TNA has announced that Countdown to Hard to Kill will stream live exclusively on the TNA+ app starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, January 13. The 60-minute pre-show leads into the PPV portion of the card, which begins at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The following matches have been made official for the pre-show:
Rich Swann vs. Steve Maclin
Eric Young & Frankie Kazarian vs. Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards (w/ Alisha Edwards)
Digital Media Champion Tommy Dreamer defends against Crazzy Steve
“Additional matches for the Countdown Show will be announced in the coming weeks – and the only way to see the first matches of the new era of TNA Wrestling is to download the app and subscribe,” TNA wrote.
TNA also noted that they will be announcing perks for new TNA+ subscribers in the coming weeks.
TNA Wrestling and Endeavor Streaming have partnered together for the TNA+ app. There are two different price tiers for the service:
The ‘Special Attraction’ tier is priced at $9.99 per month or $95.99 per year and includes access to the full TNA/Impact Wrestling library and every TNA+ special event. The ‘World Championship’ tier is priced at $219.99 per year and includes those benefits as well as TNA’s four major annual pay-per-views (Hard to Kill, Rebellion, Slammiversary, and Bound for Glory).
Hard to Kill is taking place from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on January 13. That night, Impact Wrestling’s name change back to TNA officially goes into effect.
Here are the matches that have been confirmed for the main card so far:
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Moose
Knockouts Champion Trinity defends against Jordynne Grace
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defends against KUSHIDA and El Hijo del Vikingo in a three-way match
Knockouts Ultimate X match (participants to be announced)
Former Impact World Tag Team Champions Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz have re-signed with TNA, the company announced during Thursday’s Impact Wrestling episode.
Miguel, Wentz, and Myron Reed make up the current iteration of The Rascalz, a team that began as Dezmond Xavier & Wentz on the independent scene. Miguel & Reed would join the group on the indies and again later in Impact.
Wentz & Xavier would later join WWE NXT as MSK under the names Nash Carter & Wes Lee. Lee remains under contract to WWE.
Miguel & Wentz join Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers in prominent TNA re-signings in recent weeks, and the company has also announced the signings of Trent Seven, KUSHIDA, & Dani Luna this month as the company gears up for its return to the TNA name in 2024. Jade Chung has also been announced as the promotion’s new ring announcer.
TNA president Scott D’Amore has also hyped a debut of “one of the biggest signings in company history” for the Hard to Kill pay-per-view set for January 13.
TNA Wrestling has unveiled another new addition to its roster.
It was announced on Thursday that Dani Luna has signed a TNA Wrestling contract. The 24-year-old Luna is from the United Kingdom and made her Impact Wrestling debut this May, being brought into the promotion with her Subculture stablemates Mark Andrews & Flash Morgan Webster.
“So proud of @DaniLuna_pro. She is about to show the world just how good she is,” Andrews wrote. “Keep flying that SUBCULTURE flag in TNA for us.”
“Hardest worker in any room. Can’t wait for @DaniLuna_pro to show the world what we already know,” Webster posted. “Dani Luna is Inevitable.”
Luna was previously signed to WWE as a member of the NXT UK roster. She was released from the company when NXT UK ended in August 2022.
Currently, Luna is Revolution Pro Wrestling’s Undisputed British Women’s Champion. She won the title from Alex Windsor at RevPro’s Uprising event last weekend.
Luna, KUSHIDA, Trent Seven, and Leon Slater are all signings that TNA has made for the start of its new era. The company is officially changing its name back to TNA Wrestling starting with Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13.
For the second time ever, TNA/Impact Wrestling will present a Knockouts Ultimate X match.
It was announced today that the Knockouts Ultimate X match is returning for Hard to Kill 2024. The pay-per-view is taking place from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Saturday, January 13.
The participants for the Ultimate X match have not been revealed yet. The winner will become the number one contender to the Knockouts Championship.
Trinity is the current Knockouts Champion. She’s defending the title against Jordynne Grace at Hard to Kill.
