By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
Impact Wrestling TV
Taped in Pembroke Pines, Florida at Charles Dodge Center
Aired February 17, 2022 on AXS TV
[Hour One] Highlights from last week’s Impact Wrestling show aired…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Hannifan noted that this was the go-home show for the Impact Plus No Surrender show…
Scott D’Amore was in the ring to moderate the Contract Signing between Moose and W Morrissey. Moose made his entrance and sat at the table. Moose said he doesn’t think Morrissey will even make it to No Surrender after what he did to Morrissey last week. D’Amore said he understands that Morrissey might not be able to make it today, but he’s able to sign the contract between now and two days from now to make the title match official.
Moose commended Scott for having faith in his wrestlers. Moose talked about how Morrissey is 7 feet tall, “and you can’t teach that” (a play off Enzo Amore’s signature promo). Moose said at No Surrender Morrissey isn’t going in the ring against anyone, he’s going against a Wrestling God. Moose said D’Amore already sent one man home for being a hot head, and Moose hopes D’Amore doesn’t have to send another man home for being beaten down by a wrestling god. D’Amore said he loves Moose because he doesn’t lack confidence.
D’Amore said that Moose should just sign and get the segment over with. Moose agreed to sign and said that D’Amore is about to send another person home on Saturday. Moose’s theme played to presumably end the segment. Hannifan noted that Morrissey has until Saturday to sign the contract. As Moose was walking up the ramp, W Morrissey’s theme played, leading to Morrissey giving Moose a big boot. Morrissey fired up and posed at the top of the ramp. Morrissey choke slammed Moose off the stage and onto a table. D’Amore handed Morrissey the contract and he signed it…
John’s Thoughts: A cookie cutter Contract Signing segment. While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a segment just like this, this was solid nonetheless to flow through the motions of setting up Moose’s next title defense. Morrissey is coming off well as the badass babyface the fans can get behind. While they are doing okay not rushing to a babyface promo with the guy, it would help maybe a week after his title match (probably losing to Moose) for him to cut a babyface promo to get him more acclimated to the fans. I’m curious as to how long Impact sees Morrissey sticking around? Heck, Josh Alexander as of today is gone, and he was Impact’s top babyface.
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary. The commentators ran through the advertised No Surrender card as well as upcoming segments on this week’s Impact…
Gia Miller interviewed Jay White, Chris Bey, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa about their match against Violent By Design later on. Bey talked about how he’s going to win a four way number one contenders match in two days to go after the X Division Championship. The Guerrillas talked about how they are about to win the tag team titles in two days. White said he’s going to face Eric Young at No Surrender. White said Young comes off as someone who seems jealous of Bullet Club, so much that he created his own version. White said Young can be a part of Bullet Club maybe if he becomes a young-boy for them. Gia joined the Bullet Club members in a too-sweet…
Masha Slammovich made her entrance for what everyone presumes is a squash match…
1. Masha Slamovich vs. Kiah Dream. Masha gave Kiah a headbutt and Burning Hammer. Masha had the visual pinfall, but she decided to lift Kiah’s shoulders off the mat to beat her up some more. Masha hit Kiah with the Russian Death Device for the victory.
Masha Slamovich defeated Kiah Dream via pinfall in 0:43.
Masha posed to celebrate her victory…[c]
An ad aired for the Impact No Surrender show…
Entrances for the next match took place. Tom Hannifan noted that there will be a four way match to become number one contender to the X Division Championship on Saturday…
John’s Thoughts: That was the first mention of Trey Miguel in a while. I guess he couldn’t make the last few tapings, but it’s been odd that he’s been completely off TV 100% for a good month or so.
2. Ace Austin (w/Madman Fulton) vs. Blake Christian vs. Laredo Kid. Kid and Christian had a lucha libre sequence. Ace gave Christian a boot. Ace headscissored Kid to ringside. Christian dumped Ace to ringside. Fulton got in Christian’s suicide dive path, causing Christian to bounce off him. Kid gave Fulton a crossbody. Ace gave Kid a PK. Christian hit Ace with a shotgun dropkick.[c]
Back from break, Ace dominated both opponents with methodical offense. Kid countered Ace with a body slam. Kid hit him with one moonsault, but Ace avoided a second. Christian whipped Kid and hit him with a spinning dropkick. Christian hit Kid with a moonsault for a two count. Christian transitioned a Fosbury Flop into a Scorpion Death Drop at ringside. Fulton dragged Ace to ringside to prevent Christian from hitting him with a moonsault. Christian hit Fulton and Ace with a Suicide Dive.
