Opinion: Match & Show Ratings for February 20 to February 26, 2022

Welcome to TPWW’s Emperor Smeat’s Match and Show Ratings for the week of February 20th to February 26th, 2022.

Match and show star ratings (out of 5):

WWE

WWE RAW (Feb. 21)
* Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy – 3.0
* Dirty Dawgs (Dolph Ziggler & Robert Roode) vs. Finn Balor & Tommaso Ciampa – 2.5
* Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. – 1.5 (Squash)
* Damian Priest vs. Shelton Benjamin – 2.0
* Bianca Belair vs. Doudrop – 3.0
* Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins vs RK-Bro (Randy Orton & Matt Riddle) – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Best – Kevin Owens & Seth Rollins vs RK-Bro match.
Worst – Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. match.
Show Notes – Opening Lesnar & Paul Heyman promo segment about Heyman mocking Lesnar and Lesnar’s upcoming WWE title match was all right. Rollins & Owens’ backstage segment about neither being booked for WrestleMania and upcoming tag team match was okay. Chad Gable’s Northern Lights suplex counter of Montez Ford’s sunset flip was nice. Street Profits vs. Alpha Academy was a quite good back-and-forth action match. Dirty Dawgs vs.. Balor & Ciampa was a solid match. Miz TV segment about Miz complaining about Rey Mysterio and Cody tease as his mystery partner for WrestleMania, interruption by the Mysterios, banter between the two, Logan Paul surprise appearance & ambush attack on the Mysterios was all right. Priest vs. Benjamin was decent at best. Post-match promo by Priest boasting about his US title reign, interruption by Balor, & US title match setup was okay. 24/7 title segment with Dana Brooke, Reggie, Tozawa, & Tamina was a bit funny, especially Reggie’s face being covered by Brooke’s makeup. Bianca Belair promo segment about her Elimination Chamber win, interruption by Becky Lynch, & banter about their past bad blood and title feud was all right. Belair’s spinebuster counter of Doudrop’s running attack in the corner was nice. Doudrop’s Michinoku Driver outta nowhere to Belair was nice. Belair vs. Doudrop was a quite good back-and-forth action match. Edge’s promo about WrestleMania and AJ Styles, Balor, Cody Rhodes, & Priest teases as potential opponents was splendid. Riddle’s Floating Bro to Rollins via Orton assist was nice. Orton’s back drop driver to Owens onto the announcers table was nice. Riddle’s suplex counter of Rollins’ rolling elbow was nice. Owens’ Swanton & Rollins’ Frog Splash combo to Riddle was cool. Rollins’ catch & Buckle Bomb counter of Riddle’s RKO was cool. Owens & Rollins vs. RK-Bro was a very entertaining action filled match. This week’s show was mostly enjoyable overall.