Won by Tasha Steelz, the first-ever women’s Ultimate X took place at Hard to Kill 2022. Grace, Chelsea Green, Alisha Edwards, Lady Frost, and Rosemary were the other wrestlers in that match.
Ultimate X was first introduced in 2003 and is one of TNA’s signature match types. It features an X suspended above the middle of the ring. The person who retrieves it is declared the winner.
Impact Wrestling’s name change back to TNA officially begins at Hard to Kill. Here’s the updated card for the PPV:
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Moose
Knockouts Champion Trinity defends against Jordynne Grace
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defends against KUSHIDA and El Hijo del Vikingo in a three-way match
Brian Myers is sticking around for the new era of TNA Wrestling.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that Myers has signed a new TNA Wrestling contract. Formerly known as Curt Hawkins, Myers has been part of the Impact Wrestling roster since his release from WWE in 2020. He previously had a stint in TNA in 2015.
“This is the most fun I’ve had in my entire career,” Myers said. “The past three-and-a-half years, it’s been a perfect fit. I get to be the best version of myself while being a TNA Wrestling star, so this decision was pretty easy for me.”
Impact Wrestling’s name change back to TNA officially goes into effect starting with Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13. TNA is also holding a set of post-PPV television tapings the next night. Myers is set for a big six-man tag match at the tapings, teaming with Moose & Eddie Edwards against Kazuchika Okada, Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin.
Outside of the ring, Myers hosts The Major Wrestling Figure Podcast with Matt Cardona. He also owns the Create-A-Pro Wrestling Academy with Pat Buck.
“With success of the podcast and the success of the toy business, it’s almost like we found a cheat code in pro wrestling,” Myers told Sports Illustrated. “In this business, decisions aren’t always in your hands. You’re not always doing what you want to do. So this outside endeavor is a healthy balance for us, and we get to control it. It took a long time for us to figure out, but it is an incredible source of creativity.”
Myers noted that becoming a World Champion is his goal in pro wrestling.
“Every day I show up to TNA, that is the goal,” Myers said. “But that’s not necessarily my focus–I’m focused on controlling what I can control. That’s my attitude, my work ethic, my performances in the ring, my look, eye-catching gear, all of that. Myself and Eddie Edwards have a really bright future as a tag team, but I’ll never lose sight of the world title. There is nothing I want more professionally. That’s always my goal, and I’m working my ass off to get there.”
Edwards also recently signed a new TNA Wrestling contract. KUSHIDA, Trent Seven, and Leon Slater have been announced as new additions to the TNA roster.
For its new era, TNA Wrestling will have a new ring announcer.
It was announced today that Jade Chung has been named the new ring announcer for TNA Wrestling. She’s replacing David Penzer in the role after Penzer finished up with the promotion at Final Resolution earlier this month.
At Final Resolution, TNA Wrestling president Scott D’Amore thanked Penzer and presented him with an award in the ring. Penzer said that he is not retiring.
Penzer wrote on social media that he was blown away by the “incredible sendoff” he was given by the promotion. Penzer called it the classiest thing he’s ever seen in the wrestling business.
“[Thank you] Scott D’Amore, I’ll be rooting from the sidelines,” Penzer wrote.
Chung joined the Impact Wrestling broadcast team this May with a role that included doing ring announcing for Before the Impact and hosting pre-shows for Impact events.
Chung is a former wrestler and manager who was part of the ROH roster in the 2000s. Before joining Impact’s broadcast team, she had been featured in the promotion alongside her husband Josh Alexander.
“Very proud of this lady,” Alexander wrote. “20+ yrs in wrestling. Whether it be wrestling, managing, photography or ring announcing she takes everything insanely serious. Now as the official ring announcer for the new era of #TNAWrestling.”
TNA Wrestling’s new era officially starts at Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13. The promotion’s name change from Impact Wrestling to TNA goes into effect that night.
TNA Wrestling has entered into a deal with a new action figure partner.
