The TNA World Championship will be on the line in a six-way at Slammiversary.
TNA officially announced on Thursday’s Impact that Moose will defend the World title against five other competitors at the Slammiversary pay-per-view set for Saturday, July 20 in Montreal.
A series of qualifying matches for the title bout began on Thursday’s Impact with Josh Alexander defeating Eric Young to secure his spot.
Two more Road to Slammiversary qualifying matches are set for the June 27 Impact, with the final two set for the July 4 Impact episode.
On the episode airing June 27, Nic Nemeth vs. Rich Swann, and Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan will square off in Road to Slammiversary qualifiers.
Joe Hendry vs. Jake Something, and Mike Santana vs. Frankie Kazarian will be the Road to Slammiversary qualifying matches on the July 4 show.
The Slammiversary lineup currently:
TNA Slammiversary, Saturday, July 20 —
Six-way for the TNA World Championship: Moose defends vs. Josh Alexander vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD vs. TBD
Matt Hardy will attempt to become a three-time TNA World Champion as he attempts to dethrone Moose on tonight’s Against All Odds from Chicago, Illinois, under “Broken” rules which is assumed to mean anything goes.
After her unsuccessful attempt to become WWE NXT Women’s Champion, Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace has issued an open challenge for tonight’s show which will likely be answered by a notable opponent.
TNA Tag Team Champions The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) will defend against Nic & Ryan Nemeth while X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali will defend his title against Trent Seven.
Rivals will become partners as Steve Maclin & Mike Santana will unite to take on The Rascalz, and Josh Alexander & Eric Young will team up against former tag champions ABC.
Joe Hendry goes one-on-one with Frankie Kazarian while PCO takes on former TNA World Champion Rich Swann.
The pre-show will see Knockouts Tag Team Champions Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards defend against The Hex, and Sami Callihan vs. Jonathan Gresham.
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Sami Callihan defeated Jonathan Gresham
The Countdown to TNA Against All Odds pre-show kicks off inside the Impact Zone in Cicero Stadium in Chicago, with “The Octopus” Jonathan Gresham immediately making his way out to the ring for the opening contest. Out next is “The Death Machine” Sami Callihan. The fight immediately kicks off with a bang.
Callihan and Gresham brawl at ringside. Callihan licks his hand and chops the hell out of Gresham before Gresham fights back and sends Callihan into the steel ring post, shoulder-first. The two continue to fight on the floor, where Callihan hits a vicious suplex.
Back inside the ring, Gresham takes over and starts to use his sadistic style of offense, biting and gouging away at Callihan. KUSHIDA ends up coming out in doctor’s gear. He takes a swipe inside Gresham’s mouth and took a sample of the ink to get to the bottom of what has been going on with Gresham as of late. The distraction sets Callihan up for a pile driver for the win.
Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards defeated Marti Belle & Allysin Kay to retain TNA Knockouts Tag-Team Championship
After a quick backstage interview with Moose, who talks about the antics he endured during his visit to The Hardy Compound last night on Impact, we return inside the host venue for our second match on the Countdown pre-show.
Kicking things off for their respective teams are Edwards and Kay. Edwards demands Kay tag in Belle. She does and Belle immediately suplexes her down to the mat. She quickly tags Kay back in, who works Edwards over in the corner. Edwards quick-crawls to her corner and tags in Slamovich. She charges into a big shot from Edwards, who follows up by whipping her into the opposing corner.
She follows her in with a big elbow. She slams Slamovich down and hits a senton off the ropes. Belle tags in and follows up with a big splash for a pinfall attempt for a count of two. The Hex work over Slamovich in their corner of the ring, utilizing frequent tags to keep a fresh person on her at all times.
While tied up with the referee, Edwards yanks the hair of Kay to bring her down to the mat from the apron. She tags in and goes to work on Edwards in the corner as fans start up an anti-System chant. Slamovich tags back in and blasts Kay in between the shoulder blades with a vicious kick. The two land a clothesline at the same time. Both are down and both make it to their respective corners for the tag.
Belle and Edwards hit the ring with a ton of energy, but it Belle who settles in the offensive driver’s seat. Fans chant “Marti! Marti!” as she hits running double knees on Edwards in the corner. Edwards hits the DeLish, but is immediately taken out by Belle from behind afterwards. Belle and Edwards trade shots and Kay hits a Saito Suplex. Belle goes for the cover but only gets two.
The Hex end up alone in the ring with Edwards. They go for X Marks The Spot, but Slamovich returns to the ring to make the save. Edwards pushed Kay into Slamovich and Belle looked for a roll up from behind, only to get a count of two. The Hex go for X Marks The Spot again, but on the follow-up pin attempt, Slamovich jumps over to break it up just in time. Fans chant “That Was Three!” afterwards.
Edwards power bombs Kay off the ropes in the corner. Slamovich gets Belle on her shoulders and Edwards hits a bull dog to bring her off the hard way. A follow-up pin attempt gets a three count. Masha Slamovich and Alisha Edwards retain.
Mike Santana & Steve Maclin defeated The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz)
Tag-team action kicks things off on the pay-per-view portion of the 13th annual TNA Against All Odds pay-per-view. Santana and Wentz start things off for their respective teams. Santana looks for Spin The Block early, but Wentz avoids it. Maclin asks for the tag, and Santana obliges. Wentz also tags out, bringing in Miguel.
Maclin tags Santana back in after a few moves, and the two go for a double-suplex. Miguel takes over on Santana when the dust settles, choking him in the corner and raking his eyes along the top-rope. Miguel tags Wentz back in for some double-team spots, and Wentz picks up where Miguel left off, taking it to a grounded Santana.
Santana gets back to his feet and chops his way out of the corner. Wentz turns him back into the corner and blasts him with some chops of his own, before tagging Miguel back in. Miguel hits a single leg drop kick to Santana for a two-count. The Rascalz take turns kicking Santana on his knees, but Santana fights his way free and tags Maclin back in.
Maclin hits a big Olympic slam on Wentz to shift the offensive momentum. He hits the ropes and runs over Miguel when he tries getting involved. He walks into a cutter on Wentz from the apron. Wentz hits a running shooting star for a nearfall, only getting a count of two for his efforts. Miguel goes after the eyes of Maclin on the apron while Wentz has the referee’s back turned.
Miguel decks Maclin with a big kick. He stands on his throat and taunts the crowd before tagging Wentz back in. Wentz dropkicks Maclin under the bottom rope and out to the floor. Wentz wraps Maclin’s arm around the steel ring post before Miguel takes over back inside the ring.
Miguel goes for a Meteora, but Maclin counters and tags Santana back in. Santana takes the hot tag and hits the ring like a man possessed, taking out any-and-everything that moves with chops and kicks. He hits a wild “two-for-one” DDT. He follows up with a rolling Buck-50. Maclin hits a big running knee for a nearfall that only gets him two.
Wentz leaps up to Maclin on the turnbuckle in the corner with a big knee. He tags out and The Rascalz hit a double-team senton spot for a razor-close nearfall attempt. The Rascalz hit a big double-team stomp off the ropes spot for another close pin attempt moments later. A loud “TNA! TNA!” chant breaks out. Maclin tags in Santana, who hits a big lariat and super kick.
He hits an enzugiri in the corner. Miguel has the spray paint, but Maclin drills him from behind. Santana hangs him upside down in the tree of woe in the corner for Maclin. Maclin and Santana hit Caught in the Cross-hairs. Santana follows up with Spin The Block for the pinfall victory to wrap up an excellent opener to set the tone for the evening. After the match, fans chant for Maclin and Santana to “Hug It Out!” They do.
“BROKEN” Matt Hardy With A Message For Moose
Backstage, “BROKEN” Matt Hardy vows to make The System obsolete after tonight and become a three-time TNA World Champion. He talks about the match with Moose being a Broken Rules match and says tonight will end in a twist of fate with him holding the TNA Championship of the world.
PCO defeated Rich Swann
After that wraps up, back inside the building the new TNA Digital Media Champion AJ Francis accompanies his fellow First Class member Rich Swann to the ring. He cuts a promo as they settle in the ring, claiming they are reporting live from the worst city in the United States — Chicago. He tells us to have no fear because he is our TNA Digital Media Champion.
He claims he wears a Bulls jersey despite hating Chicago because it’s a Scottie Pippen jersey and he’s the Scottie Pippen of this business. He says everyone talked about Michael Jordan, but Jordan didn’t win anything until Pippen showed up. The lights go out and “PCO!” chants spread as “The French Canadian Frankenstein” emerges after a cinematic Frankenstein entrance.
The bell sounds and PCO immediately goes to work on Swann, grounding the First Class member and isolating his leg. PCO hits some big shots and then comes off the ropes with a dropkick to the back of Swann’s head. AJ Francis grabs PCO’s foot from ringside, which allows Swann to take over. Swann knocks PCO out to the floor. He hits a 450 splash off the ring apron onto PCO on the floor.
