Impact Wrestling (Feb. 9, 2021) featured Private Party and Matt Hardy ruining an Impact tag title bout, a AAA luchador joining Rosemary, and Tommy Dreamer rallying support for his quest to become Impact World Champion.
In the go-home episode for No Surrender on February 13, the main event segment saw Tommy Dreamer sign the contract to wrestle Rich Swann for the Impact World Championship. Dreamer dug deep into the emotional well to sell the match.
Dreamer may have received the opportunity as a 50th birthday gift, but he will make the most of the situation. Swann has holes in his defense, and Dreamer won’t hold back in attacking the champ’s leg.
Moose interrupted to inquire about his promised title match against Swann. Moose accused Swann of dodging him to have a night off against an old man. Dreamer cut in to share personal text messages from Moose back in 2020. Dreamer took credit for motivating Moose, but he still doesn’t get it. Dreamer doesn’t wrestle for money anymore. He wrestles to entertain the fans and help young talent in the back. Dreamer signed the contract after stating it would be an honor to tear the house down with Swann.
Dreamer finally sold me on that match. Before, I was mildly interested to see him hang in a main event. Now, I kind of want to see Dreamer pull off the ultimate old man underdog victory. Not only did Dreamer sell me, but he also sold Swann that he will be a serious challenge. Swann smirked early at the idea, however, Dreamer’s passion convinced Swann in the end.
Let’s run through the rest of the show from beginning to end.
Matt Striker and D’Lo Brown were on commentary.
Trey Miguel, Josh Alexander, Willie Mack, & Suicide defeated Chris Bey, Ace Austin, Daivari, & Blake Christian. The takeaway was Trey’s increased usage of submissions. He won the match via hour glass submission on Christian.
.@TheTreyMiguel showing a new side with a submission victory. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/4Xb6oDroVm
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Afterward, Sami Callihan hacked onto the big screen to question when Trey will quit next time the going gets tough. Save us all the embarrassment and quit now. Trey huffed and puffed in rage.
Impact stars wished Tommy Dreamer a happy 50th birthday.
Kimber Lee defeated ODB. Deonna Purrazzo and Susan were ringside. ODB’s in-ring return was spoiled by a distraction. Purrazzo and Susan tried to get dirty, so Jordynne Grace and Jazz ran in to even the odds. ODB hit Purrazzo and Susan with a flying crossbody. As ODB was getting back into the ring, Lee pounced for a surprise roll-up victory.
Fallah Bahh was kicked out of Johnny Swinger’s casino when he ran out of money.
.@FALLAH1 is short of cash in @swinger_johnny's Palace. #IMPACTonAXSTV @JohnEBravo1st @MrsAIPAlisha pic.twitter.com/SgIo94Ez8L
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Susan demanded a trios match against Grace, Jazz, and ODB. Purrazzo and Lee were not on board with this idea.
Susan is going to DEMAND a six Knockouts tag team match at #NoSurrender from management. #IMPACTonAXSTV @DeonnaPurrazzo @Kimber_Lee90 @realsuyung pic.twitter.com/JovkEfaGIE
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Cousin Jake had a choice to join Eric Young’s crew or not. Jake stands for something as Jake Something, so he passed on the offer. Violent by Design beat him up. Young set up a chair around Jake’s neck, but Cody Deaner stopped Young. Deaner wanted the honors. Young booked Deaner versus Jake for No Surrender.
Jake has something to stand for against Violent By Design...JAKE SOMETHING. #IMPACTonAXSTV @JakeSomething_ @TheEricYoung @CodyDeaner @bigjoedoering pic.twitter.com/rGFpmwEZig
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Rohit Raju is confident with Shera by his side that he will regain the X-Division from TJP at No Surrender. There will be no mercy for TJP.
.@HakimZane plans to take back the X-Division Championship THIS SATURDAY at #NoSurrender. #IMPACTonAXSTV @MahabaliShera pic.twitter.com/Z6NpvVTkP3
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Tony Khan and Tony Schiavone returned for another AEW commercial. Trifling with Impact has opened Khan up as the forbidden door. That is why he allowed KENTA to appear in AEW. The door swings both ways, and Khan will return to Impact soon.
The Good Brothers plan to take care of business and retain the Impact tag titles against Chris Sabin & James Storm. They will beat up Storm and Sabin.