It was announced on Monday that TNA Wrestling and PowerTown Wrestling are partnering together to produce TNA action figures and accessories. It’s a long-term contract between the two companies.
Pre-orders for the first series of figures will begin in March 2024, with the figures then being shipped in August 2024. The second series is scheduled to be shipped in December 2024. TNA and PowerTown Wrestling noted that more information on which wrestlers will be featured will be released in the coming weeks.
The figures “are 7-inch scale, sculpted for their real-life height in scale with other wrestlers. The figures have 30 modes of articulation; thus, the head rotates and nods, arms rotate and move forward and back, biceps rotate and much more.”
PowerTown Wrestling has been in existence less than two years and has produced figures of pro wrestling legends including Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Verne Gagne, Kerry Von Erich, Magnum TA, and Lou Thesz. The company is owned by toy industry veteran Steve Rosenthal and former wrestler Greg Gagne.
The new deal comes after Impact Wrestling’s planned action figure line with Epic Toys was canceled. This August, it was announced that the Epic Toys figures did not meet Impact’s standards nor the outlined timeframe for release. Impact stated that it was entering into discussions with other action figure manufacturers.
TNA Wrestling president Scott D’Amore said in a press release:
TNA fans have been asking when the next TNA Action Figures will be released. Finally, we have the answer: 2024 – and we’re very confident that fans worldwide will be thrilled with these new TNA Action Figures from PowerTown Wrestling. PowerTown delivers high-quality collectibles and we are very excited to work with the entire team there.
Chris Sabin will have two challengers for his X-Division Championship at Hard to Kill.
It was announced today that Sabin will put his X-Division title on the line against KUSHIDA and El Hijo del Vikingo in a three-way match at Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13. The pay-per-view is taking place from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
KUSHIDA is the newest addition to the Impact/TNA Wrestling roster. It was revealed earlier this week that he’s signed a contract with the company.
Vikingo, one of pro wrestling’s brightest young stars, is the current AAA Mega Champion and has made frequent appearances for AEW/ROH. This will be his first time wrestling for Impact/TNA in the United States since 2020.
Vikingohas also been announced for TNA’s post-Hard to Kill television tapings in Las Vegas on Sunday, January 14.
Sabin has been X-Division Champion since winning the title from Lio Rush this September. It’s Sabin’s 10th reign with the championship.
Impact Wrestling’s name change back to TNA Wrestling officially goes into effect starting at Hard to Kill. Three title bouts have now been confirmed for the PPV:
Impact World Champion Alex Shelley defends against Moose
Knockouts Champion Trinity defends against Jordynne Grace
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defends against KUSHIDA and El Hijo del Vikingo in a three-way match
With 2023 close to wrapping up, Impact Wrestling presents a special Hidden Gems episode tonight.
Tonight’s Impact consists solely of past matches that have never been seen on television before. That includes a bout between Josh Alexander and Yuya Uemura that took place in September. It was Uemura’s final match in Impact before returning to NJPW following his learning excursion.
A street fight between PCO and Deaner is also set to air tonight. Plus, Alan Angels takes on Samuray Del Sol.
In tag team action, Killer Kelly & Masha Slamovich face off against the team of Gisele Shaw & Savannah Evans. There will also be a tag match pitting Tommy Dreamer & Channing Decker against Dirty Dango & John E. Bravo.
Impact is now less than one month away from changing its name back to TNA Wrestling. The name change officially goes into effect starting with Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13. We’ll see if any announcements regarding Hard to Kill or the post-PPV TV tapings are made tonight.
Samuray del Sol defeated Alan Angels
Solid match here, but nothing special. The crowd in Chicago enjoyed seeing del Sol actually get a win, rather than the typical deal of luchadores losing in Impact.
Del Sol and Angels had a very quick exchange as the start of the match, where neither had the advantage. Sol hit an armdrag that sent Angels to the floor, and as Sol hit a tope suicidia the announcers noted that Angels had only had success at the time by hitting low blows, which lead to speculation that he was compensating for something. I laughed. Angels cut Sol off when he was doing a handstand and threw him into the ring post.
