Impact Wrestling Results – January 12, 2023

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 12, 2023
Location: Charles F. Dodge City Center, Pembroke Pines, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan
It’s the go home show for Hard To Kill and since Impact does their pay per views on Fridays, the show is tomorrow night. That should mean the card is intact but you never know around here. Hopefully the roll can continue around here, as it has been a rather nice few weeks in a row. Let’s get to it.
The opening recap looks at Bully Ray’s rise to the top of the company, including him attacking Scott D’Amore last week.
We get a Zoom interview with Josh Matthews talking to Bully Ray and Josh Alexander, both at their homes. Alexander knows Ray is going after everyone he cares about and they will be in his mind at Hard To Kill. Ray thinks Alexander has given away his hand because Ray is in his head. Last week Ray didn’t need to have an Anthem executive take a swing at him.
Ray talks about how he has gotten Alexander to do whatever he wants, ..

Gunther Discusses Sale of WWE, Stephanie McMahon, More

WWE Intercontinental Champion Gunther was recently interviewed by the Dallas Morning News where he discussed a number of topics. Among them were the rumors of WWE’s upcoming sale, his relationship with Stephanie McMahon, thoughts on the Royal Rumble, and more.
Below are some highlights from the interview:
On the refuted reports on social media that WWE was being sold to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, and his reaction to the news…
Gunther: “I mean, rumors are rumors. And at the end of the day, I’m not the CEO. I’m a wrestler. So, I focus on what I do in the ring and leave the business to the people that do business.”
Also on the business side, Stephanie McMahon just left the company, what was your relationship with her?
Gunther: “To be fair, I only had very brief interactions with her. She’s always been very nice and very lovely. And yeah, I’m happy for her that she’s going to be able now to take time off and enjoy time with her family. And yeah, I think you should be hap..

Stephanie McMahon Undergoes Ankle Surgery

Even the boss needs help now and then. Stephanie McMahon recently posted a message to Twitter, saying that she recently underwent successful ankle surgery in Birmingham, Alabama.
Stephanie said the following:
Busy week! Thank you Dr. Waldrop, @AndrewsSportMed and the Orthopaedic Center Staff for fixing my ankle! And to Kevin Wilk @ChampionSportsM for already getting me started on rehab! (And of course to my amazing caregiver @TripleH) #RoadtoRecovery
Busy week! Thank you Dr. Waldrop, @AndrewsSportMed and the Orthopaedic Center Staff for fixing my ankle! And to Kevin Wilk @ChampionSportsM for already getting me started on rehab! (And of course to my amazing caregiver @TripleH ??) #RoadtoRecovery pic.twitter.com/s8v3rtqqRs
— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) January 13, 2023
According to WrestlingNews.co, the former Chairwoman and CEO of WWE noted on Twitter that she had surgery done to fix her ankle by Dr. Waldrop of Andrews Sports Medicine. WWE sends talent to Birmingham to have t..

Farewell? Sting Heavily Hints At Retiring Later This Year

He would know best. Retirement is a tricky situation in wrestling as it can be difficult for a wrestler to finally hang up their boots. The problem is that it can be so easy to come back for one more match or appearance, but some are able to go out on their own terms and know when to call it a career. Now a legend is saying that his career is not going to extend beyond this year.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: WATCH: Max Caster Messes Up Rap During AEW Rampage Taping (And It’s Funny)
AEW’s Sting was interviewed by D Magazine (Dallas, Texas) and revealed that his deal with the company expires at some point this year. Once it ends, “so will his time behind the face paint”, according to the article. There is no word on what Sting will be doing for his final match or if he has any plans for his retirement. Sting has been paired with Darby Allin since his debut with AEW in December 2020.
Sting’s time in AEW has gone quite well. Check out how some of it has gone:
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WRESTLING RUMORS: Triple H And Stephanie McMahon Opposed WWE Sale

The family’s take. The biggest wrestling story of the year so far, and one of the biggest in a very long time, is WWE announcing that it is getting ready to be sold. This has sent major shocks throughout the wrestling industry, but WWE in particular has felt the impact. There have been all kinds of questions being asked, but now we may know the reactions from two of the most important players.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Upgrade: Positive Update On Hospitalized WWE Hall Of Famer
Axios has released its own story on the entire situation, including regarding the decision to sell in the first place. According to Axios’ sources, both Triple H and Stephanie McMahon had opposed the selling of the company. This comes after McMahon resigned from the WWE Board Of Directors last week. It is not clear if her stance on this is what directly led to her departure from the company.
Those are some important voices in WWE. Check out some of what they have done in the company:
[This post contains video, c..

