This past week’s TNA Impact was a pretty forgettable show….except for the main event which featured a stipulation you’re not going to see very often.
Apparently, you can buy a casket shaped like a guitar case and TNA got one to use a blowoff match between Elijah and Mustafa Ali.
And what a blowoff it was as TNA showed how to put a guy over in dominant fashion and make him look like a superstar. Though, there are questions of why they chose this particular guy to do it with.
Elsewhere, Indi Hartwell battled Heather by Elegance, Trey Miguel defended the International title against former champion Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Jodi Threat faced Tessa Blanchard, and Sinner & Saint returned to take on the new team of Rich Swann & BDE.
Last week’s episode of TNA Impact averaged 233,000 viewers on AMC, down 8.3% from the previous week. It’s the lowest audience for the show since January 29th.
Impact averaged a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s the same rating the show did last week and ties the highest rating the show has done on the station.
The show went head to head with NBC’s coverage of the Winter Olympics, which also aired on Peacock and the USA Network, and tied for 54th on the primetime cable charts for the night.
Listed below are the overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of TNA Impact that has aired so far on AMC along with the average in both categories. This week’s show was up 9.8% in overall viewers and 25% in 18-49 as opposed to the averages so far.
Last week’s episode of TNA Impact averaged 254,000 viewers on AMC, up 5.4% from the previous week. It’s the largest audience the show has done since starting on the network last month.
Impact averaged a 0.05 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s the same rating the show did the prior week and also ties the largest rating the show has done in that category on AMC. They tied for 51st on the prime time cable ratings for the night.
It’s notable that beginning the week of January 26th, all wrestling ratings shows had a noticable increase in both total viewers and demo rating as Nielsen changed the way it determines those numbers via the the Big Data + Panel system.
Listed below are the overall viewership and 18-49 demo ratings for each episode of Thursday Night Impact on AMC to date along with the averages in each category prior to last week’s episode. That show was up 22.1% in overall viewers and 25% in 18-49 as compared to recent averages.
Impact had some highs and lows this week, but the street fight pitting the former members of Fir$t Cla$$ against each other was one of the peaks. Other highs included Nic Nemeth vs. BDE in a shockingly good match, plus Jason Hotch of Order 4 vs. Elijah.
As for the lows, we had Stacks vs. Home Town Man in a dull, repetitive angle disguised as a match; Elayna Black showing the flaws in WWE’s developmental system; and the idiotic fallout to the Feast or Fired match.
The debut of TNA Impact on AMC was a clunker, but their second try was much better.
There was a lot of fun wrestling: Cedric Alexander vs. Moose; Indi Hartwell vs. M by Elegance (no, really!); the Feast or Fired match, which was a lot of fun to watch even if the idea behind it is still ridiculously stupid; and Jeff Hardy vs. Mustafa Ali.
There was an excellent promo by Mike Santana. And there were some big angles causing some much-needed shake-ups, including a main event segment that gave a very necessary hard reboot to a main event act that had grown terribly stale.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez is back today with tons to talk about including the Royal Rumble odds which are in fact odd, RAW from Monday night, the weird Finn Balor thing, Rey Mysterio’s injury, Je’Von Evans’ injury, TNA ratings, and tons more! A fun show as always so check it out~!
Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact averaged 171,000 viewers on AMC, down from the 173,000 the show averaged for it’s debut episode on the channel the week before.
Impact averaged a 0.03 rating in the 18-49 demo. That’s down 25% from the first episode the prior week. Both numbers were initially reported by PWTorch.
The most recent widely reported viewership numbers for the station showed an average prime time viewership of 214,000 viewers for the week ending January 4, 2026, meaning that Impact would be 19.2% below that average.
The drops from the debut episode were less than what recent debuts have done. AEW Collision averaged 816,000 and a 0.33 rating for it’s debut episode on June 17, 2023 and dropped to 595,000 and 0.21 for week 2, declines of 27.1% and 36.4% respectively. WWE NXT averaged 1.179 million viewers for it’s debut on the USA Network in 2019 with a 0.43 rating and dropped to 1.006 million and 0.32 for week 2, drops of 14.7% and 25.6%.
Listed below are the total viewership and 18-49 rating for episode of TNA Impact on AMC since their debut.
It may be old news by now, but the debut of TNA Impact on AMC still warrants plenty of discussion. With barely 20 minutes of wrestling stretched thin across two hours, was anything on this show successful?
We’ll talk about those three wrestling matches—the Hardys & Elijah vs. Order 4, the Iinspiration vs. the Elegance Brand for the Knockouts tag titles, and Mike Santana challenging Frankie Kazarian for the world heavyweight title—and how they all could have gone better.