Gia Miller claimed that Angels paid her tons of money to put him over, but she was going to be unbiased, but keep the money. I laughed again. Sol used the bottom rope to pull his shoulder, indicating that Angels may have separated the shoulder when he threw him into the ring post. Angels then hit a shoulder breaker and locked on an arm submission. Sol hit an armdrag and a hurricanrana for a 2-count.
Angels hit a spin kick Hannifan called a halo strike for a two count. Sol hit the Salina del Sol but Angels was too close to the ropes. When Sol went to the top rope, Angels cut him off, but Sol managed to hit a Salina del Sol off the top rope for the win.
This was one of the early teaming matches for MK Ultra, but you could see that they had something that worked very early on. Shaw has proven to be a good gatekeeper helping talent adjust to new roles, and this tag match was no different.
Hannifan and Rehwodlt debated the spelling of (SHAWtorage or SHAWntorage) with the latter sounding more like Shawn, as in Shawn Michaels. Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich showed no interest in this debate though, as they beat on Shaw at the start of the match. Killer Kelly continued the assault on Savannah Evans, but Vidal attacked Killer Kelly behind the referee’s back letting Evans get the advantage.
Kelley managed to hit a DDT on Shaw after some heat, and Slamovich tagged in and hit a huge Yakuza kick in the corner on Evans and then a Death Valley Driver into the corner on Kelley into Evans in the corner, using Kelly as a weapon. Shaw hit a curb stomp on Slamovich to allow Evans to get some control again, but Slamovich hit a double stomp on Evans after kicking out of a pinfall attempt. MK Ultra then hit a double team Ganso bomb for the win.
PCO defeated Deaner in a No DQ match
A rather uneventful No DQ match, but PCO is always fun. I wonder why this one didn’t air on TV until now?
Tom Hannifan said one of the truest things he has ever said when he commented “There is an abnormal brain in PCO’s head.” Correct, my astute friend. Deaner and PCO started this with violence right away, with PCO setting up chairs on the floor, but flying out of the ring into them after a low blow from Deaner. PCO briefly fought back, but PCO was thrown off the top rope into two chairs again, for a two count.
Deaner hit PCO with a chair 3 times and sandwiched a chair between the top and middle rope in the corner. Deaner sent PCO into the chair, but PCO no sold it and hit a clothesline. PCO then hulked up (PCO’d up? Frankenstein’s Monster’d up?) as Deaner hit him with a garbage can. PCO hit a lung blower on Deaner and then a guillotine legdrop from the top rope as the fans chanted for PCO. PCO set Deaner on the apron and hit is flipping senton onto Deaner.
PCO setup a table on the floor and went to the top rope to put Deaner through it, but Deaner cut him off and sent PCO crashing through the table to the floor. Deaner tried to finish PCO off, but PCO fired up and chokeslammed Deaner through a garbage can. The Design ran down and attacked, laying out PCO, but OVE came out to make the save, and Sami Callihan took out Deaner with a Cactus Driver 97 to help PCO. PCO hit a moonsault on Deaner and scored the pinfall.
–A hype video aired for El Hijo del Vinkingo, showing that he will appear at TNA Hard to Kill in January.
–A hype video aired for Will Ospreay vs. Josh Alexander II.
–Josh Alexander cut a promo on Will Ospreay, saying that 2024 is the fresh start he needs after a bad ending to 2023 after his return from injury. Alexander said that he was inspired by the same match Ospreay was – AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels in 2005. This promo was awesome, and about how Alexander wanted to sent Ospreay packing because he is an outsider, despite loving the same company he does.
Dirty Dango & Alpha Bravo vs. Tommy Dreamer & Channing Decker
This was soon after the death of Terry Funk, so it was nice to see Decker and Dreamer honour him here.