Back in the ring, Swann chokes PCO on the middle rope and then ties up the referee so Francis can blast PCO with a cheap shot from the floor. Swann puts the boots to PCO and climbs up to the middle rope for another 450 splash. This time, however, PCO moves out of the way and starts to come back to life as fans chant his name. PCO plants Swann with a DDT.
With Swann on his stomach, PCO puts his boots on the middle rope to put his body in an incline. While laying like that, PCO hits a middle rope leg drop. He goes to follow-up, but again Francis gets involved at ringside. As PCO comes out after him, Francis knocks him off the apron. He rolls PCO back in to Swann, who heads to the top-rope. He takes too long though, and PCO crotches him in the corner.
He knocks Francis down and then hits a wild flipping dive through the ropes to take Francis out at ringside. PCO came awfully close to landing on top of his head on the way down. Back in the ring, PCO hits the top-rope PCO-sault for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Steph De Lander makes her way out and joins PCO in the ring. She pulls PCO’s love letter out of her shirt and talks about how he gave it to her a few weeks ago. She says everyone has been wanting to know what her answer is. Does she say, “No?” Does she say, “Yes?” Does she swipe left, or does she swipe right? De Lander tells PCO she made him wait long enough. Will she go on a date with PCO? Her answer is, “Oui!”
Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers (w/ Alisha Edwards) defeated Nic & Ryan Nemeth to retain TNA World Tag-Team Championship
The “tag lines” graphic is shown on the screen ahead of their ring walks. Ryan Nemeth and Brian Myers kick things off for their respective teams. Nemeth does well with Myers early on, and quickly tags in Nic Nemeth. Nemeth picks up where his brother left off, taking it to one-half of The System in the early going.
Edwards tags in and Nemeth works him over, until Alisha Edwards gets involved at ringside. This leads to Dirty Dango coming out from the back out of nowhere and Edwards being ejected from ringside and sent to the back.
When the dust settles, Myers goes to work on Nic Nemeth in the ring, starting a lengthy run of offensive control for the reigning and defending tag champs. Nic finally makes the much-needed tag to Ryan Nemeth, who hits the ring and starts to take over until Myers blasts him with a kick and tags in Edwards.
Myers hits a big spear on Nemeth and Edwards adds to their offensive lead as the legal man. Dirty Dango remained at ringside and is hanging out in the Nemeth corner on the floor. TNA World Champion Moose also makes his way out from the break and he remains at ringside as Nic Nemeth tags in and fires up on offense. He hits a Fame-Asser for a two-count.
Fans chant “F**k Your Mohawk!” at Edwards. Nemeth hits Danger Zone and this one appeared over. He went for the cover, but there was interference from ringside. Moose and Dirty Dango are shown looking around. As the referee deals with this, Dirty Dango shocks everyone and sneak-attacks Ryan Nemeth, leading to Edwards scoring the pinfall victory. Dango celebrates with The System afterwards.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Joe Hendry
Gia Miller talks with ABC backstage for a quick backstage interview to promote their match against Josh Alexander and Eric Young. We then see footage of Jordynne Grace’s ear being worked on by the doctor backstage before her TNA Knockouts Championship Open Challenge later this evening.
Back inside the ring, Frankie Kazarian is introduced for the next match. Joe Hendry comes out as fans sing along with the hit smash, “I Believe In Joe Hendry!” The commentators point out there is a giant Joe Hendry billboard in Scotland today. Hendry gets on the mic after “We Believe!” chants die down.
He says there was a tiny bit of speculation about if he would show up tonight. He says he chose to be in Chicago and in TNA. He mentions taking on a TNA legend tonight and asks if Kaz has ever told him he looks like Antonio Bandaras of pro wrestling. He says like him, he’s hanging on a little too long.
Hendry says Kazarian got to ask himself if he’s really the king of TNA or just the dad from Spy Kids. Fans chant “Dad from Spy Kids!” The bell sounds to start this one off, and Hendry immediately goes to work on the arm of Kazarian. Kazarian breaks free. Hendry goes for a suplex but Kazarian blocks it and chops him. Kaz then walks into a kick from Hendry, who again goes for a suplex.
This time Kazarian counters into a chicken wing attempt. Hendry escapes and slams Kazarian down to the mat as another “We Believe!” chant breaks out. Hendry hoists Kazarian up for a long delayed suplex. Kazarian fights back with a guillotine leg-drop and a clothesline. He enjoys a few minutes in the offensive lead. Hendry fights back and hits some of his trademark spots.
As Hendry goes to finish things off, Kaz reaches in his tights and loads his fist up. Hendry hoists him up for a back suplex over the ropes, but Kaz blasts him with the loaded fist to knock him unconscious. He falls on him for the cover and gets the three count in what came out of nowhere.
The commentators point out what happened on a replay after the match. Kazarian puts Hendry in a chicken wing to add insult to injury. Ace Steel runs out to restore order. Kazarian backs off but then shoves Steel when he turned around. Steel turned and decked Kazarian with a single punch to wrap up the post-match scene.
Mustafa Ali defeated Trent Seven to retain TNA X-Division Championship
The “Tale of the Tape” graphic for the X-Division Championship contest flashes on the screen, and then Trent Seven makes his way out for his big title opportunity. The reigning and defending TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali is out next, as commentators remind us that Campaign Singh and “Speedball” Mike Bailey are banned from ringside for this match.
Before the match begins, Trent Seven informs Mustafa Ali, who got a huge hometown pop from the Chicago crowd, that things were still rolling when he and Tom Hannifan’s interview ended on Impact. The footage is shown, which shows Ali showing his true colors and that he has been disingenuous all along as expected.
When we return live, fans chant “What’d He Say? What’d He Say?” as the audio wasn’t super hot. Trent gets a fast start on Ali and tries pulling off the title upset victory within seconds, but Ali avoids being put away. The fight spills out to the floor. Ali tries scolding the commentators for the footage we just saw, but Trent blasts him with a big shot and then machine gun rapid-fire chops against the barricade.
Back in the ring, Ali shifts the offensive momentum back in his favor. Fans break out in a “We Still Love You! We Still Love You!” chant as he adds to his lead over the Speedball Mountain challenger. Ali leaps at Seven in the corner with a knee, but is caught and power-bombed into the mat for his troubles. Ali fights back with a neck-breaker that helps him take back over control of the action.
Seven fights back and hits a Bop-N-Bang in the corner. Ali fights back with a wild DDT to the knee of Seven off the middle rope. Ali hits a low blow behind the referee’s back and follows up with the Seven Star Lariat. He can’t get the three-count, however, and Seven starts to fight back into the lead. He hits a huge scoop-slam off the top-rope for a close nearfall attempt.
Fans break out in a loud “This Is Awesome!” chant, which transitions into a passionate “TNA! TNA!” chant. Seven goes for the Birming-Hammer, but Ali blatantly goes to the eyes of Seven to avoid it. Ali attacks the left leg of Seven once again. Ali climbs to the middle rope, but Seven stops him from the apron. Seven climbs up after him.
Seven shoulder-smashes Ali off the ropes and he crashes down below on the hard part of the ring apron before landing on the floor at ringside. Fans chant “Holy sh*t! Holy sh*t!” The referee gets to the count of nine. Seven rolls into the ring to avoid being counted out, but as soon as he does, Ali connects with a 450 Splash for a pin attempt. Seven kicks out. Fans chant “That Was Three! That Was Three!”
Ali heads out to the floor angrily looking for something. He gets his X-Division Championship belt and takes it into the ring. He goes to blast Seven with it, but the referee stops him and takes it. As the ref is getting rid of the belt, Seven blasts Ali with a blatant low blow behind his back. He follows up with the Birming-Hammer for a close nearfall, but somehow Ali kicks out to keep this one going.
Seven hits Ali with a loud back chop. He sits him on the top turnbuckle and blasts him with another one before climbing up after him. He hoists Ali onto his shoulders for a Super Birming-Hammer, but Ali goes to the eyes of Seven once again to escape. He knocks Seven down to the mat and flies off the top-rope with a 450 Splash to the legs. He follows up by putting Seven in a Sharpshooter and cranking back on the weakened leg for the quick tap out victory.
Frankie Kazarian Gets Chicago Street Fight For Thursday’s Impact
Backstage, we see a livid Frankie Kazarian complaining about Ace Steel. Santino Marella walks up and tells him to take it easy. Santino asks if he wants to get his hands on him. Kazarian says he wrestled in the 1970s, but he’s probably dirty. Santino ends up making a Chicago Street Fight between Frankie Kazarian vs. Ace Steel for Thursday’s post-Against All Odds episode of TNA iMPACT On AXS TV.
ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated Josh Alexander & Eric Young
Tag-team action is up next. The ABC duo of Ace Austin and Chris Bey make their way to the ring. Out next is the first of their two opponents, Eric Young. “The World Class Maniac” heads to the ring with his mask on and hood up. His partner, “The Walking Weapon” Josh Alexander, joins him in the ring and the bell sounds to start things off.
Kicking things off for their respective teams are Young and Bey. Young, in his Team Canada style singlet, takes the early offensive lead over Bey. He stops to do the Too Sweet hand gesture, which Bey obliges by doing it as well. Young and Bey both tag out and Alexander takes it to Austin. Austin tags out and Bey takes a shot at “The Walking Weapon.” Bey hits a nice hurricanrana and follows up with another big shot.
Alexander tags out. Young comes in and immediately finds himself on the defensive. Bey tags in Austin. The two hit some double team spots and then Bey tags back in again to work over Young. Fans rally behind Young with “Super Eric” chants. He fights back and finally makes the much needed tag to Alexander. Alexander hits a big release German Suplex on Bey.
Young tags back in and the two hit a double team spot off the ropes for a two count. A grab down low on Bey gets a huge pop and subsequent “Holy Sht! Holy Sht!” chant from the Chicago crowd. Austin tags in and hits Click Click Boom. He fights off both Alexander and Young by himself for a few moments. Alexander goes for a cross-body under the ropes onto Austin on the floor, but Austin had it well-scouted and avoided it.
Alexander locks Austin in an ankle lock from the floor. Bey hits a dive to break that up. Young follows that up with a final leaping splash over the ropes onto the pile of bodies on the floor. Alexander and Austin are left alone as the legal two men in the ring. Alexander heads to the top-rope as fans chant “Please Be Careful!” Austin ends up locking him in an ankle lock. Alexander escapes. Austin tags in Bey.
He hits a back suplex as Bey hits a top-rope splash for a cool double team spot. Alexander ends up with Austin on his back. Austin slaps on a sleeper hold. Alexander fights that off while picking up Bey. He hits a suplex with Austin still on his back choking him. Young tags back in. He looks for a pile driver on Austin, but lets it go when he sees Bey on the ropes.
He ends up getting Austin and Bey over his shoulders at the same time. They both escape and hit stereo kicks on the TNA legend for a close two-count. Young and Austin run into a camera man in the corner and the feed goes out for a second or two, as color bars flash on the screen. Alexander hits a wild back-breaker on Bey for a close two-count. He tags in Young.
They hit a rolling senton and top-rope elbow drop double-team spot for a close pin attempt, which Austin breaks up just in time. Alexander goes for the C4 Spike. Young accidentally takes out Alexander going for a move, and Bey capitalizes by finishing him off for the pinfall victory. Really, really good match from these four.
TNA Emergence, TNA Victory Road Dates & Ticket On-Sale Information
TNA Emergence is announced for Friday, August 30 in Louisville, KY. TNA Victory Road is on Friday, September 13 in Cleveland, OH. Tickets for both shows go on-sale on Monday at TNAWrestling.com.
Jordynne Grace defeated Tatum Paxley in an Open Challenge to retain TNA Knockouts Championship
The stage is set for our next match of the evening, which is one of the co-featured bouts. The TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, who has been the talk of the wrestling town the past couple of weeks, heads to the ring for her advertised Open Challenge.
The commentators remind us she was getting stitches in her ear earlier tonight after her hard-fought battle at NXT Battleground 2024 against NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez. Answering Grace’s open challenge, after a slight delay, is none other than WWE NXT Superstar Tatum Paxley.
As Paxley settles inside the squared circle as the mystery open challenge opponent for TNA Knockouts Champion Grace, the commentators remind us that she tried to steal the TNA Knockouts Championship at NXT Battleground 2024, before ending up in a pull-apart with Ash By Elegance.
Now the Personal Concierge of Ash by Elegance, George Iceman, comes out to interrupt the two before the match begins. He talks about the injustice she faced by Paxley. He says they won’t file a lawsuit. He then does his long drawn out introduction for Ash By Elegance, who comes out to get a close look at this match.
She takes a seat at the top of the entrance ramp and then the bell sounds to get things started between Grace and Paxley. The two lock-up and Grace muscles the NXT Superstar into the corner, where she gives her a clean break. The two lock-up again and once again the stronger champion muscles the challenger into the corner, giving her a clean break.
Grace continues to dominate the action, hitting some of her trademark spots. She goes for a Juggernaut Driver, but Paxley avoids it. Paxley hits her signature move off the ropes and then slaps a choke/headlock on Grace, which she focuses on the bad stitched up ear of the TNA Knockouts Champion.
Grace hits a Juggernaut Jackhammer for a close nearfall attempt. Ash By Elegance is shown watching on from the top of the stage as a loud “This is Wrestling!” chant spreads throughout Cicero Stadium. Paxley goes for a back-slide pin attempt, but Grace hits a back-fist to avoid it. Grace hits a Death Valley Driver and rolls through into a Juggernaut Driver for the pinfall victory.
After the match, Ash By Elegance runs down to the ring with her fist loaded with a foreign object. She goes to hit her with it, but Grace avoids it. She points out the bejeweled knuckles after taking Ash out. On the floor, she dumps her own champagne all over as she kicks and screams. The TNA Knockouts Champion heads to the back to wrap up the post-match scene.
Moose defeated “BROKEN” Matt Hardy in a Broken Rules match to retain TNA World Championship
After the TNA Knockouts Championship contest wrapped up, the pre-match video package for the main event aired to set the stage for the TNA World Championship contest, which will be under “Broken Rules.” No countouts, no disqualifications. “BROKEN” Matt Hardy emerges to a big pop and chants of “DELETE! DELETE!”
The reigning, defending TNA World Champion Moose is out next as fans in Chi-Town chant his name while he makes his way to the ring accompanied by The System members Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers and Alisha Edwards. The bell gets this one started and the two lead fans in dueling “Delete! Delete!” and “Moose! Moose!” chants.
Hardy and Moose start to mix it up, and we see Hardy start off strong. Moose fights back and takes over, but Hardy comes to life again out of nowhere and brings the fight out to the floor. Hardy connects with a Twist of Fate on Moose on the floor. Moose is completely out. Hardy takes a while to get the big man up and back into the ring. As soon as he does, however, Moose rolls right back out to the floor.
Hardy follows out after him, but Moose grabs a trash can lid and blasts him with it hard. He repeats this a few times and then Alisha Edwards is shown throwing chairs in the ring. Moose, meanwhile, slams Hardy on a trash can on the floor. Moose grabs a steel chair and wears it out over the back of a grounded Hardy at ringside.
Moose drags a steel ladder from under the ring. He heads over to the other side of the ring and reaches under, where he pulls out another chair. He heads over and blasts Hardy across the spine with it twice, just as Hardy was finally starting to get back to his feet. Moose then heads back to prop the ladder up on the ring apron. He unfolds a steel chair and lays the other side of the ladder on it.
Back in the ring, which is filled with dozens of chairs at this point, Moose goes to pick up a lifeless Hardy near the ladder bridge he just set up. Hardy blasts Moose with a low blow and then grabs one of the steel chairs and begins going to town on the TNA World Champion with it. Out on the floor again, the two fight through the crowd before returning inside the squared circle.
Once in the ring again, Hardy settles into a comfortable offensive lead. He has the TNA World Champion laid out and he climbs to the top-rope. Hardy leaps off and connects with a flying elbow smash for a close two-count. Moose starts to fight back and take over. He heads out to the floor, where he pulls a table out from under the ring. Moose puts the table in the ring and heads back in himself as well.
Moose leans the table long-ways against the turnbuckles in the corner. Alisha Edwards hands Moose another steel chair. Moose adds it to a massive pile of chairs. He brings Hardy up to the top-rope in front of the pile of chairs. He hits a super-plex with Hardy landing on the giant chair pile as fans break out in a loud “TNA! TNA!” chant. Moose goes for the cover, but Hardy will not die, as he kicks out at two.
Hardy recovers and takes back over on offense. He gets Moose off the top-rope and power-bombs him onto the giant pile of chairs for a close nearfall attempt of his own. Hardy heads out to the floor and pulls out a cardboard box from under the ring. Fans chant “What’s In The Box?!” Hardy puts it in the ring and begins to open it, when Moose blasts him in the back of the dome with a trash can lid.
Now the TNA World Champion heads over to the box and opens it himself. He smiles when he sees what it is. It’s his old football helmet. He puts it on, but sees Hardy recovering. He charges at him, but Hardy back-body-drops him onto the ladder bridge that Moose set up across the ring apron and an unfolded chair earlier in the match. Fans chant “Holy sh*t! Holy sh*t!” upon the crash-landing of the champ.
