IMPACT No Surrender Review - February 19, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jake Something def. Ace Austin, Chris Bey and "Speedball" Mike Bailey in an Impact X-Division Championship No. 1 Contender's Four-Way Match

We got a very similar four-way on the Hard to Kill pre-show with Laredo Kid in there instead of Jake Something, who obviously isn't as much of an X-Division guy as the others. However, he's proven over the last year that he isn't an odd fit for the X-Division whatsoever given what he's capable of and how well he works with all of them. This was an awesome, fast-paced, all-action opener and a title shot being on the line made matters more interesting. There wouldn't have been a bad winner here, but it was nice to see Something score a meaningful victory for a change.

JONAH def. Black Taurus

JONAH's feud with Decay in recent weeks has been pretty basic and I'm not sure whether JONAH is supposed to be a babyface or a heel at this point. I assume the only reason this match happened was to get JONAH on the card, but I'm not complaining because this was very good. That shouldn't at all be surprising given how talented both guys are. It was a hell of a hoss fight and JONAH winning was the right outcome.

Jay White def. Eric Young

What a week for White, who beat Trent Beretta on AEW Rampage and now Young at No Surrender. I'm happy to see him making the rounds because it felt like he completely disappeared for a while. This wasn't the blow-away bout I was hoping for from these two, but it was still an enjoyable affair and I've been loving how Young has been used during this recent run of his with the company. White winning was the only outcome that made sense to establish him as credible for anyone who may not already be familiar with him.

ROH Women's World Champion and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Miranda Alize (AAA Reina de Reinas Championship Was Not Defended)

I've seen quite a bit of Alize over the last year on AEW Dark, MLW and especially Ring of Honor and she's been really impressive. I'm shocked she hasn't been signed anywhere by this point, but hopefully she will be soon. She put forth a commendable effort and looked good in defeat. It was a decent match, but it felt like it should have happened on TV and not on a live special. I don't blame anyone who may have been disappointed by Alize being Purrazzo's mystery opponent, but I do like the idea of Purrazzo holding an open challenge for her championships and hopefully the gimmick goes on for a while.

Impact Digital Media Champion Matt Cardona def. Jordynne Grace by Disqualification

I liked this match more than their original encounter because Cardona was the full-fledged heel here and the dynamic was much clearer. I'm not a big fan of intergender wrestling, but it's believable with these two and Grace is a badass. They told a solid story with Grace having to fight from underneath and you could tell Cardona was having a blast in his heel turn. The only issue was the nonsensical finish with Grace getting herself intentionally disqualified. I understand IMPACT wanted to protect her in defeat to prolong the program, but she obviously didn't care about getting the belt back if she was going to hit Cardona with a low blow right in front of the referee.

Impact World Tag Team Champions The Good Brothers def. Guerrillas of Destiny

I haven't been overly impressed with a lot of Good Brother's in-ring work in IMPACT and their character work has also been disappointing in my opinion, but I've found myself invested in the ongoing Bullet Club drama. Everyone has played their parts really well and G.O.D. have brought the best out of Good Brothers. This was an above-average match that could have gone either way. White and Bey turning on G.O.D. and inviting Good Brothers back into Bullet Club was a hell of a twist and I'm very interested in seeing what the follow-up is.

Impact Knockouts World Champion Mickie James def. Tasha Steelz

Steelz has really broken out on her own these past two months and it's been cool seeing her spotlighted so much. She's made the most of her push and I thought she had a strong showing against James here. There's still more for James to do as Impact Knockouts Champion, so her retaining the title was ultimately the right call. James has had better matches recently, but it was still a quality contest. It's possible this feud isn't over yet considering James didn't beat Steelz decisively.

Impact World Champion Moose def. W. Morrissey

This was the second straight IMPACT pay-per-view/live special that Moose didn't headline, so I hope that doesn't become the norm. Despite both men being heels, his rivalry with Morrissey has been fun to follow and Morrissey felt like a legitimate threat to the title coming into this show. This was a very entertaining hoss fight. Both guys have improved so much from years ago and this was proof of that. Moose had to win so his story with Josh Alexander can be paid off eventually.

Honor No More (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Vincent, PCO and Kenny King) def. Team Impact (Chris Sabin, Rich Swann, Willie Mack, Steve Maclin and Rhino)

Although I believe the Impact World Championship should take center stage on these shows, I didn't have a problem with this being positioned as the main event considering the Honor No More angle has been the best thing going on IMPACT since it started. This was all about the big swerve with Eddie Edwards turning heel and aiding Honor No More to victory, but the match itself was exciting as well. There was a lot going on at all times, and it was difficult to follow at certain points, but it delivered as a high-profile main event with high stakes on the whole. Edwards has a history in Ring of Honor, so I assume that's the reason why he turned. Either way, it's quite the cliffhanger for Thursday's show.

Overall Show

One thing IMPACT has to be careful with, especially on these bigger shows, is doing too much dirty finishes. It's a tired trope from the old regime, and while it didn't bother me on this show, I can understand others being bothered by it. Other than that, this was another thumbs-up special from IMPACT. There was a surplus of excellent action and enough stuff to leave you looking forward to the fallout. I hate to sound like a broken record, but IMPACT is knocking it out of the park right now. This is the best the product has been in a while and these bigger shows are worth checking out every month.

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