I cannot call this a hidden gem, though it was nice to see Channing Decker, a wrestler who has worked the Maritimes scene in Canada. Decker showed some good offence against Dango in the early part of the match, forcing Dango to flee and tag out to Alpha Bravo, who tagged in and wanted Dreamer. Dreamer did an arm wringer and immediately tagged out to Decker, hit a double forearm, and then left the ring. What a worker.
Dreamer tagged back in and hit a hip toss on Dango, before tagging out for Decker to and him to hit a double elbow. Decker then put a sharpshooter on Dango, but Bravo made the save and Dango hit a chop block on Decker. They got the heat on Decker for a bit, but were able to turn it around after a few minutes as Dango stood over his downed partner and Dreamer slingshotted Bravo into the lower regions of Dango as he was standing over him. Decker put the spinning toe hold on Dango while Dreamer hit a DDT on Bravo for the win.
–An awesome hype video aired for Kazuchika Okada coming back to TNA at the Snake Eyes TV taping, and it rightly talked about how Okada is one of the greatest wrestlers to ever do it, being the ace of New Japan, and the leader of a generation of wrestlers. I cannot emphasize how awesome this was, even addressing TNA’s failure to use him well the first time.
Impact Knockout’s World Champion Deonna Purrazzo defeated Taylor Wilde (w/ KiLynn King) to retain
This match was this past summer, and Hannifan and Santino Marella were on commentary. This was a pretty basic match, with Wilde and Purrazzo keeping it simple. Purrazzo outwrestled Wilde in the early portions, but King got involved and allowed Wilde to hit a German suplex after Purrazzo tried to take out King with a heatseaker piledriver. Wilde hit a headscissors into a crossface, and put pressure on Purrazzo, but Purrazo reversed it into a Fuiwara armbar.
Wilde rolled Purrazzo up to escape, and it seemed they lost each other for a split second here, but got back on the same page and Purrazzo hit a Russian legsweep and the armbar again, but Wilde made the ropes. Wilde hit a kick to the head after another distraction from King for a two count. Wilde went for another move, but Purrazzo countered into the Queen’s Gambit for the win.
–Another great hype video aired for Alex Shelley vs. Moose at TNA Hard to Kill.
Josh Alexander defeated Yuya Uemura
This was an awesome match, and a good one to end the episode. The rest of the episode is hit or miss, but this was worth watching.
Rehwoldt noted that he did not get a great send off like this like Uemura did, facing Alexander before he headed back to NJPW. Hannifan noted that no one liked Rehwoldt, and he reluctantly agreed. I laughed. Alexander and Uemura showed a great basic exchange here at the start of the match, but Uemura was not going out quietly, attacking the left arm of Alexander, who had surgery on that arm earlier in the year.
Alexander hit a hip toss and a hard chop, but Uemura fired up with some armdrags of his own, a slam, and an elbow drop for a two count. Uemura controlled the pace for a fair bit here, but Alexander was able to hit a crossbody to Uemura who was seated on the apron. Uemura immediately fired back with a clothesline that sent Alexander to the floor on the other side of the ring. Uemura then hit a tope to the floor.
Uemura went to the top rope for a crossbody, but Alexander dodged. Uemura then hit a flying armbar on Alexander that was reminiscent of Shinsuke Nakamura. Alexander then countered into an ankle lock leaving Uemura screaming in pain. Uemura rolled forward breaking the hold, but ate some hard chops from Alexander. Uemura countered Alexander into another armbar, forcing Alexander to the ropes.
Alexander managed to hit a few German suplexes, but Uemura hit one of his own, dropping Alexander. Uemura hit a dropkick to Alexander, who was in the corner, knocking his headgear off. Uemura trapped the arms and hit an overhead suplex for a 2-count. Uemura went for the crossbody again, but Alexander cut him off. Uemura knocked him off the ropes and then went for the crossbody, but Alexander nailed an elbow as he was coming down, and got a two count. Alexander went for the C4 Spike, but Uemura fought out and hit a weak forearm.
Alexander replied with a knee, but Uemura rolled him up for a two count. Alexander then hit a rip chord elbow and the C4 Spike for the win.
