TNA Wrestling presents Impact on AXS TV tonight.
This week’s show was taped at The Pinnacle in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday, February 14.
Five matches and one segment are advertised.
TNA World Champion Mike Santana and X-Division Champion Leon Slater will team up to take on Ryan Nemeth and Nic Nemeth.
In an eight-man tag, The Hardys and The Righteous will face The System’s Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, Bear Bronson, and Cedric Alexander.
We will have a face-to-face segment with Ash By Elegance and Mickie James.
We will hear from Steve Maclin on the show.
In the Knockouts division, Dani Luna will wrestle Lei Ying Lee. This had originally been planned as a Lee title defense against Luna on the AXS TV debut. However, visa issues prevented Luna from making it to the show.
In singles action, AJ Francis faces Mance Warner, who will have Steph De Lander in his corner.
Tasha Steelz of Order 4 will wrestle Jada Stone.
Our live coverage begins at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Taped! from the Pinnacle in Nashville, TN..
Tom Hannifan & Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary.
For a guy who got fired a month ago Steve Maclin has been hanging around this show a lot.
Mike Santana & Leon Slater v. Nic & Ryan Nemeth
Frankie Kazarian joined the commentary team for the opener. Slater took out both the Nemeth brothers early on with a dive on the floor. In the ring, Santana hit Nic with a back elbow in the corner. Ryan tried to cheap shot Santana with a knee, which allowed Nick to hit Santana with a superkick.
Nic distracted the referee so Ryan could choke out Santana with a tag rope. Nic dropped a big elbow for a near fall. Santana tried to brawl his way out of the heel corner, but Nic put him down with a kick to the knee. Ryan slapped on a chinlock as the show headed into a commercial.
Santana escaped the chinlock and dropped Ryan with a rolling stunner. Tags were made on both sides, and Slater dropped Nemeth with a kick. Slater came off the top with a crossover crossbody for a near fall. Nic backdropped Slater to the floor. The Nemeths countered the rolling stunner with a back suplex/neckbreaker cover for a near fall.
Santana took out Ryan with an enziguri and hit Nic with a boot. Slater got the tag and Nemeth hit him with the Famouser for a near fall. They showed Ryan’s girlfriend in the crowd (and unfortunately the crowd looked bored). Nic and Staler fought up to the top, where Slater pushed Nic off. As Slater was setting up a dive, Eric Young ran in to distract Slater. Santana ran interference to hold off Young. Slater went for the 450 on Nic, but Nic got his knees up, and rolled up Slater for the pin.
Match Result: The Nemeths won when Nic pinned Slater (11:05 aired).
This finish annoyed me at first, but it set up Nic v. Slater for the X Division title on next week’s show. So hopefully Slater is getting a victory in a singles match.
— Gia Miller interviewed Vincent and Dutch who talked about brotherhood and trust with the Hardys.
Dani Luna v. Lei Ying Lee (w/ Xia Brookside)
Lee took Luna down with a leg sweep and followed that up with knee to the face and a dropkick. Luna pulled Lee out of the corner going for a powerbomb, then turned that into a sort-of hot shot move between the middle and top ropes.
Luna hit an exploder suplex, then wrenched away at Lee’s neck. Luna viciously dumped Lee to the mat for a near fall. Lee countered a suplex with a small package for a near fall. Lee locked Luna in a guillotine choke, but Luna countered that with a suplex for a near fall.
Luna dropped to the floor and pulled out a steel chain from under the ring. Luna wrapped the chain around the top turnbuckle. Luna tried to send Lee into the turnbuckles, but she blocked that and came back with a series of kicks and strikes. Lee hit Luna with a superkick, then reigned down with punches in the corner.
Lee hit an exploder suplex for a near fall. Lee missed a charge in the corner, and Luna hit a slingshot blue thunder bomb for two. Lee came back and went for a kick, but Luna ducked and locked in a sleeper. Lee escaped and went for a roll up, but Luna kicked out and sent her face first into the chains that she set up five minutes ago. Why isn’t that a disqualification? Why didn’t the ref get rid of those chains? Then Luna hit the Luna Landing and got the pinfall.
Match Result: Luna pinned Lee (10:13)
— Alisha Edwards was ready to reject a new contract from Tommy Dreamer and Carlos Silva until Moose showed up. Moose told Alisha she wasn’t just the first lady of the System, but she was the first lady of TNA. Moose asked Alisha to be her manager and she (all too easily) changed her mind, and signed the contract.
AJ Francis v. Mance Warner (w/ Steph DeLander)
Francis’ gear was inspired by the African-American Flag for Black History Month. DeLander wore a Predators jersey to suck up to the Nashville crowd.
This brawl started outside the ring. Warner tried to piledrive Francis on the stairs, but Francis blocked it, then slammed Warner from the stairs to the floor. Back in the ring, Francis choked Warner against the ropes. Francis hit a running knee and went over the ropes, landed on his feet and flirted with DeLander on the floor. She was not receptive.
Back in the ring, Warner mounted a comeback and poked Francis in the eyes. A short bulldog got Warner a near fall. Warner charged into a spear from Francis, but kicked out at two. Francis went to the floor and grabbed a chair. DeLander grabbed the chair, and got into a tug of war with Francis over the chair. Eventually the chair went flying into Warner’s hands, who had no problem using it as a weapon.
Match Result: Francis won via disqualification (4:25).