NXT (Feb. 22)
* Grayson Waller vs. LA Knight – 2.5
* 2022 Women’s Dusty Tag Team Classic tournament First Round – Kay Lee Ray & Io Shirai vs. Lash Legend & Amari Miller – 2.0
* Duke Hudson vs. Dante Chen – 2.5
* Trick Williams vs. Cameron Grimes – 2.5
* Nikkita Lyons vs. Kayla Inlay – 2.0 (Squash)
* 2022 Women’s Dusty Tag Team Classic tournament First Round – Diamond Mine (Tatum Paxley & Ivy Nile) vs. Kacy Catanzaro & Kayden Carter – 2.5
* #1 Contender for NXT Championship – Dolph Ziggler vs. Tommaso Ciampa – 3.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Dolph Ziggler vs. Tommaso Ciampa match.
Worst – Kay Lee Ray & Io Shirai vs. Lash Legend & Amari Miller match and the Josh Briggs & Brooks Jensen’s backstage dating apps videos segments in general.
Show Notes – Opening Bron Breakker promo about his win over Escobar last week and NXT TakeOver plans, interruption by Ziggler mocking Breakker, & banter between the two was okay. Knight crotching Waller on the ropes & yanking the ropes for added pain was a bit funny. Knight’s back drop counter of Waller’s running rolling cutter was nice. Waller vs. Knight was solid despite the flat ending. Cora Jade & Raquel Gonzalez training montage part deux about fear of heights & zip lines was a bit goofy. Toxic Attraction interview segment about Women’s Dusty Tag tournament and them bad mouthing Jade & Gonzalez and Ray & Shirai was nothing special. Ray & Shirai vs. Legend & Miller was somewhat decent at best despite being rough at times. Carmelo Hayes & Williams’ promo about Hayes’ win over Grimes last week, interruption by Pete Dunne, banter between them, NA title match setup, & ambush attack by Grimes was all right. Lyons vs. Inlay was a decent mostly squash style match. Malcolm Bivens’ promo bashing Imperium and boasting about Creed Bros’ Dusty Tag Cup victory, interruption by Imperium demanding respect, & brawl with Solo Sikoa was all right. Bivens’ scared thumbs up to Sikoa for saving him afterwards was a bit funny. Jensen & Brooks dating app videos segments were corny overall. Carter’s neckbreaker & Catanzaro’s 450 splash finisher combo to Paxley was cool. Diamond Mine vs. Catanzaro & Carter was a solid back-and-forth style match. Ciampa’s catch & slingshot to the turnbuckle counter of Ziggler’s drop kick was nice. Ciampa’s powerbomb style back stabber to Ziggler was cool. Ziggler’s Zig-Zag to Ciampa on the floor was nice. Ciampa & Ziggler’s slugfest on the apron was nice. Ciampa’s Air Raid Crash to Ziggler on the apron was cool. Ziggeler vs. Ciampa was a very entertaining hard hitting action filled match despite the shenanigans ending by Robert Roode. Post-match brawl with Roode & Breakker was splendid. This week’s show was average overall.

Friday Night SmackDown (Feb. 25)
* Los Lotharios (Angel & Humberto) vs. New Day (Kofi Kingston & Big E) – 3.0
* Xia Li vs. Natayla – 2.0
* Sasha Banks vs. Shozti – 2.0
* Drew McIntyre vs. Madcap Moss – 2.5
Overall – 2.0
Best – Sami Zayn’s Intercontinental Championship celebration segment with Johnny Knoxville.
Worst – Opening Ronda Rousey & Charlotte Flair in-ring promo segment & weak brawl with Sonya Deville.
Show Notes – Lesnar vs. Reigns being a title reunification match is interesting since the main purpose of having two top belts is due to the Brand Split. Opening Ronda Rousey interview about her WWE return, interruption by Charlotte Flair mocking Rousey, & brawl with Deville was somewhat dull. Ouch at Angel’s head after boinking the floor from his suicide dive to Kingston. Big E threatening to run over Humberto with his ATV if Angel did his moonsault to Kingston was a bit funny. Los Lotharios vs. New Day was a pretty good back-and-forth match, especially the latter half. Usos backstage interview bad mouthing the Vikings Raiders & ambush attack by V.R. was decent. The ring announcer botching the name of Xia Li’s hometown as “Chong Ching China” was a bit funny. Li’s Exploder Suplex to Natayla was nice. Li vs. Natayla was a mostly solid match despite dragging a bit. Sami Zayn’s I.C. title celebration & over-the-top promo about conspiracy against him and stuff, interruption by Johnny Knoxville wanting a title shot, banter between the two, & brawl was splendid. Bank’s slingshot Code Breaker to Shotzi was cool. Banks vs. Shozti was a mostly solid brief match. Post-match promo of Naomi reuniting with Sasha Banks as a tag team is interesting. Corbin’s pre-match promo mocking McIntyre, praising Madcap Moss, & conning Moss into replacing him in the match was okay. For someone who just recently suffered a nasty neck injury scare incident, seems really dumb for Moss to be booked to take any spots involving his neck way too soon. McIntyre vs. Moss was a solid back-and-forth action match. Universal & WWE match contract signing segment with Reigns and Lesnar & brawl with Reigns’ bribed security & Usos was all right but Heyman’s “cliffhanger” promo line to setup the commercial break was cool. This week’s show was average at best overall but also boring at times.

