Joe Doering vs. Josh Alexander

[8.0] "I thought this was a great match. What I like about Joe Doering is that there is nothing pretty about him. He doesn't do any high spots nor is he some great technical master. He's just a big brawler who goes in the ring and beats people up. In that respect, he's something of a throwback to Stan Hansen, something Matthew Rehwoldt even mentioned on commentary. He even won the Triple Crown Championship on two occasions, something I was unaware of until relatively recently. Josh Alexander is also great and can work with just about anyone regardless of size or style, which to me is the hallmark of a great wrestler. This was a fight, with Doering being the bigger man and taking down Alexander with various lariats and clubbing blows. Alexander had to fight from underneath, and overtime he worked over Doering's ankle to try to make him tap out. While that didn't work, he did weaken Doering enough to use the C4 Spike to win the match. ****"

[8.0] "Certainly Doering's best fight in IMPACT, and that's cool to witness him at this good position : the monster who has the credibility to dethrone a lad like Alexander. They worked their bout in the puroresu way with Doering being dominant, while Alexander displayed all of his fighting spirit. Doering was here to make a statement, but Alexander is resilient as hell. Big moves, nasty strikes, and pure strength. That rocked hard. Cool thing they kept the contest clean except for some, but relevant interventions of Deaner."

[6.0] "This was possibly a couple of minutes too long and the finish was just too abrupt but both guys worked hard and it was nice to see Joe Doering in a big spot like this proving that he can still go. There were some moments in the ring where you could tell that Doering was fatigued and some of the spots were a bit rough."

[8.0] "I wasn't sure what Doering would really have left in the tank going in to this match, but I really enjoyed his work here. He feels so unique compared to everybody else in 2022, and entirely authentic. He is just this big lug, a lumbering oaf - and I mean these things in the most complimentary way. I love how he keeps coming forward and uses momentum in a lot of his offence, whether he is doing his cool little rebound elbow drop, charging forward and throwing his entire body at his opponent, or just wading forward flailing wildly. He seems like some sort of zombie or swamp monster with his long, greasy, balding hair matted down as he just slowly walks forward either winging shots or holding his arm out for Josh to charge in to. Alexander was very good at his role, too. I loved how some of his defence against the freight train of Joe Doering was just to get out of the way. I couldn't tell if Doering was legitimately running out of steam at the end or just doing an excellent job selling (and I think the fact that I'm uncertain is a good sign for Joe's work either way), but it really seemed like the key to Alexander's success was just outlasting Joe and chipping away at him over time until he'd weakened him enough to hit something big. Very fun match and I wish we had more like it in modern day wrestling."

[7.0] "I have a real soft spot for Doering as he is such a throwback even if he is a little broken down by now. This was always just a placeholder defence for Alexander but still enjoyable"

[7.0] "I felt like this was missing alittle something, but for what it was, it was a great fight on display. I am utterly fascinated by Joe Doering. He's 40 yet moves like a 50 year old who can't be half assed. And yet, he remains extremely intimidating. Every hit by him felt mean, even it wasn't the cleanest out there. I don't think a man of his stature should've needed help at times from Deaner but it is what it is. Speaking of his stature, it helped the match alot because it truly felt like Josh had to chip down this lumbering tree to get himself a victory."

[8.0] "To be honest, no one thought Joe Doering could possibly be World Champion going in to this match, which would threaten to take heat away from this, but he and Josh really sold the threat of the as-yet undefeated monster. Power striking, stiff-looking, and yet Josh Alexander never gives up and uses the superior stamina, which is a bit of psychology you don't see every day in pro wrestling."

[7.0] "Joe Doering is certainly a powerful man, his every move is dangerous for the opponent. Josh is not against various challenges and in every match he is ready to put his health on the line and prove to everyone what he consists of. A brutal and at the same time atmospheric fight, maybe there was not enough of something beyond extraordinary from the wrestlers, but even in such a situation of predictable carnage, they were able to work everything out well for the fans."

[7.0] "A pretty good main event which for me was lacking that little bit extra to take it to the next level. If felt like Alexander took Doering's best punch several times over until Doering had nothing left to give and gassed out. That's something you see in real fighting sometimes but very rarely in pro wrestling - a guy taking a beating but hanging in there while the other guy punches himself out. I don't know how much of that was intentional in this match but it's how I took it and I liked that about it. Might be one for a rewatch. I could see myself liking this a bit more the second time around."

[8.0] "A great powerhouse collision to cap off another fantabulous night for Impact. Even though the chances are little, Doering gave the best performance of his Impact run. Alexander is proving show after show on why he deserved to be the world champion. Both delivered stiff exchanges to each other and the uphill struggle arc was nicely played out in favor of Alexander to cement him as an unstoppable gatekeeper of Impact. I'm a bit surprised to see EY absent in this match but it gives a meaningful story of him being pissed still. 4 out of 5 stars!"

[8.0] "A great Main Event that if it wasn't for Josh's talent and Doering's energy for the age he is, they wouldn't have given us this great fight, it was predictable the result as things are, but they knew how to give us that show worthy of closing a PPV."

[8.0] "This match came down to the smaller Alexander trying to hit the C4 Spike on the gigantic Doering. The Walking Weapon fought from underneath and struggled with Joe's size, which made it all the more impressive when he finally hit the C4. A solid main event."

[8.0] "Good main event between Alexander and Doering here which was obviously not as incredible as the one at Slammiversary with Eric Young of course but was still a solid hoss fight between two guys who never hesitate to get into their opponents like drunkards, it was written and booked as it should be with a dominant Doering but a fighting Alexander who doesn't get crushed and a few interventions from Deaner here and there. I was quite surprised not to see Eric Young intervene in the match or at least be present next to Doering but at least Impact doesn't continue the rivalry and that's logical of course, because some other companies could have made a forcing without naming names. Doering isn't the flashiest name of the roster but he's a terrific worker and this match with Alexander was a really cool main event."

[8.0] "Josh working from underneath and trying to lift the human wall and former Triple Crown champ made this match easy to follow. Even though the result was predictable, Alexander needs these types of matches for him to be a fighting champion going into Bound For Glory in October."

[8.0] "Super solid main event, I enjoyed it from start to finish. Joe Doering will always be an opponent, for champions also, good to see and interesting. Good big men/powerhouses showdown with good moves. Nice."