IMPACT! Wrestling Review - February 22, 2018

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Cult of Lee def. Impact World Tag Team Champions LAX (Non-title)

The layout of this match was very well done with a hot beginning, a solid middle, and a fun finishing sequence. It felt like there was a ton of bad blood between the two teams, so that added intensity was appreciated. Of course, I appreciated the show kicking off with a match as always. With this win, Cult of Lee will vie for the Impact World Tag Team Championship in two weeks at Crossroads.

Brian Cage def. Hunter Law

For the second straight week, Cage had an impressive performance where he made quick work of his unknown opponent. In fact, the commentators actually timed the match after he won last week in under a minute. It definitely looks like he'll be a babyface to start, which is fine considering the crowd is behind him as a fan favorite. I could see him squashing a few more nobodies before moving into a real rivalry with someone on the roster.

Impact Grand Champion Matt Sydal def. Petey Williams

This match was taped at a Destiny World Wrestling event (a promotion I've personally never heard of). There were several cuts throughout as mostly highlights were shown, but it was still a very enjoyable encounter with a frantic pace. Afterward, Sydal read from a scroll (yes, really) about challenging Taiji Ishomori for the X-Division Championship at Crossroads. The promo wasn't well-received by those in attendance, but he did his best with it.

Kongo Kong Attacked Joseph Park

Jimmy Jacobs' plan this entire time has been to bring Abyss back out of Park, but so far, he has been unsuccessful. His latest attempt was taunting Park's "Grandma Jenny," who was portrayed by some random acting with terrible acting skills. I thought this was going to be a lot worse than it was when it started, but it ended up being decent with Kong attacking Park and laying the groundwork for their upcoming Crossroads matchup.

Alberto El Patron def. Moose

This was another match that was filmed at independent promotion's event and mainly highlights made the air, but what we did see was good. The early goings were fairly basic, but I liked how they took their fight all around the arena, therefore making it feel personal. Patron winning was the correct call because it keeps the feud alive, and I wouldn't be surprised if the rematch happens at Crossroads with some sort of stipulation in place.

Johnny Impact def. Ethan Carter III in an Impact World Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

I believe this matchup marked the first time Impact and EC3 have ever gone one-on-one and they had excellent chemistry together. I was happy that they had plenty of time to work with and it helped that there was something at stake, giving it a big fight feel in the process. Tyrus eventually bailed on EC3 after the two teased tension, so that partnership is already over one week removed from their reunion. Obviously, Impact holding onto the No. 1 contender's spot was the right result, but I'm interested to see how EC3 will be written out of storylines if this wasn't his farewell.

Overall Show

It's so obvious that IMPACT is under new management because, as I've said several times in recent weeks, the weekly show comes across as much more focused than it has in the past. There are plenty of well-wrestled matchups that make the episodes worth watching, and while not every angle is exciting, the company knows what direction it's headed in and is building around certain stars. As for this edition of IMPACT! Wrestling, it was another quality show on the whole with enough entertaining action and build for the next two weeks to earn a thumbs-up from me. Matches on tap for next week include Eddie Edwards vs. Sami Callihan, Joseph Park vs. Kongo Kong, a" Commitment Ceremony" from Laurel Van Ness, and Rosemary vs. Hania in a No Disqualification matchup.