Upgrade: Positive Update On Hospitalized WWE Hall Of Famer

That’s better. There are all kinds of issues that can take place during the course of a wrestler’s career. Any wrestler can get hurt at any time and it can cause issues for the rest of their lives. On top of that, there are also issues that have nothing to do with the ring. Now a legend is going through one of the latter problems, but things seem to be looking up a bit.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It’s That Time: Several Names Possible For WWE Royal Rumble
As announced by his wife on Facebook, WWE Hall Of Famer Superstar Billy Graham, 79, had an infection in his ears that spread to the bones in his ears. As a result, Graham “coded” and had to be brought back to life. This required Graham to have a breathing tube installed, but according to Graham’s wife, Graham is breathing on his own again and the tube could be removed this week. At the same time, Graham’s kidney functions are down due to the coding. There is no word on when he could be released from the hospital.
Graham is one of the m..

WATCH: Max Caster Messes Up Rap During AEW Rampage Taping (And It’s Funny)

It’s not easy. Wrestling is a very tricky art form to master and there are all kinds of different issues that can make things all the more complicated. In addition to the matches themselves, there is everything else that the wrestlers have to do in front of the live fans. Every now and then you are going to see something go wrong and now we have a clip that you will probably not see on television.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: It’s Broken: AEW Sets New Record With This Week’s AEW Dynamite
This week on AEW Dynamite, a segment involving the Acclaimed was announced for this week’s edition of Rampage. As Rampage was taped after Dynamite, a clip of the Acclaimed’s entrance has surfaced online, featuring Max Caster doing one of his customary raps. However, this time Caster messed up the first verse of his rap and had to start over. Caster and Billy Gunn acknowledged the error and then redid the entrance. There is nothing to suggest that this will air on television.
This was good for a chuckle. C..

It’s Broken: AEW Sets New Record With This Week’s AEW Dynamite

Nice job. AEW has grown by leaps and bounds since its debut less than four years ago. The company has already seen all kinds of new stars and traditions begin, including going to some rather large markets. That was the case earlier this week as the company took Dynamite to Los Angeles. While the show’s attendance might not have been a record, they did manage to break one important record.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: Title Time! Who Left AEW Dynamite As The Trios Champions?
This week’s edition of AEW Dynamite was held at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, California. According to Wrestling Observer Radio, the show set a record for the most day of show walk up ticket sales in AEW history. While some of the original advances for the show were seen as “bad”, the eventual attendance was described as “healthy” and over a $700,000 gate for the event.
It was a busy night. Check out the better parts of the event:
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AEW Interested In A Merger With WWE

When two become one. According to a report from CNBC, Shad and Tony Khan, owners of AEW, are interested in merging with WWE. The report states that AEW could partner with a strategic media company to share the intellectual property while merging the two companies.
However, the idea that Vince McMahon would merge his company with AEW is a long shot. AEW hasn’t had talks with McMahon or Nick Khan, the new CEO for WWE.
The Khans are open to discussing a potential role for McMahon, after a sale but haven’t yet had those talks. It’s unclear what type of job McMahon would want with WWE after a sale, primarily because WWE is a much larger and more established organization than AEW.
WWE is reportedly planning to sell the company sometime in 2023.
Editor’s Opinion:
Wow, this is not the headline that I expected to read today. I’m not exactly sure how a merger would work, particularly with Tony Khan and Vince McMahon as the two people that would work out the details. They are both very inves..

Saraya: [Triple H] Offered Me An Opportunity To Wrestle

AEW superstar Saraya was recently interviewed by Metro, where she discussed a number of topics. Among them were why she decided to join AEW, working for Triple H vs. Tony Khan and more.
Below are some highlights from the interview:
On a conversation with Triple H and why Saraya decided to join AEW:
‘He did give me the opportunity to potentially be a GM again, and give me the opportunity to be like, “If you ever potentially want to wrestle again, I’ll give you that opportunity too”. He was very open about any ideas that I had.’
Saraya laughed: ‘When AEW started you’re kinda like, “ooh, what’s going on over there?” It’s like the movie, the bad boy with a leather jacket and a cigarette, kinda cruising in the background like, “Who’s that bad boy?”
‘You’re definitely intrigued by the company! Just seeing how quickly in three years that it’s built – I’m like, this company! You have the bad, tribal fans, but whether you like them or not you can’t fault how amazing it is to become another..