Hardy heads out to the floor and sets up a ladder before pulling out another table from under the ring. He then grabs a second ladder and sets it up on the other side of the table. Hardy climbs up to the top of the ladder and leaps off, putting Moose through the table down below with a flying leg-drop. After another “Holy sh*t!” chant dies down, Hardy rolls Moose back into the ring. Hardy is busted open and yells out, “I like the taste of my own blood!”
Fans respond with a “You sick f**k!” chant. Hardy unfolds a steel chair in the middle of the ring. He picks Moose up and hits a Twist of Fate onto it. He goes for the cover, but Alisha Edwards comes in with a kendo stick and blasts Hardy over and over again. Rebecca Hardy comes out to a big reaction from the crowd. She tackles Edwards and the two cat-fight in the ring. Edwards hits her with a kendo stick, but Rebecca fights back and hits a Twist of Fate.
Hardy recovers and gets back to his feet. He waits for Moose, who is in front of the table set up long ways in the corner, to get up. When he does, he charges at him and goes for a spear. Moose moves and Hardy spears his wife through the table. Moose follows up with a spear to Hardy and covers him for the pinfall victory to retain. The System re-join Moose in the ring to celebrate his victory.
Jeff Hardy Returns To TNA
They all hold their titles up high in the air. They aren’t satisfied with that, however, as they begin a post-match attack of Hardy and his wife, which includes them putting the boots to Hardy’s wife. Hardy covers her body with his own, ala Dusty Rhodes saving a young Dustin Rhodes from Ted DiBiase and Virgil. The theme for Joe Hendry hits for a big pop. He runs out to make the save, but gets guzzled up by The System almost immediately as well.
Out of nowhere, to the iconic sounds of his old WWE theme song, is none other than Jeff Hardy. “The Charismatic Enigma” comes out with some big specially designed steel chair, which he blasts over one of The System members before following up with Twists of Fate on anything that moves. He heads to the top-rope and hits a Swanton Bomb on Moose as the crowd in Chicago goes wild.
His legendary theme plays again as he and Matt Hardy embrace. Joe Hendry, Nic and Ryan Nemeth all join Matt, Jeff and Reby Hardy in the ring to pose as fans chant “TNA! TNA!” Matt Hardy leads everyone in a “DELETE! DELETE!” chant and then the credits roll to wrap up this year’s TNA Against All Odds pay-per-view. Thanks for joining us and follow me on Twitter/X.
“Broken” Matt Hardy has been a thorn in The System’s side since he returned to TNA and now, the faction led by TNA World Champion Moose will invade the infamous Hardy Compound on tonight’s TNA Impact.
Hardy invited Moose, Eddie Edwards and Bryan Myers after attack The System executed on Nic & Ryan Nemeth and Joe Hendry.
The Nemeth brothers will be in tag team action against former TNA Tag Team Champions ABC.
After The Rascalz attacked both he and Steve Maclin last week during their match, Mike Santana will take on the team’s Zachary Wentz one-on-one.
Following her surprise appearance at last Sunday’s NXT Battleground during Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace’s challenge of Roxanne Perez, Ash by Elegance will be in action against an opponent to be named.
In what could set up a future Knockouts Tag Team title match, current titleholder Masha Slamovich will take on Marti Belle of The Hex.
In another women’s bout, Dani Luna will battle former Knockouts Champion Tasha Steelz.
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The go-home show for TNA Against All Odds kicked off with a video recap of the top moments from last week’s show. This included Frankie Kazarian vs. Nic Nemeth in the main event, which Nemeth won, as welll as the post-match attack from The System. Also shown is the message from “Broken” Matt Hardy that ended the 20th anniversary show last Thursday.
Mike Santana def. Zachary Wentz
The commentators speak of it being a wild week in wrestling, one they vow will end in “wonderful” fashion. With that said, the theme for The Rascalz hit to bring out Zachary Wentz. Wentz headed to the ring accompanied by Trey Miguel for the opening contest.
Mike Santana’s theme hit next, and the crowd popped as he made his way to the ring. As soon as he reached the ringside area, he slid into the ring and immediately went to work on Wentz. The bell rung and the match got off to a hot start. Wentz tried to go to the eyes of Santana, but Santana beat him down and sent him to the floor.
Trey Miguel tried to interfere, leading to Santana chasing him around the ringside area. The loss in focus allows Wentz to hit a top-rope moonsault to Santana on the floor. Back in the ring, Wentz connected with a running Shooting Star for a two-count.
After a few minutes, the crowd rallied Santana into an offensive comeback, which Wentz ultimately cut short before taking over control of the action. Miguel gets in some helpful assists, choking Santana on the ropes from the floor. Santana fights back and stops a shot attempted by Wentz. He told him, “Not tonight, sucka!” before delivering a death valley driver of his own.
The two trade shots in vicious fashion back-and-forth. Wentz hits a headlock DDT (BFT). Steve Maclin hit the ring to stop Trey Miguel from getting involved again. Santana hits Spin The Block for the win out of nowhere seconds later. Santana and Maclin have a stare down afterwards.
Mustafa Ali Interview
A sit-down interview with Mustafa Ali is shown. Ali talks about the forefathers of the X-Division and his path to excellence. He claims to be all about fairness and equal opportunity. He talks about the diverse roster that’s propelling the business forward and inspiring the next generation.
Ali is pressed about some rule-breaking tactics he has used in matches, but stammers through the topic and focuses on some technicalities about his win/loss record. He talks over an attempted question about losing in tag-team action last week.
When some tough questions about “Speedball” Mike Bailey and Trent Seven come up, Ali doesn’t want to answer. His people interject and inform the interviewer that he has surpassed his allotted interview time. After this, the show went into a commercial break.
The System Talk The Hardy Compound
We see The System backstage when we return. Moose is warned by Eddie Edwards about bad things happening at The Hardy Compound. Moose is overly confident. Masha Slamovich approaches Alisha Edwards, who doesn’t want to talk right now. The Hex have words with Slamovich to end the segment.
Marti Belle def. Masha Slamovich
Back inside the Impact Zone, Masha Slamovich’s theme hits to bring her out for the next match of the evening. Her opponent, Marti Belle from The Hex, comes out accompanied by Allysin Kay and then the bell sounded to start this one off.
The two yell off-mic back-and-forth to start things off. They push each other and then a side head lock brings things down to the mat, where Slamovich ends up controlling things. Belle brings it back standing and switches behind one-half of the Knockouts Tag-Team Champions, taking her arm and locking it up.
Kay gets involved at ringside again, choking Slamovich over the ring ropes. Moments later, we see her try and get involved in a pin attempt, but the referee catches it. Seconds later, Belle rolls Slamovich up again, and Kay leans on her for help from ringside and the referee doesn’t see it.
Backstage With Steph De Lander, PCO
Backstage, Steph De Lander says she’s gonna give PCO her response at Against All Odds. First Class walk by loudly and leave. As they do, PCO is shown in the background. We head to another commercial break on that note.
PCO Attacks First Class
When we return from the break, Gia Miller is standing on the entrance ramp. She introduces the First Class duo of AJ Francis and Rich Swann. AJ is asked about defeating Laredo Kid last week to become the new TNA Digital Media Champion. She brings up Swann’s involvement and asks if that taints his victory.
Miller brings up a rose Francis is also holding in his hand. He claims it’s from a fellow admirer backstage. The lights go out. When they come back on, PCO is standing behind First Class. He decks Francis. Swann tried to attack from behind, but PCO no-sold it and decked him as well.
Security rushes out to keep things from escalating. PCO picks up the rose Francis dropped, which the commentators point out was obviously for De Lander. They remind us that De Lander will give PCO her answer at Against All Odds.
Dani Luna def. Tasha Steelz
An Against All Odds promo airs and then we return inside the Impact Zone, where Tasha Steelz makes her way out for the next match of the evening. Three weeks ago she beat Jody Threat, which the commentators remind us about.
After Steelz settled inside the squared circle, the Spitfire entrance tune played. Dani Luna comes out with Jody Threat and the Rancid dude. Luna goes one-on-one with Steelz, and the bell sounds to get it underway.
Luna takes the early offensive lead, hitting a falcon arrow for a close two-count. Steelz takes over from there for several minutes. The commentators, meanwhile, spend the majority of the match focusing on why Lars Frederiksen is relevant on any level.
He knows how to work with a group to succeed on the road is the basic gist. We head to a mid-match commercial break with Steelz in control of the action. Back from the break, Steelz is shown still very much dominating the offense.
Luna hits a big clothesline to shift the offensive momentum in her favor. A drop kick that lands right on the money only helps her momentum grow. She hit a big power bomb for a close two-count. She goes for the Luna Landing, but Steelz rakes the eyes to escape.