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AEW

AEW Dark Elevation (Feb. 21)
* TayJay (Tay Conti & Anna Jay) & Red Velvet vs. Freya States, Angelica Risk, & Arie Alexander – 2.5 (Squash)
* 10-Man Tag Team match – 2point0 (Jeff Parker & Matt Lee), Daniel Garcia, & Gunn Club (Austin & Colten Gunn) vs. Dean Alexander, Dominic Garrini, Chico Adams, Ariel Levy, & Kevin Ku – 2.0 (Squash)
* The Bunny vs. Kaitland Alexis – 2.0 (Squash)
* 10-Man Tag Team match – Shawn Dean, Carlie Bravo, Baron Black, Jameson Ryan, and Chandler Hopkins VS. AHFO (Andrade El Idolo, The Butcher, The Blade, & Private Party (Isiah Kassidy & Marq Quen)) – 2.5
* Ruby Soho vs. Haley J – 2.0 (Squash)
* Lance Archer vs. Joey O’Reily – 1.5 (Squash)
* Leyla Hirsch, Emi Sakura, & Nyla Rose vs. Skye Blue, Kiera Hogan, & A.Q.A – 2.5
* 10-Man Tag Team match – The Wingmen (“Pretty” Peter Avalon, JD Drake, & Cezar Bononi) & Chaos Project (Serpentico & Luther) vs. Jay Lethal, Matt Sydal, Frankie Kazarian, Lee Johnson, & Brock Anderson – 3.0
Overall – 2.5
Best – The Wingmen & Chaos Project vs. Jay Lethal, Matt Sydal, Frankie Kazarian, Lee Johnson, & Brock Anderson match.
Worst – The heavy amount of squashes and near squash matches on the show.
Show Notes – Mark Henry’s puzzled reaction on commentary to Excalibur saying he did the ” butt butt” thing with Paul Wight once like TayJay do for their entrance was funny. States’ swinging Uranage backbreaker to Velvet looked brutal. Women’s Trios Tag opener was a fine mostly squash style match. Garcia’s high angle German suplex to Alexander bending him in half was cool. 10-Man Tag was a decent jobber destruction style bout. Bunny vs. Alexis was a mostly decent squash style match. Dean’s float-over DDT to Quen spiking him was sweet. Bravo’s big boot & Dean’s Flatliner combo to Quen was nice. AHFO vs. Dean, Bravo, Black, Ryan, & Hopkins was a solid back-and-forth style match. Soho vs. Haley J was a decent mostly squash brief match. Archer’s chokeslam to O’Reilly on the apron during his entrance was nice. Archer vs. O’Reilly was a fine Archer style jobber massacre bout. Hogan’s video promo about her life story, “Who We Are” theme entrance song, & its meaning to her was all right. Rose’s swatting A.Q.A mid-air as a counter to A.Q.A leap attack was nice. Ouch at Hirsch’s face after getting nailed hard by A.Q.A’s dropkick. Women’s Trios Tag #2 was a solid back-and-forth match. Avalon & Lethal’s mini woo-off exchange was nice. Sydal’s leg drop to Serpentico & jawbreaker to Luther combo was cool. Anderson’s spinebuster to Serpentico was sweet. 10-Man Tag #2 was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. This week’s show was mostly average overall.