And we’ll also look at all the talking, and I do mean ALL the talking. AJ Styles! A bunch of actors I’ve never heard of! WWE castoffs you barely remember, rehashing angles you’d love to forget! The thrilling payoff to the search for Mr. Elegance, which made no sense to regular viewers or newcomers! And the long-awaited return of Dixie Carter!
So no, nothing was successful. But we’re going to talk about it anyway on the Big Vinny V Show!
We now have viewership information for TNA Impact’s premiere episode on AMC.
The January 15 edition of Impact averaged 173,000 viewers on AMC, which should be a significant increase over what the show had been doing on AXS TV. The most recent available ratings information from a few years back had Impact hovering around 100,000 viewers.
Impact’s debut on the channel drew a 0.04 rating in the 18-49 demo. That is in the range of what AMC normally averages in prime time and is up from what TNA was doing on AXS a couple of years ago — when reported numbers were usually between 0.01 and 0.03.
The demo rating is higher than AEW Collision drew for its January 10 episode, though Collision had higher viewership. Collision averaged 271,000 viewers for that show with a 0.03 demo rating.
Impact’s AMC premiere was headlined by a World Championship match between Frankie Kazarian and Mike Santana. There was also an appearance by AJ Styles on the show, along with the surprise TNA debuts of Daria Rae (Sonya Deville) and Elayna Black (Cora Jade).
Impact returns this Thursday with another live episode airing on AMC from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time.
How many times in two hours can one reviewer ask “What did I just watch?” The answer, apparently, is “several.”
And with that, it’s time for a new Big Vinny V Show.
TNA’s last episode of Impact on AXS TV featured very little wrestling, a whole lot of talking, a bunch of wacky skits, some goofy angles, and some nonsensical booking. Wouldn’t be TNA without all that, I guess.
When the dust settled, TNA was left entering the next era with a World championship match in flux for their debut on AMC and no main event booked for the Genesis pay-per-view two days later. But they do have the Righteous getting a title shot they didn’t want a few weeks ago, Ryan Nemeth’s ongoing feud with Mara Sade, Elijah and his horse chasing Order 4 in slow motion, an unnamed man declaring that he must save the Elegance Brand, and an angle signaling the end of Fir$t Cla$$.
We’ll try to make sense of it all on the Big Vinny V Show!
One of TNA’s greatest-ever legends will be in the building as the promotion kicks off a new era.
It was announced today that WWE star AJ Styles will make an appearance when TNA Impact premieres on AMC next Thursday. There are no further details on Styles’ role for the show — and it remains to be seen whether Styles will compete for TNA one last time prior to his retirement later this year.
“The premiere of Thursday Night iMPACT! on AMC will be PHENOMENAL,” TNA announced. ” For the first time since Slammiversary, AJ Styles makes his jaw-dropping return to TNA Wrestling as a new era begins LIVE January 15 from the Curtis Culwell Center in Dallas, Texas. What will ‘The Phenomenal One’ have in store as TNA Wrestling makes history once again?”
Styles, considered by most to be the greatest homegrown star in TNA history, returned at Slammiversary last summer for an appearance but did not wrestle on the show. He’s expressed doubt over whether another TNA match will happen for him, though TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian would love for a match between them to take place. Styles last competed for the promotion in 2013.
There is no set date for when Styles, 48, will be retiring from the ring yet, past that his final match will happen at some point in 2026.
Ahead of this TNA appearance, Styles will face off against Gunther in Germany this coming Monday.
Impact’s AMC premiere is set to air live from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time on January 15. Taking place from Garland, Texas, the episode is set to feature a TNA World Championship match with Kazarian defending against Mike Santana.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now available and covers the following topics:
Polls on Worlds End plus Continental Classic MVP and best match polls.
The story of the WWE/UFC merger and Vince McMahon’s resignation, how real was it, the big unanswered question about the WWE Board of Directors, lots of Discovery information in the shareholders lawsuit against WWE, McMahon, TKO, Nick Khan and others, things behind the scenes about the merger, and the change in plans prior to the 2023 WrestleMania in more detail than ever before.
Full coverage of AEW Worlds End and business notes on the show
The retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi and the Tokyo Dome show
The record setting 2025 at Arena Mexico and biggest attendance week in the 92 years of CMLL, a look at the last week as well as how many Americans are at the shows.
The few times in history that a company sold out a major arena three times in the same week.
A look at the Stardom Dream Queendom show
Pro Wrestling NOAH hosts the first major show of 2026
Weekly odds
2026 Observer award ballot
Most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week.