Steelz blasts Luna with a big kick. She follows up with a high spot out of the corner for a close near falll attempt. Steelz wraps both of Luna’s arms up in a submission attempt. Luna gets her foot on the bottom rope to escape.
Luna connects with a ricochet blue thunder bomb for a close two-count. She goes for the Luna Landing, but again doesn’t get it. Steelz avoids a cutter by Luna, who counters with a third Luna Landing attempt. This time she gets it for the win.
Joe Hendry Enlists Ace Steel, Will Face Kazarian At Against All Odds
Gia Miller is backstage with Joe Hendry. She brings up the momentum he is riding lately and asks if The System ended it last week. Hendry says all last week taught him is that maybe he still has a thing or two to learn. He says he’s acquired the services of Ace Steel.
In he comes touting the skills of Hendry. Frankie Kazarian enters the picture and takes exception to Steel thinking he has what it takes to teach Hendry how to be a top guy. He says kings aren’t taught, they’re born.
Steel says in his hometown of Chicago, Hendry will take on Kazarian. Kaz agrees but says ‘if you’re gonna hit the king, you better kill the king.’ Joe Hendry vs. Frankie Kazarian is now official for TNA Against All Odds.
The System At The Hardy Compound
We move into the inside of a vehicle, where we see members of The System presumably heading to The Hardy Compound. They talk about how they were invited there as we head into a commercial break before anything happens.
When the show returns, The System are shown out of the car at The Hardy Compound. They see some big artwork and claim they know who did it. They start to say Jeff Hardy’s name but after “Je..” they are cut-off and told “Don’t say it.”
“Broken” Matt Hardy appears on a balcony and introduces Queen Rebecca, the Gothic Baby and others from The Hardy Compound. Moose says he doesn’t give a damn about any of those people. He says he’s glad they’re here because he’s gonna kick his ass in front of them.
Hardy warns Moose not to take another step, because he’s gonna set off a trap-a-booby. This happens, which results in fireworks and the most annoyingly loud ringing sound that increases in loudness as The System are shown covering while fireworks erupt around them.
Brian Myers ends up in a weird room that looks like a rave room for a party of tweakers. He finds an action figure and looks around like he’s on an acid trip as the camera quick cuts to different Starcade neon logos, pinball machines and other junk. He finds another action figure and says, “That’s an upgrade.”
Some weird music, PeroxWhy?Gen, perhaps, plays, as Myers continues to survey the room. A little kid does Hardy’s bizarre war cry, which Hardy echos. Myers is seemingly transported to another location. We hear someone saying he’ll always be Edge’s bitch. Other announcements from Josh Matthews and others throughout his career, including his long losing streak, are overheard.
He is laid out by a plastic skeleton. Hardy’s kids jumps off the ladder with a leg drop on him. Back out to the woods we go, where Eddie Edwards is asking if anyone is out there. A kid approaches him and calls himself Wolfgang. He tells him someone is behind him. He ends up turning into a wolf like Teen Wolf and howling at the moon as the kid yells “Yes! Yes!” and howls as well.
Now we catch up with Alisha Edwards, who walks around a staircase looking at pictures, statues and other crap as intense piano music plays. She makes it to Reby Sky, who is playing the piano with her kid next to her. Alisha calls her home a house of horrors. She thanks her. She tells her to move her stupid kid, or she will. She tells her she’s welcome to try. The kid casts a spell on her and things explode. No, honestly.
Moose is now shown being brave in the woods, demanding “Broken” Matt Hardy show his face. A little kid yanks on his pants from behind. Moose asks the kid if he’s stupid enough to put his hands on him. He tells him if he wants to see his dad, follow him. He does. Moose yells, “Senior Benjamin, where are you?!”
We shoot inside a personal home theater where “Broken” Matt Hardy is shown on a screen talking about Senior Benjamin. Moose walks into another broken down house. He says it is Matt Hardy’s childhood home. He sees art work and says Matt Hardy is one weird dude. Hardy appears behind him and says “Yes!” before slamming him into the wall and knocking him out.
Hardy puts Moose in a wheelchair and runs him like a psycho. We catch back up with Reby Sky, who has Alisha in a guillotine. She cuts the cord and a giant blade — chops her head off? We don’t see, but are led to believe this. Moose is wheeled into a lake of reincarnation. Hardy says it’s June so the water is wonderful. Moose emerges in a football outfit as NFL on NBC music plays. Moose asks Hardy what he has done to him. Hardy says he has reincarnated him to his best version ever. No. 69. He wants him at his best at Against All Odds when he beats him for the title.
Moose says he’s delusional and won’t make it to Against All Odds. He goes to tackle him but a Drone appears. Hardy thanks the drone and then we see The System re-appear in their normal gear at The Hardy Compound entrance gate. They ask each other if what just happened was real. Moose shouts that Matt Hardy is dead tomorrow. Mercifully, we head to another commercial break to end this.
Ash By Elegance def. Jada Stone
Jada Stone is shown making her ring entrance, in progress, when we return. The commentators remind us she was recently in action on TNA Xplosion. We hear the personal ring announcer / concierge for Ash By Elegance. He talks briefly to Stone before demanding she and the referee get out of the ring.
He calls it sacred ground that is about to be graced by beauty personified. He welcomes the gorgeous, stunning and absolutely beautiful Ash By Elegance. Out she comes, fresh off of her appearance NXT Battleground 2024. The commentators talk about that as she heads to the ring.
Rosemary is shown leering in the rafters with a spotlight lit under her as the camera focuses on her, just as Ash and Jada lock-up to start their match off. Ash takes the early lead, throwing Jada in the corner. She does some acrobatic movements and taunts her as we cut back to Rosemary in the rafters.
The action briefly makes it out to the floor, before returning inside the squared circle, where Ash By Elegance remains in control of things throughout. Stone hits a big kick in the corner that decks Ash. She goes for a moonsault, but Ash got the double knees up. She turns Stone inside-out with a clothesline before heading to the top-rope herself. She hits Rarified Air for the pin fall victory.
Jonathan Gresham Addresses Sami Callihan
Jonathan Gresham is shown in a vignette that starts off eerily similar to some of The Hardy Compound fun we just watched. He very briefly sends a “thumbs up / thumbs down” message to Sami Callihan ahead of TNA Against All Odds. We head to another commercial break afterwards.
Jordynne Grace Issues Open Challenge For Against All Odds
Jordynne Grace is shown talking into the camera. She says she is disappointed about losing at NXT Battleground. She says she should have anticipated some interference by Ash By Elegance or others. She says she still made history and she’s still the TNA Knockouts Champion.
She issues an open challenge to anyone in WWE, MLW, AAA, STARDOM or the independent scene. Anyone who thinks they can beat her for the TNA Knockouts Championship, come try and take it. She makes it clear regardless of who it is, nothing can stop ‘The Juggernaut.’
The Nemeth Brothers def. ABC
The commentators run down the lineup for the TNA Against All Odds 2024 pay-per-view at Cicero Stadium in Chicago, Ill. on June 14. We then return inside the Impact Zone, where the ABC theme hits. Out comes Chris Bey and Ace Austin for our advertised tag-team main event.
After they settle in the ring, the lights go down and Nic Nemeth’s theme plays. Out he comes accompanied by “The Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth. The Nemeth Brothers head to the ring for their first-ever tag-team match. We head to a pre-match commercial.
Ryan Nemeth and Chris Bey kick things off for their respective teams, as the bell sounds to start this one off when the show returns from break. Nemeth slaps a side head lock on Bey and takes the early control. Bey escapes and shoulder blocks him down. He hits a deep arm drag and gloats. Bey calls out “The Show Off.”
Ryan plays to the crowd a bit and ultimately makes the tag. Nic Nemeth comes in and the crowd energy picks up. They get ready to lock up, but Nic drops down for a double leg dive. He gets Bey down and covers him for a quick two-count. Bey fights back and gets the better of Nemeth, so he stops and does the hip-swivel to taunt him.
Ace Austin tags in and picks up where Bey left off, taking it to Nic. The ABC duo settle into a comfortable offensive lead for a few minutes, as Austin grounds Nemeth and starts to focus on his isolated arm. The crowd tries to rally behind Nic, who shows signs of life and begins fighting back.
Austin cuts his comeback attempt short and brings Bey back in. Bey adds to their offensive lead and does some more arrogant taunting of Nic, Ryan and the crowd as we shift gears and head into the final commercial break of the show.
After the show returns from break, Nic is shown being kept isolated on ABC’s half of the ring. Bey continues to go to work on him until missing a big splash in the corner. Ryan takes the hot tag from there and hit the ring with a ton of energy.