AEW Dark (Feb. 22)
* Varsity Blonds vs. Marcus Kross & Guillermo Rosas – 2.5
* The Wingmen (“Pretty” Peter Avalon, JD Drake, “Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth, & Cezar Bononi) vs. Rohit Raju, Karam, Sotheara Chhun, & Caleb Tennity – 2.0 (Squash)
* Skye Blue vs. Ruthie Jay – 2.0
* Nick Comoroto vs. Lamar Diggs – 2.0
* 10 vs. Ben Bishop – 2.5
* Fuego Del Sol vs. David Ali – 3.0
* Serpentico vs. Matt Sydal – 2.5
Overall – 2.5
Best – Fuego Del Sol vs. David Ali match and Anthony Ogogo’s “Who We Are” video promo segment.
Worst – Nick Comoroto vs. Lamar Diggs match.
Show Notes – Griff Garrison’s stiff looking boot to Kross flooring him was nice. Bran Pillman Jr’s Fisherman Buster to Kross was nice. Garrison’s F-5 to Rosas onto the apron was sweet. Varsity Blonds vs. Kross & Rosas opener was a solid back-and-forth action match. Raju making his AEW debut, albeit as a jobber, is interesting. The Wingmen vs. Raju, Karam, Chhun, & Tennity was a decent mostly squash style match. Chaos Project’s backstage interview about Serpentico’s upcoming match against Sydal was okay. Blue vs. Jay was mostly solid despite its dull pacing at times. Anthony Ogogo’s video promo about his life story, “Who We Are” theme entrance song, & its meaning to him was splendid. Comoroto vs. Diggs was a decent at best hoss match. Bishop’s large height manages to make 10 look way smaller than he really is. 10 vs. Bishop was a solid match. -1 locking in a Full Nelson to Bishop after the match was a bit funny. Del Sol’s standing Shooting Star Press to Ali was nice. Ali’s Fireman’s Carry style neckbreaker to Del Sol was nice. Del Sol’s step up double foot stomp finisher to Ali was cool. Del Sol vs. Ali was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Ouch at Serpentico’s back after Sydal’s back drop counter of his running chop attack on the outside. Serpentico vs. Sydal was a solid back-and-forth match. This week’s show was average overall.

AEW Dynamite (Feb. 23)
* Qualifier for AEW World Tag Team Championship Tag Team Battle Royale – 3.0
* House of Black (Brody King & Malakai Black) vs. Death Triangle (Penta Oscuro & PAC) – 3.0
* Face of the Revolution Qualifier match – Ricky Starks vs. 10 – 2.5
* TBS Championship – The Bunny vs. Jade Cargill (c) – 2.5
* Daniel Garcia vs. Bryan Danielson – 3.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – Buddy Matthews’ surprise debut, Penta’s new Oscuro entrance & theme, and the Eddie Kingston & Chris Jericho in-ring promo segment.
Worst – Penta Oscuro botching the timing of the end of the House of Black post-match attack to him & PAC.
Show Notes – Butcher’s catch & suplex counter of Trent’s Tornado DDT was nice. Dax Harwood’s loud stiff chops to Bobby Fish was sweet & ouch at Fish’s bright red chest afterwards. Silver’s straight jacket back stabber to Matt Jackson looked brutal. Santana’s brutal looking discus lariat to Trent was sweet. Harwood & O’Reilly stiff slugfest on the apron was cool. Tag Team Battle Royale opener was entertaining. ReDragon, Hangman Page, Adam Cole, & Silver post-match brawl was splendid. Page’s promo threatening Cole was all right. Danielson’s backstage interview referencing William Regal was interesting. MJF’s tearful promo about his rough childhood, his childhood hero Punk being a failure for turning his back on wrestling, & Punk questioning if all MJF said was true was superb. Penta’s new entrance & theme was badass. King stacking PAC onto Penta into a stiff chop to PAC into PAC’s Poison Rana to Penta in the process was great. HoB vs. Death Triangle was quite good despite the abrupt ending. Buddy Matthews’ surprise debut & joining HoB was great. Penta botching the timing of the end of the post-match brawl segment & no selling the chair attack was funny. Baker vs. Rosa match hype video was fine. Eddie Kingston & Jericho promo about Kingston mocking Jericho’s song & sports entertainment, Jericho mocking Kingston for being a nobody & dig at Cody, insults filled banter, & match setup was fantastic. TBS title match was solid. Cargill’s post-match promo boasting about her win streak, interruption by Tay Conti, & brawl with Bunny was okay. Keith Lee & Hobbs backstage staredown moment was sweet. Garcia’s chop block counter of Danielson’s running attack looked brutal. Danielson & Garcia’s locked hands slugfest exchange was cool. Danielson’s foot stomps counter of Garcia’s Dragon Screw was cool. Garcia vs. Danielson was a very good stiff hitting bout. Post-match brawl with 2.0 and Moxley & Danielson vs. Moxley match setup was splendid. This week’s show was very enjoyable overall.