This feud will continue.
The TNA Injury Report:
- Mustafa Ali is not cleared after the casket match.
- Jody Threat is also not cleared after a 3-on-1 beatdown last week.
- Leon Slater is being evaluated.
Hardcore Country Elegance
Mickie James called out Ash by Elegance. The Concierge came out to introduce Ash, but James sent him to the back because she wasn’t “here for the nonsense.” Not sure she’s in the right place then. Anyway, Ash came out. Mickie James had called Tommy Dreamer on Ash’s behalf to get her job in TNA after she was cut by WWE. But Ash knows she was the hottest free agent when she was released, and didn’t need James to grease the wheels to get her a job. James asked if Ash was “a mark” for starting “twitter beef” with other former Knockouts World Championship. James told Ash she was disgracing the Knockouts World Title that she abandoned (which James also had to relinquish due to injuries). Ash was just shouting for heat. I guess its working for the crowd but it’s not working for me. She’s shouting insults but saying nothing.
This devolved into a shoving match, but before it could really get physical, the other members of the Elegance Brand were shown intimidating Mickie’s son in the back. James ran to the back, but M by Elegance leveled her from behind the curtain with a forearm. The rest of the Elegance Brand joined in on the beating, which ended with Ash diving Mickie a Mick-DT.
I’m now less interested in the impending Ash/James match than I was last week. I really like Mickie and was into Ash’s comeback story.
— In the back, Jody Threat was allegedly laid out by Tessa Blanchard and her crew. Naturally, this leads to an argument between Daria Rae and Santino Marella about how Santino has no control over the show.
Jada Stone v. Tasha Steelz (w/ The Great Hands)
Steelz nailed Stone with a clothesline before the bell. Stone came back with a shotgun dropkick, and Steelz dropped to the floor to regroup. Stone wiped out Steelz and the Great Hands with a moonsault off the apron. Steelz suplexed Stone on the floor.
Back in the ring, Stone hit a superkick and a slingblade for a near fall. Stone hit a handspring into the ropes, but Steelz snatched her out of the hair with German suplex. Steelz went for a cutter, but Stone blocked it with a handstand, then rolled up Steelz for the shock pin.
Match Result: Stone pinned Steelz (5:47)
After the match, the Great Hands tossed Stone back into the ring, and Steelz hit her with a cutter.
Steve Maclin’s Side of the Story
Tom Hannifan brought out Steve Maclin, flanked by security to address the TNA crowd and explain his actions. And the crowd just completely hijacked this segment.
The crowd chanted “you don’t work here!” at Maclin. Hannifan asked Maclin to explain why he was attacking Santana. The crowd chanted “we dont care!” while Maclin tried to explain himself. The crowd was pretty brutal, chanting “leave!” and “you’re a liar!” They even booed him for being a marine before switching to a “USA!” chant. Then the crowd hit him with the “what?” chants and Maclin was visibly frustrated.
But it boiled down to this: Maclin was mad at Santana for leaving him hanging in the tag match at Turning Point. Santana tried to justify it by telling Maclin he was “going through some things and had to catch a meeting.” Clearly tired of all this, the crowd chanted “wrap it up!” Maclin took credit for Hannifan having a job in TNA, which caused the crowd to chant “he’s still working!” Hannifan actually got the crowd to calm down a bit. Hannifan asked Maclin how many times he’s been fined by TNA for “the same things” over and over, and asked if he would ever take responsibility for his own actions.
So Maclin leveled Hannifan with a punch to the gut.
Santana ran through the crowd to make the save, but Maclin dropped out of the ring, and shoved Rehwoldt down to the ground on his way out.
Next week on Impact:
- Sinner/Saint v. The Righteous v. Rich Swann/BDE v. The System
- Arianna Grace v. Jody Threat for the Knockouts Title
- Nic Nemeth v. Leon Slater for the X Division Title
— Gia Miller replaced Hannifan on commentary for the main event.
The System (Bear Bronson, Cedric Alexander, Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards) v. The Hardys & The Righteous
The Hardys and the Righteous worked well together early in the match. The Hardys double teamed Myers with a slingshot/legdrop combo. Alexander got the tag and Matt dropped a leg on him for a near fall.
Bear Bronson tagged in to square off against Dutch in a hoss fight. Dutch dumped Bronson to the mat with an exploder, and Vincent tagged in to hit Poetry in Motion. Bronson hit Vincent with a choke bomb for a near fall.
Vincent has made a very good babyface in peril in these tag matches. Myers floored Vincent with a running knee. Bronson dropped an elbow off the middle rope for a near fall. Alexander dumped Vincent with a German suplex. Vincent fought his way out of the heel corner and took out Alexander with a leg sweep before getting the tag to Matt Hardy.
Matt hit Edwards with a hangman’s neckbreaker and DDT Alexander at the same time. Matt hit a Side Effect on Edwards for a near fall. It was “hit a move, take a move” time, with everyone hitting a hot move, then taking one from a different opponent. Matt went for the Twist of Fate on Edwards, but Edwards pushed off and Vincent got the tag. Edwards set up Matt for the Boston Knee Party, but Vincent shoved Matt out of the way and took the bullet.
Match Result: The System won when Edwards pinned Vincent after the Boston Knee Party (11:24 aired).
After the match, Moose tried to take on the System 4-on-1. He was overwhelmed until Alisha Edwards got between Moose and the System.
