outs at Hard To Kill and says Maclin will have to go through him.

Before the next match, Crazzy Steve says that Anthony Greene wishes he was a little more yellow and was not stepping into an Impact ring, because when he sees red, Greene will turn more blue and purple from the beating he gets from Black Taurus.

Black Taurus beats Anthony Greene. After the match, Anthony Greene is attacked from behind by Trey Miguel, who tags Greene's back with spray paint.

In Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Kenny King looks for "Speedball" Mike Bailey where he trains, and lays out some people in the process.

Backstage, "Speedball" Mike Bailey says Kenny King has made him angry, then challenges him to a pit fight to see which of them walks out.

Johnathan Gresham beats Ernest R. Anthony.

Backstage, Tasha Steelz meets with Savannah Evans on how to get the Knockouts Tag Team Championships back when "The Quintessential Diva" Gisele Shaw and Jai Vidal suddenly show up. Shaw offers to be Tasha's tag team partner, but Tasha is not interested. Gisele says that he and Jai Vidal can cut off The Death Dollz' (Rosemary, Taya Valkyrie, Jessicka) numbers advantage, and while Tasha is still not interested, Savannah Evans wants to know what Gisele has to offer.

We hear from Deaner, who says that if Sami Callihan wants to join The Design (Deaner, Angels, Kon), he will need to realize his purest form and have his identity stripped away in a long, difficult and violent process. He says he, Angels and Kon will cut every hair from Sami's head, and tells him that if he wants to go through with this, he will have to walk through a den of vipers.

Moose heads to the ring. Moose says he has done a lot of bad things to be the guy in Impact Wrestling, and at Hard To Kill, Joe Hendry will get a little taste of what those bad things are. He says Hendry walks around the locker room like he owns the place because he has never been through adversity, and because everything in his career has been handed to him. Moose says he has done anything and everything to enter the position he is in, including being the fans' hero before becoming the villain after finding his true calling in being a total scumbag. He says this made him the greatest World Champion that Impact has ever seen, and at Hard To Kill, he will be Hendry's first adversity when he takes the Digital Media Championship off of his waist and wipes the smile off his face. Moose says he will send Hendry to hell and that he will enjoy doing it, and that it will be so easy that he might as well do it right now before summoning Hendry on purpose. Hendry shows up and says there is nothing more than a whining Moose and that the real Moose is inside of him, then says they might as well "let the Moose loose" before making fun of him through song. Moose responds by saying that he believes that he will stick his foot up Hendry's ass and that nobody will be believing in Joe Hendry afterwards. When Moose asks for his music to be played, Hendry's parody song is played again.

We see a video package where Mickie James talks about her career.

We see a video tribute to Don West.

Chris Sabin beats Matt Cardona.

Bully Ray suddenly shows up and grabs a steel chair, then threatens to beat Tom Hannifan up if he even makes eye contract with him. He then takes a microphone. Bully Ray then wants to know where "The Walking Weapon" Josh Alexander is and wants him in the middle of the ring right now, then says he wants a world champion in the ring before he starts cracking skulls around the ring. Scott D'Amore shows up, and after the commercial break, Bully mockingly drops the mic and kicks it to D'Amore before D'Amore gets another microphone. D'Amore says he told both him and Alexander to stay home until Hard To Kill, but Bully Ray says he does not care what D'Amore has to say. He says he brought Bully back after Bully says he was a changed man, but he is convinced Bully is the same guy he has always been.D'Amore says he still wanted to give Bully a chance, then says that when he left the company in 2011, he did not like who he was. He then says that when he had a chance to return five years ago, he wanted to give others a second chance. He knew that Bully Ray could write a good story, but he did not if it could be him becoming a two-time hall of famer or a if it would be a cautionary tale of what happens after he stabs everyone in the back. D'Amore says D-Von Dudley has to be paid to be in the same room as Bully Ray, and that Tommy Dreamer is in the hospital thanks to Bully Ray. He says that Josh Alexander will give Bully Ray the beating he deserves, but even if Bully Ray wins, Josh will still have everyone's respect.D'Amore then says that even if Bully Ray wins the World Championship, he will walk into an empty hotel room "a sad, pathetic, lonely man with only his thoughts around him," which he calls a punishment worse than anybody else can give him. Bully Ray says that he will only leave as a three-time World Champion, then says D'Amore opinion about him means nothing and that he used him to get what he wanted, and that D'Amore had not learned years after the fact. D'Amore and Bully Ray soon start talking over each other, then they smack the microphones out of each others' hands and Bully Ray dares him to take a shot. D'Amore says he has cultivated a locker room who has learned to do it right. D'Amore then punches Bully Ray in the face, then Jason Hotch and John Skyler show up and grab D'Amore from behind. Bully Ray then levels D'Amore with a kick followed by a piledriver. Hotch and Skyler then get Bully Ray a table, and Bully Ray sets the table up before putting D'Amore through it with a powerbomb. Bully Ray then asks D'Amore if he knows who he is before stating that he is the next Impact World Champion.