AEW Rampage (Feb. 25)
* TNT Championship – Andrade El Idolo vs. Sammy Guevara (c) – 3.5
* Wardlow vs. Nick Comoroto – 2.5
* Five Minute Rookie Challenge match – Serena Deeb vs. Kayla Sparks – 2.0 (Squash)
* Face of the Revolution Qualifying match – Orange Cassidy vs. Anthony Bowens – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – TNT Championship match and HOOK wrecking QT Marshall’s crew of students’ stooges.
Worst – Max Caster’s very weak pre-match rap diss effort to Orange Cassidy & Best Friends.
Show Notes – Andrade’s loud stiff chop to Guevara dazing him was nice. Ouch at Andrade after Guevara’s stiff dropkick to his face & rough landing from Guevara’s Standing Spanish Fly afterwards. Andrade’s slingshot DDT to Guevara onto the apron via ropes assist was cool. Andrade’s hip toss to Guevara into the corner was nice. Guevara’s leg sweep counter of Andrade’s top rope hammerlock DDT into Andrade boinking his head on the exposed turnbuckle was cool. TNT title opener was a very entertaining back-and-forth action filled match. Post-match brawl with AHFO, Sting, & Darby Allin was all right. QT Marshall promo bashing the fans & HOOK and demanding respect from HOOK & response by HOOK destroying QT’s students was splendid. Wardlow’s chokeslam to Comoroto & powerbomb symphony afterwards was nice. Wardlow vs. Comoroto was a solid hoss style bout. Spears’ promo admonishing Wardlow for continuing his powerbomb fest & hug afterwards was okay. Deeb vs. Sparks was a decent squash style match. AEW Women’s title match contract signing segment with Britt Baker mocking Thunder Rosa for her lack of success in AEW & brawl with Hayter & Mercedes Martinez was splendid. Acclaimed & Best Friends insults filled split-screen backstage pre-match interview was all right. Max Caster’s weak rap mocking Best Friends’ lack of black friends was not one of his better diss efforts but Cassidy’s diss retort being his comedic kicks & “word to your mother” line was a bit funny. Cassidy doing the Acclaimed finger taunt with Bowens & his thumbs up afterwards was funny. Bowens spinning facebuster to Cassidy was nice. Cassidy’s Michinoku Driver to Bowens was nice. Danhausen’s surprise appearance cursing Caster to prevent his sneak attack on Cassidy was sweet. Cassidy vs. Bowens was a pretty good back-and-forth action match, especially the latter half. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

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NJPW, Impact, & Other Wrestling

