IMPACT! Wrestling Review - March 17, 2022

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

The Motor City Machine Guns def. Bullet Club (Jay White and Chris Bey)

We haven't seen Motor City Machine Guns in action in IMPACT since December 2020 and it was awesome to have them back here, especially given that their opponents were equally talented. The action was excellent and I loved the fast pace. Motor City Machine Guns winning makes me think Shelley will be sticking around a little longer, possibly competing for the Impact World Tag Team Championship in that eight-team challenge at Rebellion that was announced by Scott D'Amore later on. Either way, White will be fine.

Steve Maclin def. Rhino

Rhino is always a good choice to put anyone in the ring with who IMPACT is high on pushing. He's a consistently reliable worker and is a known name. He and Maclin, who has exceeded expectations so far in IMPACT, worked well together and had a really nice match in the time they were allotted. This also gives Maclin a credible victory and puts more heat on him after severing ties with Team IMPACT a few weeks ago.

Bhupinder Gujjar def. Larry D

Larry D was granted his release from IMPACT a while ago, but I liked how they incorporated that into the storyline with him coming back for one episode and saying that he felt Gujjar took his spot on the roster. Gujjar doesn't feel as special as other newcomers have, but he seems to have skills and has done well in his recent matches. Larry D isn't very good, but this was passable. I just wish Gujjar had a more interesting first foe than Raj Singh.

ROH Women's World Champion and AAA Reina de Reinas Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Lady Frost and Gisele Shaw in a Three-Way Match in the Champ Champ Challenge

Purrazzo has been defending each of her titles in separate matches for the last month or two, but she agreed to put both belts on the line in a three-way match here with Frost and Shaw. I wasn't overly impressed by Shaw's in-ring debut against Frost a few weeks ago, but she had a much better showing in this outing. There were a few awkward spots from both her and Frost, but this was fun down the stretch. Purrazzo is killing it in her current role and I'm glad she went over.

JONAH def. Zicky Dice

JONAH decimated PCO at Sacrifice and this was the follow-up. He's been booked like an absolute force in IMPACT and it's been nice to see. Dice, unfortunately, didn't stand a chance, JONAH put him away with maybe two or three moves, and now Dice is going to a wrestling school or something like that to improve, apparently. As for JONAH, he and PCO brawled afterward, so it looks like that feud isn't over yet. I'd certainly be down for another hoss fight between those two.

Masha Slamovich def. Arie

My apologies for sounding like a broken record, but Slamovich really needs to be inserted into a program with someone on the roster. She's done nothing but squash enhancement talent since officially debuting around Bound for Glory, and that was months ago. They built her up very well and given her the Goldberg treatment, which is great, but even Goldberg started to face established names eventually. Here's hoping we see her in a more competitive match soon.

Josh Alexander def. Matt Taven

All of the shots that members of the IMPACT roster have taken at Taven for "killing" Ring of Honor with his ROH World Championship reign in 2019 have been hilarious, but take nothing away from what he can do in the ring. As for Alexander, the dude is always outstanding and this was yet another example of his above-average abilities. This was a top-notch main event, and although Taven came up short, he loses nothing in defeat with the performance he had. Alexander is the one challenging for the Impact World Championship at Rebellion, so the outcome was logical.

Overall Show

IMPACT has been rocking and rolling for months now and it's cool to see them maintain momentum week after week with strong shows. This episode was no exception. There was an ample amount of entertaining action, storyline progression and build for Rebellion. These shows have been very well structured and always leave me looking forward to what's next. The product on the whole has been just terrific. Cutting the dead weight and bringing in fresh and familiar faces to replenish the roster has helped IMPACT tremendously.

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