An Impact Wrestling mainstay is sticking around for the company’s return to TNA.
It was announced on Thursday that Eddie Edwards has re-signed with TNA Wrestling. Edwards has been with the promotion for nearly a decade, making his debut in 2014.
Edwards is a two-time Impact World Champion, five-time Impact Tag Team Champion, and a two-time X-Division Champion.
“I don’t think it’s much of a surprise,” Edwards told PWInsider about the new deal. “I don’t think my fans and friends are very much surprised that I’m sticking around, because everybody knows how I feel about this company. I think especially right now with the momentum that we have with TNA coming back and all that excitement. For me, it was a no-brainer and I’m very happy to be here and continue being here as long as I’m able to.”
Edwards spent much of his 2023 feuding with Frankie Kazarian. Their feud wrapped up with Kazarian winning a two-out-of-three falls Killer Impact match that aired this October.
At Impact Final Resolution last weekend, Ace Austin & Chris Bey retained their Impact Tag Team titles against Edwards & Brian Myers.
Impact Wrestling is changing its name back to TNA Wrestling starting with its Hard to Kill pay-per-view on Saturday, January 13, 2024.
KUSHIDA, Trent Seven, and Leon Slater have been announced as new TNA signees in recent weeks. PCO has also re-signed with the company.
One of the most decorated junior heavyweights of all time is now under contract with TNA Wrestling.
It was announced today that KUSHIDA has signed a TNA Wrestling contract. He’s regularly competed for the promotion since 2022 as part of Impact Wrestling’s working relationship with NJPW.
In their announcement, TNA wrote that it’s “time for KUSHIDA to take his career to the next level and it happens in TNA Wrestling!”
It’s official, KUSHIDA has signed a contract with TNA Wrestling. As a longtime New Japan Pro-Wrestling standout, KUSHIDA has held the IWGP Jr Heavyweight Championship and IWGP Jr Heavyweight Tag Team Championships on multiple occasions. KUSHIDA has been on the precipice of success since his arrival last year, taking Steve Maclin to his limit in an IMPACT World Championship match at Rebellion 2023. It’s time for KUSHIDA to take his career to the next level and it happens in TNA Wrestling!
The 40-year-old KUSHIDA most recently competed for Impact this September, wrestling at Victory Road 2023 and the 1000th episode of Impact. KUSHIDA unsuccessfully challenged then-champion Lio Rush for the X-Division title at Victory Road.
KUSHIDA is a six-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Champion and three-time IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Champion in NJPW. He held the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team titles with Kevin Knight earlier this year. KUSHIDA & Knight also recently took part in NJPW’s Super Junior Tag League.
KUSHIDA was previously under contract with WWE from 2019-2022. When he returned to NJPW in June 2022, KUSHIDA noted that he would continue to live in the United States.
KUSHIDA joins Trent Seven and Leon Slater as recent additions to the TNA roster. PCO has also re-signed with the company.
Impact Wrestling’s name change back to TNA officially goes into effect starting at Hard to Kill on Saturday, January 13. The pay-per-view is being held in Las Vegas.
On a new entry in my annual JNPO pro wrestling year in review series, I am joined by Jesse Collings of Wrestlenomics and the Gentlemen’s Wrestling Podcast to talk all about the month of July.
We kick off by looking back at WWE Money in the Bank which saw two future title challengers created in addition to the first-ever Bloodline Civil War match. We also talk about Vince McMahon’s back surgery, the build to SummerSlam, and everything else from WWE and NXT.
In AEW Land, it was the month where the bromance of the summer — MJF & Adam Cole — really took flight from their Blind Eliminator Tag Team tournament win, their title shot at FTR, and a t-shirt that took AEW by storm. We also look back at Blood & Guts. Ring of Honor’s Death Before Dishonor, and more.
We also dive deep into Impact Slammiversary, the month in Japan, and the rest of the big headlines from wrestling in our junk drawer segment. Well over 100 topics are covered in just over an hour.