NJPW New Years Golden Series Night 15 (Feb. 20)
* Jado, El Phantasmo, & Taiji Ishimori vs. Kosei Fujita, Robbie Eagles, & Tiger Mask – 3.0
* DOUKI & Taichi vs. Ryohei Oiwa & Tomohiro Ishii – 3.0
* Yoshinobu Kanemaru & El Desperado vs. Team Six or Nine (Master Wato & Ryusuke Taguchi) – 3.0
* Great-O-Khan vs. Satoshi Kojima – 2.5
* Tomoaki Honma, Yuji Nagata, Togi Makabe, & Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. BUSHI, Hiromu Takahashi, Shingo Takagi, & SANADA – 3.0
* Provisional King of Wrestling 2022 Championship Dog Cage match – Toru Yano vs. Minoru Suzuki (c) – 3.0
* NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship – YOH, YOSHI-HASHI, & Hirooki Goto vs. SHO, Yujiro Takahashi, & EVIL (c) – 2.0
* IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada (c) – 4.5
Overall – 3.5
Best – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship match.
Worst – The extra stale House of Torture style shenanigans to the the NEVER 6-Man Tag Team Championship match.
Show Notes – ELP no longer being confident in his superkick after the loss of his loaded boot is interesting. Bullet Club vs. Fujita, Eagles, & Tiger Mask opener was an entertaining bout. DOUKI & Taichi vs. Oiwa & Ishii was a pretty good back-and-forth action bout. Kanemaru & El Desperado vs. Team Six or Nine was a good back-and-forth action match. Great-O-Khan vs. Kojima was solid despite it missing hitting that next gear or level it needed. The announcement of this year’s New Japan up tournament having 48 guys & being openweight is very interesting. SANADA & Tanahashi’s Dragon Screw hold antics was a bit funny. Makabe’s lariat to Taagi flooring him was nice. Honma’s Kokeshia counter of Tagaki’s Pumping Bomber into Takagi hitting a Pumping Bomber in the end was cool. Honma, Nagata, Makabe, & Tanahashi vs. LIJ 8-Man Tag was a quite good back-and-forth action match. Yano bringing a mascot with him to be his special manager for his match was funny & same for a ringside guy pulling the mascot away to safety before Suzuki came out afterwards. Suzuki & Yano’s slugfest inside a dog cage was a bit funny. Ouch at Suzuki’s hand after getting nailed hard by the dog cage door from Yano’s kick. Suzuki & Yano’s chop fest while having their hands handcuffed was funny. Suzuki’s maniacal laugh while whacking Yano with a dog leash was wonderful. Yano tying Suzuki in the cage with the dog leash was funny. KoPW title was an entertaining match with some great comedic moments. Suzuki beating up the poor Young Lion stuck with him in the cage & rest of the ring crew pushing the cage with Suzuki stuck inside it to the backstage was funny. NEVER 6-Man Tag was going on well until the extra lame House of Torture style shenanigans kicked in. Okada’s DDT on the apron & draping DDT on the floor combo to Naito was cool. Naito’s Tornado DDT to Okada via ropes assist was nice. Naito’s reverse draping DDT to Okada via turnbuckle assist was cool. Naito’s Frankensteiner to Okada was nice. Naito’s Esperanza to Okada flinging him across the ring was sweet. Okada’s short arm Rainmaker counter of Naito’s Destino was cool. Naito’s Stardust Press to Okada was awesome. Ouch at Naito getting spiked on his head from Okada’s Landslide. IWGP World title was an excellent hard fought action packed match, especially the latter half, & strong MotY contender. New Years Golden Series was a very enjoyable show overall.

NJPW XTRA (Feb. 21)
* Taiji Ishimori, El Phantasmo, Hikuleo, & Chris Bey vs. Juice Robinson, Lio Rush, Clark Connors, & TJP – 3.5
Overall – 3.0
Show Notes – The “Week in NJPW” and NJPW Strong New Beginning USA 2022 Night 3 show highlights were all right. ELP, Bey, & Hikuleo’s back racks antics to Rush was a bit funny. Hikuleo’s loud stiff chops to Rush was nice. ELP’s hand spit purple nurples to Rush in the corner was funny. Rush’s spiked DDT counter of ELP’s backbreaker was cool. Hikuleo’s smooth looking powerslam to Robinson was sweet. Bey’s sunset dive to Connors on the outside was cool. Robinson’s Guerilla Press Slam to Ishimori chucking him to the rest of Bullet Club on outside as cool. 8-Man Tag was a very entertaining action filled match despite the buzzkill DQ ending by Hikuleo. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

NJPW Strong New Beginning USA 2022 Night 4 (Feb. 26)
* Ethan HD vs. Karl Fredericks – 3.0
* Matt Rehwoldt vs. El Phantasmo – 3.0
* NJPW Strong Openweight Championship – Taylor Rust vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (c) – 4.0
Overall – 3.5
Best – NJPW Strong Openweight Championship match.
Worst – N/A
Show Notes – HD’s superkick & head targeted backstabber to Fredericks was nice. Fredericks’ Shibata style dropkick to HD’s head in the corner ws sweet. HD’s springboard moonsault from the inside middle corner rope to Fredericks on the outside was cool. HD’s DVD to Fredericks bending him in half was cool. Ethan HD vs. Fredericks opener was an entertaining back-and-forth action bout. Rehwoldt’s pre-match promo bashing Seattle & Nirvana & ELP’s retort of only he gets to make fun of them was all right. ELP’s rope bouncing hops antics into a head scissors to Rehwoldt was nice. ELP’s Swanton & moonsault finisher combo to Rehwoldt was nice. Rehwoldt vs. El Phantasmo was a good back-and-forth action match. JR Kratos’ brief video promo threatening Alex Coughlin was all right. Rust vs. Taylor match hype video was splendid. Lawlor’s Dragon Screw counter to Rust yanking him off the top rope was nice. Rust & Lawlor’s extended forearms fest exchange into Lawlor’s Explorder suplex afterwards was cool. Rust’s powerbomb counter of Lawlor’s Triangle Choke in the corner was cool. Rust’s discus lariat & rolling cravat DDT combo to Lawlor was nice. Rust’s modified Rings of Saturn to Lawlor was sweet. Lawlor’s Straight Jacket hold & knee strike combo to Rust was nice. Strong Openweight title was a great hard fought & grapple heavy battle. Lawlor’s post-match promo basting about his reign & match setup tease with Clark Connors was splendid. This week’s episode was very enjoyable overall.