Kid hit Christian with a Poisonrana. Kid hit Christian with a Frog Splash. Ace broke up Kid’s pin at two. Ace hit Kid with a front suplex and hook kick. Christian hit Ace with a standing Spanish Fly for a two count. Christian hit Kid with a corkscrew stomp. Ace came out of nowhere with a Springboard Fold for the victory.
Ace Austin defeated Blake Christian and Laredo Kid via pinfall in 8:31 of on-air time.
Hannifan noted that Ace Austin just won himself a spot in the four way at No Surrender…
John’s Thoughts: A fun indie spotfest with not only the right person going over, but the right person taking the pin. Impact seems to be taking a bit more care of Laredo Kid these days so it’s smart to keep him outside of the decision of the decision was to put Ace over. I’m mixed over Ace winning. On one hand I 100% think this guy is long overdue for a big push in Impact. You would have thought if they knew they had Ace Austin more than Josh Alexander that they would have pushed Ace to the moon, but instead they’ve used him in the proverbial “jobber to the stars” role to heat up new talent. I keep waiting for that big Ace push and hopefully he gets that soon. I still don’t see it with Blake Christian, and this is from reviewing his matches in both Impact and NXT up to this point. Everybody keeps saying how great he is, but to me he is just like any high-agility cruiserweight? He also has an extremely bland look and could use a bit of flashiness to take him to another level.
Rosemary, Crazzy Steve, and Black Taurus cut a promo backstage to hype up Jonah vs. Black Taurus at No Surrender…[c]
Tom Hannifan ran through the Impact Live Event schedule…
Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay showed up in a backstage lounge to suck up to Kaleb Konley. Lee said that the IInspiration could appreciate him more than The Influence. Just as the IInspiration was leaving, Kaleb informed them that he’s a very loyal person. McKay said “we know”…
Entrances for the next match took place…
3. Lady Frost vs. Giselle Shaw. Shaw used a handstand to block Frost’s huracanrana. Frost managed to nail Shaw with a dropkick. Frost hit Shaw with a cannonball in the corner. Shaw hit Frost with a draping Cyclone Kick and a Draping DDT for a two count. After trading counters, Shaw nailed Frost with a right hand. Shaw hit a draped Frost with a knee to the back of the head for a two count.
Frost hit Shaw with a high roundhouse. Frost hit Shaw with the “Temperature Drop” (Which is what Hannifan noted Frost calls her moonsault finisher). The crowd chanted “that was 3”. Frost tried to go for another moonsault but Shaw recovered and staggered Frost with a punch. Shaw hit Frost with a Spanish Fly for a nearfall. Shaw hit Frost with a Corkscrew Vader Bomb for the victory.
Giselle Shaw defeated Lady Frost via pinfall in 4:33.
John’s Thoughts: Good debut for Shaw who looked solid bell-to-bell. I hear she’s been doing some good work in Progress Wrestling (NXT UK’s de facto developmental), but I haven’t really had a chance to see her work yet. We’ll see how she develops in Impact which I hope is a good run. Frost has the world’s cheesiest ice queen gimmick. It didn’t work for Taya when she tried it, and Frost’s version is even more cringey with the ice puns. Maybe she’ll get it to work? Or maybe this would lead to her being the introductory cannon fodder to debuting wrestlers?
Gia Miller interviewed the Honor No More faction. PCO was doing his usual awkward Frankenstein faces. Miller wondered if Honor No More attacked Jonathan Gresham last week and left him lying. Matt Taven cut her off and said it was fake news. Kenny King hyped up his match against Chris Sabin later on and noted that he is also a former X Division Champion…[c]
Gia interviewed Deonna Purrazzo. Purrazzo said Mickie James may be a champ, but Deonna is a Champ-champ because she has two belts. Deonna said she’s doing another open challenge for either of her titles at No Surrender…
The Honor No More faction made their entrance for Kenny King’s match. The rest of Honor No More were in street clothes. Ian Riccaboni joined Hannifan and Rehwoldt on commentary. Matt Taven shoved Riccaboni on the shoulder to bully him a bit. Chris Sabin, Rich Swann, Rhino, and Eddie Edwards made their entrance.
[Hour Two] Hannifan said that he questions Team Impact’s chemistry, seeing that Steve Maclin didn’t join his teammates at ringside this week. Riccaboni noted that Sabin and King have both wrestled in Ring of Honor and Impact for stretches of their career at the same time, but have only faced one time before in Impact…
4. Kenny King (w/Maria Kanellis, Mike Bennett, Matt Taven, Vincent, PCO) vs. Chris Sabin (w/Rich Swann, Eddie Edwards, Rhino). King dominated early on with a slam on Sabin. Sabin taunted King after using a La Magistral to armdrag King. Sabin hit King with a hip toss and armdrag. Taven distracted Sabin which allowed King to bulldog Sabin on the top rope for a two count. King worked on Sabin with methodical offense. Mike Bennett went to ringside to terrorize Riccaboni. Riccaboni said that Bennett is being disrespectful despite him respecting Bennett and his family over the years.