Weddings and engagements in pro wrestling this past week
All Japan has its best match of 2025
William Regal and others talk about neck injuries in pro wrestling and our thoughts on it as well as the reaction of some
Who had the most great matches in 2025
How Eric Bischoff’s new promotion is similar to Sam Muchnick starting out as a promoter
Company does a Vince McMahon/Janel Grant angle on its TV show
WWE uploaded the full Oba Femi vs. Leon Slater main event from NXT last night, which saw Femi leave the now-vacant NXT Championship belt in the ring after retaining.
Becky Lynch attended the “Star Trek: Starfleet Academy” premiere in New York City last night and brought her newly won Women’s Intercontinental title belt along with her. Lynch plays a bridge crew member on the series, which debuts on Paramount+ on January 15.
Drew McIntyre cut a promo on Cody Rhodes ahead of their Three Stages of Hell match for the WWE Championship on SmackDown this Friday.
On Rhodes’ “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast, Finn Balor mentioned how much the WWE locker room misses Luke Gallows after his release: “I can’t speak highly enough of Gallows. And I can’t express how much the locker room misses him.”
A new episode of Six Feet Under premiered today with Undertaker and AJ Styles looking back at their cinematic Boneyard Match from WrestleMania 36. The podcast was a live episode recorded in Washington, D.C. last month.
Last night, Tony Khan was in Las Vegas to attend Sports Illustrated’s Sportsperson of the Year Awards. Khan took photos with Michael Phelps and Cal Raleigh on the red carpet for the event, where NBA star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was honored as Sportsperson of the Year.
Yes, I do [feel a sense of relief]. Until I retired as a professional wrestler, every morning I would wake up and think, ‘Oh, where’s my match today?’ and I always had that feeling of tension. But when I woke up this morning and thought, ‘Oh, I won’t be having any more matches,’ I felt a little sad, but I also felt like I’ve moved on to a different stage.
Tanahashi added that he’s planning to get a haircut soon:
I’m getting a little break next week, so I’ll get my hair cut around the weekend. Yes, I’ll be cutting off all the hair at the back.
Well, I’m going to become a handsome older man. Just a handsome older man, just a cool guy.
Contract signing for next week’s Frankie Kazarian vs. Mike Santana TNA World Championship match
International Champion Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo defends against Steve Maclin
The System (Moose, Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers & JDC) vs. Leon Slater, Cedric Alexander & The Hardys
Mustafa Ali and Order 4 address TNA Genesis
Dani Luna vs. Harley Hudson
The Hardys kick off the episode
Frankie Kazarian wished his wife Traci Brooks a happy 16th anniversary: “16 years building an amazing life with this incredibly kind, beautiful and wonderful woman. I am beyond lucky. Happy anniversary @TheTraciBrooks”
I think nostalgia is a huge factor for fans. Somewhere around 2010, I went from being washed up to being part of people’s childhoods. I’m the same guy. I’ve only gotten older, but I’m no longer old and irrelevant. I’m part of people’s collective memories.
The focus of TNA Impact the past few weeks was to make Bear Bronson look like a star. It worked in the short term, but will it last through 2026?
On this week’s Big Vinny V Show, Vince Verhei breaks down Bronson’s match against Frankie Kazarian for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship to find what worked, what didn’t, and where we all might go from here.
Elsewhere on the show:
Santino is sad but still does his job in the same half-assed and illogical manner
The Angel Warriors battle the Elegance Brand
The Rascalz battle each other for an X Division title shot
On the heels of AEW’s Blood & Guts and WWE’s WarGames comes TNA’s Steel Cage match, where 10 men quickly enter a single ring and things get very crowded. But the match seemed to bring a definitive end to the TNA vs. NXT feud, while also setting up, um, something for the Hardys.
Elsewhere, there’s a 20-man battle royal for a world title match on New Year’s Day with a very surprising winner; the Angel Warriors battle Tessa Blanchard & Mila Moore; and Elijah performs in a very special concert. And yes, that’s the whole lineup. We’ll break it all down the latest Big Vinny V Show!
The main event of TNA Impact this past week saw Indi Hartwell face off against Dani Luna in a dog collar match. Was it violent? Yes. Was it dangerous? At times. Was it bloody? Absolutely, especially (well, entirely) on the part of Luna.
On this week’s Big Vinny V Show, let’s look at the match and what is likely to come next for the participants.
Elsewhere, Mike Santana announced when he will get his TNA World Championship rematch against Frankie Kazarian and why that date is so surprising; Lexis King battling Matt Cardona for the advantage in next week’s NXT vs. TNA WarGames-style steel cage match; Myla Grace & Harley Hudson taking on The Elegance Brand; a six-way match to determine the next challenger for Leon Slater’s X-Division Championship; and Sinner & Saint finally get a chance to just do a tag team wrestling match against The System.
Come join the fun on the Big Vinny V Show with me, Vince Verhei!