Impact Wrestling Impact! (Feb. 24)
* Impact Digital Media Championship No Disqualification match – Jordynne Grace vs. Matt Cardona (c) – 3.0
* John Skyler vs. Bhupinder Gujjar – 2.5
* AAA Reina de Reinas Championship Open Challenge match – Lady Frost vs. Deonna Purrazzo (c) – 3.0
* Zicky Dice vs. JONAH – 2.0 (Squash)
* Honor No More (Kenny King, Matt Taven, & Mike Bennett) vs. Team Impact (Rich Swann, Willie Mack, & Chris Sabin) – 3.0
Overall – 3.0
Best – Impact Digital Media Championship No Disqualification match and Eddie Edwards’ show closing in-ring promo segment
Worst – Impact production botching the match graphics for the card rundown ad segment for next week’s show.
Show Notes – Opening Moose promo about his win over Morrissey at No Surrender, bashing those who have lost to him, interruption response by Heath about fighting for Impact, Moose’s retort about not caring about Impact & Heath’s “ugly ass kids”, & brawl was all right. Grace powerbombing Cardona onto a pile of old cellphones was cool. Cardona revealing he was wearing a customized studded cup to block Grace’s low blow followed by Grace hitting Cardona with another low blow was funny. Digital Media title was an entertaining hardcore style bout. Jake Something & Trey Miguel backstage segment about their X-Division title match & Something threatening Miguel was okay. Frost’s Pendulum moonsault to Purrazzo from the apron to the outside was cool. AAA Reina de Reinas title was a good back-and-forth action match. Jay White & Good Bros backstage promo about why GoD got kicked out of Bullet Club for not meeting White’s standards, interruption by Eric Young demanding a tag title shot, & brawl with VBD and GoD was splendid. Dice vs. JONAH was a decent jobber destruction style bout. JONAH & Gail Kim backstage segment about JONAH being warned no more post-match attacks & match setup with PCO was okay. Johnny Swinger & Kim backstage segment about Swinger training in the Swinger Dungeon & wanting revenge against JONAH was a bit funny. Kim, Mickie James, Chelsea Green & Tasha Steelz office segment about Knockouts title was all right. Impact production botching the match graphic visuals for the card read ad for next week’s shows was funny. HNM vs. Team Impact 6-Man Tag was a pretty good back-and-forth action match. Eddie Edwards’ promo about him helping HNM due to their goal of exposing the corruption & dishonor in Impact, his grievances over Forbidden Doors & getting pushed aside to bring the Impact title back to the company, & interruption by Alisha over her issues of Eddie turning his back on Impact was splendid. This week’s show was enjoyable overall.

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Weekly Awards:

• Best match of the week – IWGP World Heavyweight Championship – Tetsuya Naito vs. Kazuchika Okada (c) (NJPW New Years Golden Series Night 15)
• Best match of the week runner-up – NJPW Strong Openweight Championship – Taylor Rust vs. “Filthy” Tom Lawlor (c) (NJPW Strong New Beginning USA 2022 Night 4)
• Worst match of the week – Rhea Ripley vs. Nikki A.S.H. (WWE RAW)
• Worst match of the week runner-up – Lance Archer vs. Joey O’Reily (AEW Dark Elevation)
• Best show of the week – AEW Dynamite
• Worst show of the week – WWE Friday Night SmackDown