America's Most Wanted? Beer Money? The Motor City Machine Guns? @The_BigLG and @MachineGunKA think they stand above the tag team greats in IMPACT history. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/KgZ3GTdTzc
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Nevaeh defeated Kiera Hogan. The referee caught Tasha Steelz hitting a Codebreaker to Nevaeh when Hogan was in trouble, so he called for the disqualification.
.@RealTSteelz drops @nevaehOi4k RIGHT in front of the referee causing a DQ. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/qdA7bcc3Ca
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
AEW stars wished Tommy Dreamer a happy 50th birthday, including rowdy insults from MJF and Chris Jericho.
Hogan and Steelz complained to Scott D’Amore about incompetent and biased officiating from Brandon Tolle, so D’Amore made a no DQ tornado match for No Surrender. That way it won’t matter who the referee is.
.@RealTSteelz and @HoganKnowsBest3 will face @FearHavok and @nevaehOi4k for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles THIS SATURDAY at #NoSurrender! #IMPACTonAXSTV @ScottDAmore pic.twitter.com/9qNEhLu4aB
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Black Taurus defeated Kaleb Konley. Rosemary announced Black Taurus as the newest member of Decay. Taurus bull rushed through Konley to win with a spinning driver slam.
.@Taurusoriginal is a force of total destruction. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/bhVhZlYoHx
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Brian Myers paid Hernandez his fee for taking down Eddie Edwards last week. Now, the arrangement has changed with Matt Cardona in the mix. Myers was forced to pay half up front and half upon victory when they wrestle Edwards and Cardona at No Surrender.
.@SuperMexCTM gets half of his cash now, and the other half when he and @Myers_Wrestling finish the job against @TheMattCardona and @TheEddieEdwards THIS SATURDAY at #NoSurrender. #IMPACTonAXSTV pic.twitter.com/06uhzAJv1v
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) February 10, 2021
Impact Tag Team Championship: Good Brothers retain in DQ defeat against Chris Sabin & James Storm when Private Party interferes. During the contest, Matt Hardy and Private Party appeared on stage to scout the competition. The challengers had momentum, so Hardy ordered Private Party to ruin the bout as payback for Sabin and Storm cutting in line. The referee waved off the match.
Backstage, D’Amore turned the tag title bout at No Surrender into a triple threat. It would now be Good Brothers versus Private Party versus Sabin & Storm. D’Amore justified it as a way to prevent Sabin & Storm from ruining the match in retaliation.
As a go-home show, this episode of Impact Wrestling was smart and efficient. Tommy Dreamer did his job well to hype the main event, while Impact closed the door on Moose interfering. The undercard matches rounded out nicely with meaning. Past Impact special events usually have the undercard thrown together randomly. It is nice to see that not being the case with No Surrender.
One step I did not like was adding Chris Sabin and James Storm into the tag title bout with the Good Brothers and Private Party. The original plan was a unique showcase of Impact versus AEW. By mixing in Sabin and Storm, it waters down the novelty factor.
My top pop for the show was the surprise appearance of Black Taurus. I’m a big fan of his work in AAA, so that had me grinning from ear to ear. It’s funny to imagine a Minotaur as top champ in an American promotion, but the man has the skills in the ring to take down the best Impact has to offer. I’m hoping Taurus gets pushed hard.
No Surrender starts at 8 pm ET on Saturday, February 13 through the Impact Plus app. The full card currently stands as:
- World Championship: Rich Swann (c) vs Tommy Dreamer
- World Tag Team Championship: Good Brothers (c) vs Private Party (with Matt Hardy) vs Chris Sabin & James Storm
- X-Division Championship: TJP (c) vs Rohit Raju (with Shera)
- Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz (c) vs Havok & Nevaeh
- Triple Threat Revolver: Daivari, Suicide, Willie Mack, Ace Austin, Trey Miguel, Chris Bey, Josh Alexander, & Blake Christian
- Hernandez & Brian Myers vs Eddie Edwards & Matt Cardona
- Cody Deaner vs Cousin Jake
- Deonna Purrazzo, Kimber Lee, & Susan vs Jordynne Grace, Jazz, & ODB
- Larry D, Acey Romero, & Tenille Dashwood vs Rosemary, Crazzy Steve, & Black Taurus
Share your thoughts on Impact Wrestling. What was your favorite match? Who stole the show? Did Tommy Dreamer successfully sell you on the No Surrender main event?