Sabin got a two count off a sunset flip rollup. King got a two count off a sunset flip. Both men took each other out with a lariat. Sabin hit King with a few clotheslines and a Helluva Kick. Sabin hit King with a Spike Tornado DDT for a two count. Both men escaped each other’s finishers. King planted Sabin with a spinebuster. Riccaboni was annoyed as to why Honor No More keeps terrorizing him. Rehwoldt noted that Honor No More are coming off as insecure.
Sabin avoided King’s corkscrew plancha. Sabin hit King with a crossbody in the ring for a two count. King hit Sabin with a Tiger Bomb for a two count. Sabin blocked a Royal Flush by grabbing the ropes. Sabin used a Crucifix Hold to drag King to the mat for the three count.
Chris Sabin defeated Kenny King via pinfall in 8:32.
Riccaboni noted that Impact was fighting to defend their home turf. Maria took the mic and said that Impact looks pretty good in a one-on-one match but at No Surrender Honor No More is walking in a cohesive unit and you can’t say the same thing about Team Impact. Maria reiterated that they did nothing to Jonathan Gresham and they should be maybe looking at someone else, the man missing from the picture at the moment (Steve Maclin). Maria said Impact needs to get their house back in order before standing in the ring with Honor No More. Honor No More’s theme played to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: A surprisingly good match between Sabin and King. I maybe shouldn’t have been surprised given the talent level of these two, but I get astonished how good these guy have been over the years. Sabin in particular is really putting in some workhorse hours in with his current run, and at one point it seemed like he was content being retired and a producer on Impact. I am ok with Sabin picking up a clean win as I know Impact protects the hell out of Sabin which makes his losses mean more, but it wouldn’t have hurt to at least have given Honor No More one clean win in their feud (They should have done it last week with Rhino). The Kingdom and PCO both won with dirty pins, so a clean win wouldn’t have hurt to make them seem more than just a flavor of the week. Well, at least they have one of the best promos in modern wrestling in Maria cutting their promos.
The Team Impact members were hanging their heads backstage, wondering if they should question Steve Maclin’s loyalty to their group. Steve Maclin showed up and said that Maria is pulling the oldest trick in the book in trying to stir the pot. Eddie said it was too suspicious that after they rejected Maclin to join their team that Jonathan Gresham ends up unconscious right after out of nowhere.
Maclin said Team Impact has two choices, they stand together as a united front to go to war, or they find another partner. Chris Sabin and Rhino had no qualms and immediately put out their fist to say “I’m in”. Swann joined in too. Edwards reluctantly put his fist in because of everyone else…
John’s Thoughts: It’s still wishful thinking on my end that Eddie Edwards ends up turning on Team Impact, leading to him becoming some semblance of an American Wolf again. Part of that is selfishly, I want to see Crazy Leprechaun Eddie put out to pasture. I also think it makes sense since he’s been the one at odds with the decision making of his teammates while Chris Sabin has stood up as the wholesome person of the group to contrast Eddie’s sus behavior. Steve Maclin though, if Impact can’t lock down Josh Alexander, they should take a look at Steve Maclin who has totally reinvented himself into a top star in pro wrestling since leaving WWE (again, people like No Way Jose, Big Kon, or Heath Slater should take notice).
Entrances for the next match took place. Tasha Steelz was carrying around her giant red “X”…
5. Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans vs. Mickie James and Chelsea Green. Green and Steelz started out the match. Steelz quickly tagged in Evans before getting a move in. Green took down Evans with an armdrag. Green hit Evens with a STO into the buckle. James tagged in. They double teamed Evans with a slam. James body slammed Steelz on Evans. Evans tackled James to her corner. Steelz tagged in. Both women traded back elbows. James hit Steelz with a huracanrana and tagged in Green.
Green hit Steelz with a bulldog for a two count. Evans tripped Green off the top rope heading into commercial.[c]
Evans and Steelz cut the ring in half on Green back from the break. Green rolled up Evans with a Sunset Flip for a two count. Steelz came back with a kick for a two count. Green gave Steelz a Belly to Belly. Steelz knocked James off the apron. Evans tagged in. Green hit Evans with a pump kick. The referee got distracted by James getting fired up which led to the heels double teaming Green. The heels cut the ring in half on Green again. Green slipped out of Evans’ suplex to tag in James for the hot tag.