The crowd comes alive as Ryan helps establish the offensive lead before tagging Nic back in. Nic gets the Fame-Asser but not all of it. He goes for the follow-up pin attempt, but Bey kicks out at two to keep this one alive. Ryan tags back in and along with Nic, hits some impressive double-team spots on Bey.
The commentators talk about them showing good team work their first time out. Bey and Ryan come off the ropes with shots that land at the same time. They’re both laid out and slow to get to their corners. They do, however, and each make the tag.
It is Ace Austin who takes the offensive lead when the smoke clears after the double tag. Austin blasts Nic with a huge kick that knocks him silly. He falls right on top of him for the cover, but somehow Nic kicks out. All four end up in the ring at the same time. Bey takes out Ryan and joins Ace with a double-team spot on Nic.
A kick-brainbuster combo leads to another pin attempt for the ABC duo, which Ryan breaks up just in time. Ryan tags in and hits a big DDT to Austin. Nic, meanwhile, drops Bey with a well-timed super kick. Fans chant “TNA! TNA!” as all four guys are down and recovering. Bey sends Ryan over the ropes and out to the floor. He leaps over for a splash at ringside.
Nic rolls Austin up, but Austin kicks out. Austin blocks a super kick attempt and takes over with a face-stomp for a close two-count of his own. Bey and Austin go for the 1-2-Sweet, but Ryan holds Ace’s foot from ringside. Ryan helps Nic hit Danger Zone for the pin fall victory.
The Nemeth Brothers head into their title shot at Against All Odds off a victory. Ryan and Nic pose on the ropes in the corner as the commentators plug TNA Against All Odds on Friday, June 14. That’s how this week’s show went off the air. Thanks for joining us and follow me on Twitter/X.
On a new Big Vinny Show, I recap last Saturday’s TNA Rebellion which featured Nic Nemeth challenging Moose for the TNA World title, plus title defenses by TNA Tag Team Champions Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers, Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace, and X-Division champion Mustafa Ali.
The big news, however, was the return of a trio of TNA legends: four-time tag team champion Mike Santana, former World champion Sami Callihan, and perhaps the most successful gimmick in TNA’s history: “Broken” Matt Hardy.
I discuss those returns, the credentials of some other guest stars, and why 2024 is such a great time to be a wrestling fan.
Matt Hardy has returned to TNA Wrestling, making a big impact after Saturday’s Rebellion pay-per-view main event.
After Moose was celebrating his successful World title defense over Nic Nemeth, the “lights out” video montage that first aired this week teasing a surprise once again aired and then the lights went out. Hardy then appeared in his “Broken” character, kicked Moose in the gut, and hit his Twist of Fate before holding the TNA World title in celebration.
The 49-year-old’s AEW contract recently expired, making him a free agent. He has spoken frequently about the process and there had been rumors of a potential WWE return.
As of now, TNA has yet to announce any formal signing.
He was last part of TNA Wrestling for nearly four years from 2014-2017. During that time, he held the World title twice and the Tag Team titles twice with brother Jeff Hardy who is currently under AEW contract.
It was the third surprise return of the night as former TNA World Champion Sami Callihan returned during the Knockouts title match and former TNA Tag Team Champion Mike Santana made his own return after nearly five years awa.
Nic Nemeth will look to add another title to his waist as he challenges Moose for the TNA World Championship in the main event of tonight’s Rebellion pay-per-view from Las Vegas.
In a Knockouts title match, Jordynne Grace will defend against Steph De Lander.
TNA Tag Team Champions The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) defend against Speedball Mountain (Trent Seven & Mike Bailey) while X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali defends against Jake Something.
In their trilogy bout, Hammerstone will take on Josh Alexander in a Last Man Standing match while veterans Eric Young and Frankie Kazarian attempt to settle their differences in a Full Metal Mayhem match.
The promotion is also teasing a “lights out” surprise at some point during the show in addition to former Digital Media Champion Joe Hendry against former World Champion Rich Swann.
The countdown show will see three bouts including a Knockouts Tag Team title defense, a Digital Media title defense, and a trios match.
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Leon Slater & ABC defeated The Rascalz
Trey and Slater started fast, Ace tagged in and pretty much immediately got taken down and double teamed by Trey and Wentz. Reed did a really nice Guillotine Legdrop to Ace when he was splayed on the middle rope. Slater tagged in and looked good until he got cut off and triple teamed with a series of fantastic moves. Slater made the hot tag to Bey and the expected 6-way broke out. ABC used the move formerly known as Chasing The Dragon on Reed for a 2 count and Reed hit a running flip dive over the post to ABC. Slater, not wanting to be shown up, did the exact same thing, which was much more spectacular, to all 3 Rascalz outside the ring. Reed ran across the ring, leaped over the top rope and gave Slater, who was on the apron, a Cutter to ABC, who were both on the floor. After more spectacular moves than I could keep track of, Slater pinned Reed with a 450 Splash. A really good and definitely fun match to kick the show off.
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-Gia Miller interviewed AJ Francis and Rich Swann aka First Class about Swann’s match with Joe Hendry. Francis introduced the Man Boy Mafia, which included Shauniee Stylez, Tyrone, Block Boy JB and a woman whose name I didn’t get. Swann said they are about that flash and will kick Joe Hendry’s ass, with the closing line if you’re not First Class, you’re last.
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Laredo Kid pinned Crazzy Steve to win the Digital Media Championship
Another fast paced match to start the pre-show. The late-arriving crowd chanted for Steve until he began going for Laredo’s mask. After dropping to the floor when he was doing a headscissors hanging over the top floor, Steve was the victim of a nice Asai Moonsault. Back in the ring, Steve went for a cannonball in the corner, but Kid, who was hanging upside down, did a sit-up to avoid it. Steve did a superplex where he landed high, so he stayed down to sell his head and neck for a minute. Steve went to the top rope, Laredo followed him up and Steve went for the mask again, so Laredo bit him, hit the Spanish Fly (called the Laredo Fly) for the pin and the championship. Not a bad match at all, I always underestimate Crazzy Steve, possibly due to the wacky gimmick.
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-Gia Miller interviewed Steph De Lander about her match with Jordynne Grace. They mention Matt Cardona’s injury, saying he won’t be here tonight. De Lander said she will walk out tonight with the title. She doesn’t like or trust Jordynne, so she hired some help…The Good Hands. Hotch and Skylar said they’re still pulling for Mustafa Ali tonight, but they are here to support De Lander.
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Knockouts Tag Team Champions Spitfire w/Lars Frederiksen defeated Decay
Yes, this is the actual Lars Frederiksen of Rancid and not a random person using the name.
I love me some Rosemary and the crowd was with me, as they chanted for the Demon Assassin. Lars tried to get Rosemary to give up on the same hanging head scissors Crazzy Steve used and Rosemary backed him down before continuing the match. Threat and Luna worked over Rosemary for a few minutes until she tagged out to Havoc. Havoc dared Luna to run off the ropes and collide, but Luna was briefly smarter than that, as she grabbed a headlock. When that didn’t work, she tried running off the ropes, but ran right into a headbutt that was heard in Reno. Luna did a great job chopping down Havoc and eventually made the hot tag to Threat. Threat ran wild and while the crowd was chanting for Rosemary earlier, they popped big for Threat’s offense. Both Luna and Threat did Suicide Dives to Havoc, who was saved by the guardrail from going down and then Threat did a senton from the top rope to the floor. Threat went for another dive onto Rosemary, but she got cut off by Havoc, however the champs turned the table, carried Havoc from the middle rope across the ring and dropped her with a double powerbomb. Finally Luna pinned Rosemary after some kind of double team drop. The match was better than expected. Hopefully they can make their double team finish a little crisper because this was a little convoluted.
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-After the match, Masha Slammovich came out with her chain and was joined by Alisha Edwards and her kendo stick. Spitfire challenged them to get in the ring, but Masha and Alisha were happy to stand on the ramp and challenge.
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-Some of Mustafa Ali’s followers came out and said the match between Ali and Jake Something won’t be happening. The guy who had the microphone tripped over his feet getting into the ring and said Something doesn’t meet the qualifications for the X-Division. They sat in the ring for a protest. Cody Deaner stormed out to do what the three referees who came to the ring refused to do and that’s to get these guys out of the ring. Deaner said this was the people’s choice whether or not the match happened. Deaner asked the fans if he should let the guys sit in the ring and hold up the show or force them out of the ring so we can start the show. Shockingly they sided with violence. Deaner kicked one and gave the other a DDT into the crotch of the other one.
Onto the main show! They’re calling this a late-arriving crowd, but there are a lot of empty seats right on camera.
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-DJ Ashba played the national anthem on his electric guitar.
