IMPACT! Wrestling Review - February 17, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

W. Morrissey Attacked Impact World Champion Moose

This started off as a contract signing where only Moose showed up and addressed his upcoming title defense against Morrisey, who ended up showing up when Moose started to leave so he could attack him and throw him off the stage. I could have done without the contract signing portion of this since we just saw one from these two a month or two ago, but the rest of this was well done and put some last-minute heat on their No Surrender match. There isn't a clear-cut babyface between them, but the feud has been fun to follow so far and the simple storytelling has helped a lot.

Masha Slamovich def. Kiah Dream

Slamovich has been killing her opponents since making her formal debut a few months ago and this was no exception. She made quick work of Dream by hitting her with a brutal burning hammer and then her finisher, the Russian Death Device. Both moves looked great and she continues to come off as a badass. That said, we've reached a point where she needs to start feuding with someone on the roster.

Ace Austin def. Blake Christian and Laredo Kid in a Three-Way Match

You really can't go wrong with these three men sharing the ring. Austin is a star on the rise and the other two are a blast to watch work and are excellent additions to the X-Division. This was a really fun three-way match with a frantic pace and exciting action. Trey Miguel currently doesn't have a challenger to his Impact X-Division Championship at No Surrender, so you'd think that Austin's win here would have earned him that opportunity. Either way, this was a necessary rebound victory for him as I feel like he's lost more than he's won lately.

Gisele Shaw def. Lady Frost

Shaw debuted on the Before the IMPACT pre-show last week by attacking Frost. Vignettes have been airing for weeks promoting her debut and I was curious to see how she'd fare in the ring. Ultimately, she was not good at all. I don't know if she had an off night or not, but she was not impressive and there were several sloppy spots and awkward moments. I applaud her effort on the Spanish fly, but she probably shouldn't go for that if she can't hit it cleanly. She'll have to improve fast if the idea is for IMPACT to keep pushing her.

Chris Sabin def. Kenny King

Both of these guys are terrific and I wasn't surprised that this turned into a very enjoyable affair. It could have used a few more minutes to be even better, but they made the most of the time they had. I don't know if I would've had King lose his first singles match back in IMPACT, though. The stuff with Honor No More and Team Impact has been really well done since the storyline started last month and I'm looking forward to what they have in store at No Surrender.

Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans def. Impact Knockouts World Champion Mickie James and Chelsea Green

I was expecting a smoother encounter given the level of talent involved, but it was still a solid match for the time allotted. Moreover, it successfully hyped up James vs. Steelz for the Impact Knockouts World Championship at No Surrender. Steelz has been built up nicely over the last month and having her pin James was the right call. I've liked the subtle mannerisms from Green, who is obviously going to lose her mind at some point and turn on James.

Bullet Club (Jay White and Guerrilas of Destiny) def. Violent By Design (Eric Young, Joe Doering and Deaner)

White and Young are set to go one-on-one at No Surrender, so this served as a nice preview of that. It's been cool having White and G.O.D. on IMPACT! Wrestling recently and Violent By Design are underrated in my opinion. They didn't get to go all out the way I hoped, but it was an entertaining six-man tag team affair with the correct trio going over. The Good Brothers stared down G.O.D. afterward to hype that championship clash for Saturday as well.

Overall Show

IMPACT has put together a hell of a card for No Surrender this weekend and I'm extremely excited for it. The best part is that it isn't one of their main pay-per-views, so they must have an even bigger show planned for Rebellion in April if they can maintain this momentum. I thought this was a really effective go-home show and there was plenty of quality wrestling to boot. IMPACT is firing on all cylinders right now and these weekly shows have become some of the strongest anywhere in wrestling.

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