Evans escaped a sleeper and tagged in Steelz. James planted Steelz with a flapjack. After trading counters Mickie hit Tasha with a Mick Kick. Evans broke up the pin. Evans hit Green with a Uranage. James hit Evans with a Mick Kick and Mick-DT. Steelz came out of nowhere to catch James with a Crucifix Driver for the win.
Tasha Steelz and Savannah Evans defeated Mickie James and Chelsea Green via pinfall in 8:93 of on-air time.
John’s Thoughts: A pleasent surprise to see Steelz picking up the pinfall over the Knockouts Champ. I don’t think she comes out of No Surrender as Champ (I’d think that if they were moving the title off Mickie, that they would do it at their actual PPV), but I do like that they are putting in a lot of effort to elevate Tasha Steelz as a singles wrestler. They are taking Tasha’s Ultimate X win seriously, which is splendid.
This week’s Brian Myers “How to be a professional” skit aired. This week’s title was “The final chapter”. Myers told Dice and VSK that they’ve had setbacks as a group. Myers said last week was an embarrassment and he’s had to pull out tacks from his back. VSK blamed Dice for planning Brian’s match against Morrissey. Myers berated both Learning Tree members and said the Learning Tree is over with VSK and Dice now being “cut”. Dice cried a bit saying that he was hoping that his mom would see him graduate for the first time. VSK didn’t care and walked away…
John’s Thoughts: This thing had to end because it was holding all three very talented individuals back, big time. The group was very entertaining when it was Brian Myers and Sam Beale doing their own version of Johnny Gargano and Austin Theory’s father-son gimmick. Adding VSK and Dice only turned the Learning Tree into a jobber group, and Dice in particular was hindered from showing what has made him famous in other companies. I hope Dice, VSK, and Myers all get good runs out of this (and hope they don’t double-back on the Learning Tree concept).
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the announce table. Hannifan plugged the AXS New Japan show. They also announced Chris Bey vs. Ace Austin vs. Jake Something vs. Mike Bailey as X Division Number One Contenders match at No Surrender. The commentary team also ran through the rest of the advertised No Surrender card…
5. “Bullet Club” Jay White, Tama Tonga, and Tonga Loa (w/Chris Bey) vs. “Violent By Design” Eric Young, Joe Doering, and Deaner. Young and White started out the match. Both men traded chops and holds. White planted Young with a backdrop. Loa tagged in. Young hit Loa with an elbow. Deaner and Tama tagged in. Tama took down Deaner with a clothesline. Doering tagged in and dragged Tama to the corner. Bullet Club triple teamed Doering and dumped him to ringside. Bullet Club dumped the rest of VBD to ringside heading into break.[c]
Violent By Design traded quick tags to cut the ring in half on Tanga Tonga. Rehwoldt noted that Joe Doering has been the X-Factor so far due to his size. Loa tagged in and they had a big-man battle between Loa and Doering. Both men no sold shoulder tackles. Both men took each other out with headbutts. White and Young tagged in and traded chops. White got the rally of consecutive chops on young. White hit Young with a Final Cut Suplex (which Hannifan noted was innovated by Dustin Rhodes, who also called it the Final Cut. Nice reference).
The Guerrillas swarmed Doering. The GoD hit Doering with a Magic Killer. Young hit Loa with a Back suplex. Deaner hit Tama with a blockbuster. Deaner hit White with a facebuster. Young hit White with his finisher elbow drop for a two count. White backdropped Young. The GoD hit Deaner with a 3-D. The GoD hit Deaner with a diving headbutt and splash. White picked up the pinfall on Deaner.
The Bullet Club defeated Violent By Design via pinfall in 10:15 of on-air time.
Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson made their entrance to close the show posing at the top of the ramp with their tag belts to taunt the bullet club members in the ring…
John’s Thoughts: Basic six person tag to put the Bullet Club over going into their matches at No Surrender (which actually is looking to be a good show with all of the New Japan and ROH talent injected in it). Violent By Design needs a bit of a reboot after this program because they’ve reverted to a “jobber of the stars” roll themselves and we know that at least Eric Young and Joe Doering can be utilized as main eventers. Can we finally get our Joe Doering singles push? Doering and Gallows had a sleeper hit of a match last year and we know Doering can go. VBD are kinda in the position that Sanity was in WWE’s main roster, as a undercard heel faction.
Good show again by Impact. I hope this string of no-nosense doesn’t end because Impact is a show I can actually recommend to people now and not feel embarrassed for making the recommendation. Just keep away the zombies, magic powers, bad cinematics, and teleporting hackers. Heck, bring back Johnny Swinger for comedy, but keep away his weird poker room. The frosting on top of this good show being a stellar commentary team.
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