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X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali pinned Jake Something
Something is following in the steps of X-Division pioneers like Samoa Joe and Kevin Nash by being a heavyweight doing battle in the X-Division. Ali arrived at the arena in a private car and got a “Goldberg” entrance by being flanked by Secret Service. Just to be nitpicky, they showed the Secret Service following behind him through the backstage area and then, seconds later, when they came out, the Secret Service was in front of Ali.
Something used his immense size advantage to run over Ali and tackle the champ to the ground. Ali got a double thrust to the throat, but then got backdropped over the top rope to the floor. Ali discovered that the best offense was a good defense. First he moved out of Something’s way and Jake punched the ring steps. Then Ali ran and slid through the corner of the ring, Jake followed, but got caught and dropped with a DDT. Ali then got Something on the ramp and did a roll-through neckbreaker, which also sent some of the stage lighting crashing onto a staff member at ringside. The staff member was okay, but Ali was officially in control. I thought they messed up a swinging hurricarana, but instead it was Something blocking it, but rolling through and turning it into a sit-out powerbomb. Something paid tribute to another former X-Division Champion, Abyss, by hitting Shock Treatment for a near fall. They ended up in the corner, but Ali did a German Suplex to the ring apron. Suddenly the Secret Service interfered. One distracted the referee while the other three rolled Something into the ring and held them so Ali could hit a 450 Splash, but Something kicked out. Something began building momentum, so Ali scurried out of the ring, but Something did a tope, clear over the top rope to the pile. Something hit Into The Void inside the ring for a 2 count when Ali got his foot on the ropes. Finally Ali rolled up Something and grabbed the rope for assistance to get the pin.
A really great match to open the ppv.
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-Former Buffalo Bill and Los Angeles Charger Shawne Merriman was shown ringside.
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Rich Swann w/AJ Francis vs Joe Hendry
Hendry used AI to edit AJ and Swann into his opening video package. Legitimately I thought Swann and AJ had edited it to mess with Hendry and wouldn’t have known differently had Tom Hannifan not said how great it was. Hendry cut a promo saying that this proves Swann and Francis are fans and have come down with a severe case of Hendry Mania. When you come down with Hendry Mania, it causes fans to chant “We Believe”.
Swann took over quickly thanks to a Francis distraction and shoved Hendry’s eyeball into the corner of the ring steps. Tom brought up Seth Rollins doing that to Rey Mysterio, which he was in WWE during. The fans chanted “Dollar Tree” at AJ while Swann worked the eye. Gotta say I’ve never used that phrase while talking about wrestling before. He didn’t seem picky about which eye, as he kicked at both sides of the head. Hendry fought out of a Guillotine and turned it into a suplex. Francis jumped on the apron and got knocked right off of it before back dropping Swann, who took a 360 bump. Francis yanked down the apron and Hendry tumbled outside and then got a chain from Shauniee Stylez, who was also at ringside. However, Shawne Merriman grabbed it and then got in the ring, challenging AJ to follow. AJ joined him, but Shawne backed him down…before knocking Hendry down with a nasty clothesline. The referee was distracted yelling at Francis to get down and Swann won with a Frog Splash.
I never liked Shawne Merriman. He was on the Bills when we were awful. Anyway the rest of the Manboy Mafia got in the ring and the girl grinded on Hendry’s dead body before they all celebrated together. This was the weakest match so far, but still nothing bad at all.
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Frankie Kazarian defeated Eric Young in a Full Metal Mayhem Match
Full Metal Mayhem is essentially TNA’s version of TLC where all metal objects are legal, but since there were no titles involved, this was just a hardcore match. I would ask what the difference between this and Monster’s Ball or just a street fight would be, but there are too many examples of this in wrestling.
Kazarian tried to attack during EY’s entrance, but Young just cracked him with his hockey mask. Young suplexed a ladder onto Kazarian and then set up a ladder bridge, however Kaz turned the tables and sent Young face-first into it. A table got set up and both men teased giving the other a big move off the apron, but neither went through it. Kazarian yelled at the crowd to “Shut up and acknowledge me as your king”, which seems to be conflicting advice. Kazarian set Young on a ladder and went for a Springboard Legdrop, but Young moved out of the way. Young pulled out a baking tray and trash can lid, but then pulled out Abyss’ old nail covered board Janice. Both tried to shove each other’s face into the only weapon ever named after Dixie Carter’s Mom. Young did the Ric Flair flip over the top turnbuckle, but as he ran down the apron, Kazarian speared him through the ropes and through the table that had been set up previously. Back in the ring we got the “Yay”/”Boo” spot and then we had Dueling Baking Trays. Just gonna say this once, I am not a fan of people doing unprotected weapon shots to the head, even if it’s “just” a baking tray. Kazarian briefly wrapped a chain around Young’s neck and used a Crossface Chicken Wing, but Young broke free and used the chain to yank Kazarian off the top rope. Young put a metal trash can on Kazarian’s top half, did a few clotheslines and a top rope elbow and I gotta say they make aluminum trash cans sturdier than they used to because this one did not want to bend. Anyway, Kazarian used an Unprettier on a ladder and set up a table while the fans chanted for fire. Young blocked Kazarian from doing some kind of offensive maneuver and followed up to the top rope, but Kazarian blocked that and did a Flux Capacitor to Young for the pin. Unfortunately they didn’t get all the way over and Young crashed head-first through the edge of the table and was busted open hardway.
That was a really good match and different from everything we’ll see tonight.
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-Gia Miller interviewed Nic Nemeth about the match with Moose. Nemeth said his dad and family are in the crowd to see him. Nemeth said the roster, the crowd and the world is ready for him to become World Champion and plans to prove he is the best.
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-I mentioned the empty seats before, but it appears to be full now, so I guess it really was a late-arriving crowd.
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-Steve Maclin came out in his gear and had a copy of a new contract he got this morning. He said he got every demand he wanted in his contract. Good for him. However, there is one more demand he has, which is a match right here and now. Well, I mean he got everything else he wanted.
Santino Marella came out and said he has signed a brand new superstar, who is eager to get started and will make his debut right now against Maclin. Out came Mike Santana, who was in TNA as part of LAX 2.0 before AEW began. He was a former Impact Tag Team Champion with Ortiz and feuded with oVe, the original LAX and the Lucha Brothers during the dark period of Impact.
Mike Santana pinned Steve Maclin
This was such a surprise that they immediately put up a graphic for Mike Santana merchandise. Santana ran wild at the bell, including doing a tope where he nearly flew into the 2nd row, however Maclin posted him and dropped him on the ring apron to take over. In the ring, Santana was hung upside down in the corner, but sat up to avoid a charging Maclin and began his comeback with a rolling Cutter. Cutler hit the Busaiku Knee when Santana was going for Spin The Block, but Santana quickly cut him off again. Santana went for it again, but it got cut off again. Santana blocked KIA and finally hit Spin The Block for the win.
This was a big win for Santana, cleanly pinning a former World Champion in his first match. It would have been bigger had Maclin been protected more since losing the title, but it’s still a big win. The match itself was fine.
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-Gia Miller interviewed The System and started by asking Alisha if Masha is part of The System. Brian Myers was visibly frustrated that Gia immediately asked Alisha a question before their tag team title match. Anyway, Brian and Eddie vowed to beat Speedball Mountain. Then Moose had a spoiler alert for Nic Nemeth’s family…Moose will leave as World Champion. Plus he says he has a surprise for Nemeth and introduces The Predator John Abraham to be in his corner. Abraham played for the Jets, Cardinals and Falcons and had 133.5 sacks in his career. We are certainly full of non-wrestlers tonight.
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Tag Team Champions Brian Meyers & Eddie Edwards w/Alisha Edwards defeated Speedball Mountain
The match started and Trent Seven was looking out at the crowd, so while Meyers beat on Mike Bailey, Edwards knocked Seven off the apron. The challengers teamed up to take turns chopping Eddie as Tom Hannifan listed great teams to be the TNA Tag Team Champions and mentioned America’s Most Wanted. I know I am nit-picking, but AMW were never TNA Champions, they were NWA Tag Team Champions. I’d have been less nitpicky if Tom hadn’t mentioned these belts were created in 2007. Anyway, while I was ranting, Eddie dropped Seven knee-first on the ring steps to take over. Seven was able to make the tag and Bailey’s feet ran wild on both heels. Seven came in and gave Meyers a superplex and Bailey used a Shooting Star Headbutt (because Meyers was a little too far away) for a 2 count. The challengers went for a double team, but Edwards tripped Bailey and dragged him out of the ring as Meyers cut off Seven. Edwards used a Tiger Driver and transitioned that into a single-leg crab. Bailey tried to crawl in for the save, but got momentarily caught in a Crossface. Bailey got out of it, but instead of breaking up the submission on his partner immediately, he slowly built up to the spot where he kicked Edwards repeatedly to eventually break it up. If I was Seven, I wouldn’t have been thrilled. Seven tried to pick Edwards up for a Burning Hammer, but his knee went out. The champs hit a double team backpack Stunner/Top Rope Elbow, but Seven kicked out. Seven finally hit the Burning Hammer and Bailey hit the Shooting Star Knees to Edwards’ back, but Meyers speared Bailey on top of the pile, breaking up Seven’s pinfall attempt. Bailey ran down the apron for a dive to Meyers, but Brian hit a Spear to cut him off. In the ring, Seven tried to hold his own, but got pinned after a Roster Cut and Boston Knee Party.