I promise this is unlike any other year-end series you’ll hear or read, so catch up on the rest of the series in the archive.
Over the weekend, Trent Seven was revealed as the newest member of the TNA Wrestling roster.
The 42-year-old Seven made his Impact Wrestling debut at Final Resolution 2023, teaming with “Speedball” Mike Bailey in a victory over The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz). Seven was Bailey’s mystery partner for the match.
We’ve been speaking for a few weeks now. Kind of just piecing things together and making sure everything kind of worked out. Like I say, a lot of times in this industry and the entertainment industry, it’s about saying the right thing, being in the right place at the right time, doing the right stuff, looking the right way. There’s a lot of things that have to link up for these kind of things to happen, and that’s what it was. It was just the right place, right time, right decision. A million and 10 things lit up, evolving on the day and just kind of continuously evolving and luckily we got to deliver the fans with a real professional wrestling exciting secret. I just love it when wrestling happens like that.
Seven confirmed that we’ll still be seeing him appear in other promotions around the world despite signing with TNA.
Before signing with TNA, Seven wrestled for AEW twice in 2022 and for ROH once this year. Seven told Cultaholic that his experience in AEW/ROH was great. There was one point where he was “incredibly close” to signing a deal, but it didn’t happen:
There was one point where it was incredibly close to inking something, but sometimes things just don’t work out do they? Sometimes people are doing whatever they’re doing backstage. You know, you’re trying to plan a show [and] selling out Wembley. Sometimes some peoples’ names fall to the bottom of the thinking pile. But so be it, man. I couldn’t look back on the last 15 months and be prouder, I think. The way it’s worked out, the peaks and the troughs, the ups and the downs, the constant testing, the amount of people I’ve seen, the amount of countries I’ve been to. But now it feels like I’ve found a home.
Seven was previously a mainstay of the NXT UK roster in WWE. He was released by the company in August 2022. During his time in WWE, Seven had NXT UK and NXT Tag Team title reigns with Tyler Bate.
Impact Wrestling’s name change back to TNA officially goes into effect starting with the promotion’s Hard to Kill pay-per-view on Saturday, January 13.
After making a surprise appearance at Saturday’s Final Resolution, Trent Seven is officially part of the Impact/TNA Wrestling roster.
Seven joined with “Speedball” Mike Bailey to take on The Rascalz’s Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz, picking up a victory in the impromptu match.
Afterward, Impact/TNA head Scott D’Amore went into the ring to cut a promo explaining how much he liked Seven in the past and while he couldn’t sign him then, someone was “dumb enough to let him go” so he could now. He then offered him a contract which Seven signed on Bailey’s back.
Since being released by WWE in the summer of 2022 after a long run with NXT UK, the 42-year-old UK native has been busy on the UK scene with OTT, RevPro, and others while also making his AEW debut a year ago.
Saturday marked his Impact in-ring debut although he has competed for both the TNA X-Division title and the Impact Digital Media title in other organizations.
The first Impact/TNA match since 2011 for NJPW superstar and impending free agent Kazuchika Okada is now official as is the next TNA opponent for IWGP U.S. Champion Will Ospreay.
Announced during Saturday’s Final Resolution streaming special, Okada will team with the Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin) to take on Moose, Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards as part of the post-Hard to Kill TV taping.
After the show, it was announced that Ospreay will have a rematch with former Impact World Champion Josh Alexander on the taping which is set for the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas on Sunday, January 14th.
Perhaps not coincidentally, Okada’s final TNA match was against Shelley in June 2011 on an episode of TNA Explosion. A few things have changed since then including Okada’s legendary run in NJPW while Shelley is the current Impact World Champion.
Ospreay and Alexander first hooked it up at the post-Bound for Glory TV taping in October that saw Ospreay leave with his hand raised. Since then, Ospreay has signed a contract with AEW that will begin in February 2024. Meanwhile, Okada’s NJPW contract is also up this February.