This match was pretty damn good.
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Josh Alexander defeated Hammerstone in a Last Man Standing Match
This is their 3rd match, having split their first two matches.
Hammerstone came out wearing Alexander’s headgear as an elbow pad. This was a hard hitting match from the opening bell. Hammerstone popped right up from a German Suplex and used a Belly to Belly overhead suplex that Alexander got right back up from. Josh ended up on the apron and blocked a running boot and dropped Hammerstone with a power slam on the ring apron, but the former MLW Champion got up at 6. Alexander went to the top, but he got press slammed off and onto the ring apron. Hammerstone used a delayed vertical suplex on the floor for another count of 6. Hammerstone yelled that Josh should have stayed down, so Josh slapped him and used a half-nelson suplex on the ring apron. That apron sure is the MVP of this match. Hammerstone sold his neck, but got up at 8. Alexander used the figure four around the ring post, but Hammerstone wasn’t able to reach Alexander’s leg, but thankfully Alexander didn’t take a nasty bump on the floor. In the ring Hammerstone cracked Alexander in the ear with the headgear, which led to his ear getting busted open. I imagine it was hardway, since I can’t believe someone would blade their ear. Tom Hannifan did a great job explaining that Alexander wears headgear because of an ear injury earlier in his career, which is literally the first time I ever heard anyone explain that. Hammerstone laid Alexander’s head against the ring post and went for a running boot. I started typing “but Alexander moved” and then Alexander never moved and Hammerstone booted his head against the post. However Alexander got up at 8 and did a fantastic job selling how discombobulated he was. Alexander barely beat the count on a Torture Rack Drop and hit a Pump Kick, but Alexander laughed, tripped up his larger for and locked on an Ankle Lock. Alexander just wrecked Hammerstone’s leg and midsection, but Hammerstone blocked the C4 Spike. That may have been a bad idea because Alexander responded by kicking Hammerstone’s head off. Alexander reached under the ring and got a black bag, which was full of thumbtacks. At this point I am just waiting for Abyss to come out after all these references to him tonight. They fought on the middle rope, with Hammerstone doing a headbutt to the ear and bringing Alexander down with a Nightmare Pendulum into the thumbtacks. Honestly Hammerstone may have gotten the worst of them, as he had a bunch of tacks in his thighs, while Alexander seemed to have a lot fewer. Anyway, Josh got to his feet at 9 and Hammerstone grabbed the headgear as they fought to the ramp. Alexander hit a few blows to the head and a C4 Spike on the ramp for the win as Hammerstone’s last gasp led to him falling flat on his face. Alexander grabbed his headgear before walking off.
This was a fantastic match and, in my opinion, the best match of a very good show so far.
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-We got a video of Jonathan Grisham, which started with him in a board room and then he began talking about himself in the third person about how when he puts on a mask he becomes his true self. He began choking up ink before showing him in a mask on the other side of the room. This was weird, but kinda cool.
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Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace defeated Steph De Lander w/The Good Hands
Before the match began, George Iceman was in a skybox and introduced Ash By Elegance, who appeared to watch from the skybox.
De Lander bullied Grace into the corner to start the match, since she is 8 inches taller, but Grace got out of it. They were on different pages early and Grace did a Suicide Dive where she pretty much landed on her head. From the apron, De Lander used a TKO that Grace went throat-first onto the top rope to take over. It settled down from here. Grace punched De Lander in the stomach and she responded by yelling at Grace to do it again. However, when Grace did it, she didn’t seem happy. Oh well, some people can’t be satisfied. Every time Grace would string together a few blows, De Lander would just knock her right down. Grace got on a rear naked choke and De Lander used up all her energy to try to stop her. De Lander’s hand dropped 3 times, but one of the Good Hands hopped on the apron to distract the referee. The other one threw the title belt to De Lander, but Grace ducked it, however Grace took out the referee with a spinning back fist. De Lander took out Grace with the title belt and one of the Good Hands took the referee’s shirt off, put it on and went for the cover, but the lights went out! When they came back on…PCO was in the ring and took out both Good Hands. I may have been disappointed in the lights out surprise, but the fans weren’t. They popped for it. De Lander tried to rub PCO’s chest, but PCO grabbed her throat for a chokeslam. Out ran Big Kon, who took out PCO when Grace got to her feet and got face-to-belly button with him. He shoved Grace down, so Grace punched him low. Kon, on his knees, was almost as tall as Grace. She picked Kon up for a Juggernaut Driver, but was cut off by Hotch and Skylar. Kon went to snap Grace’s neck, when the lights went out again and when they came back on, Sami Callihan was here! Callihan is back and he took out Kon and both Good Hands by himself. Callihan gave Hotch Cactus Driver 97. Callihan threw De Lander in the ring, where she got dropped by a Juggernaut Driver and a 2nd referee ran down for the 3 count. Where the Hell was this referee during the last 5 minutes?
Matthew Rehwaldt said the last 5 minutes were a fever dream and I would agree with him. This was definitely a different title match than we’ve been used to.
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-TNA Slammiversary was announced for July 20 in Montreal at Verdun Auditorium.
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World Champion Moose defeated Nic Nemeth
Nic’s father Don and brother Ryan were shown in the crowd. He said his entire family was here and I am not going to judge him, but after seeing Mark Briscoe’s entire family, I was expecting more than 2 people.
Nemeth used his speed early, which is weird because Moose is deceptively fast, but that’s what we’re going with. Nemeth threw Moose out of the ring and went for a dive, but he got caught and dropped outside the ring. Inside the ring, Nemeth is doing a great job selling, but throws Moose to the ramp. Moose went for a powerbomb, but Nemeth turned it into a hurricarana where Moose rolled into the ring. Nemeth went for a superkick, but Alisha grabbed his foot. The referee, who didn’t see her do it, just threw Alisha, Eddie and Meyers out of the ringside area. With the distraction, Nemeth hit a superkick for a near fall. Nemeth locks on a sleeper and covers Moose’s eye to the point where when Moose tried to climb to the middle rope, it took him 3 tries because he couldn’t see the rope and kept slipping on it. Eventually he got his foot to the middle rope and fell backwards, dropping Nemeth to the mat. They end up outside the ring where Nemeth does a Famouser off the ramp to the floor and then has to break land speed records to jump into the ring and break up the count, which was at 9. Speaking of 9, back in the ring, Nemeth hit 9 successive elbow drops, but Moose rolled to the floor to avoid the 10th. However Moose wasn’t too smart about it, as he rolled outside to lay on the ground, so Nemeth hit the 10th by diving off the ring apron. Moose hit a headbutt in the ring, called Nemeth a son of a bitch and then yanked Nemeth off the middle rope with a ring rocking Sky-High (sit out spinebuster). A series of reversals ended with a Moose power bomb in the ring and then he finally hit the power bomb on the ramp, which somehow took out not only the same lights Ali took out earlier, but also the video for a second. Nemeth barely dragged himself into the ring before the count of 10. Moose went for a moonsault that Nemeth side-stepped and used a leg lariat for a 2 count. They went into the “Yay”/”Boo” spot that evolved into dueling kicks to the head. Moose went head over heels on a clothesline that I don’t think he was supposed to do and Nemeth hit his own version of the Spear for a 2 count. Moose side stepped another superkick and hit his own version of the spear to retain the title. I think Moose may have hurt himself on that flip bump because the match got a little wonky towards the end.
This was a very good match, but not nearly as good as the Alex Shelley match in January. As The System came out to celebrate, the lights went out again and this time when they came back on, it was Broken Matt Hardy, making his return to TNA. This was unexpected, as he laid out Moose with a Twist Of Fate and led the crowd in chants of DELETE as the show faded to black.
Poor Moose, we’re currently 2-for-2 in 2024 with Moose’s ppv main event victories being interrupted by debuting stars.
-Thank you all for reading, if you enjoyed, please check out the Something Else Podcast Network, available on (almost) all your favorite streaming platforms where I (mostly) review classic wrestling!
TNA Wrestling will hold a press conference in Las Vegas just before its weekly TV show airs this week.
The media event is scheduled for 4:20 p.m. PST on Thursday, April 18 at Mabel’s BBQ inside the Palms Casino Resort. It will feature a contract signing with Nic Nemeth and Moose ahead of their TNA World title match on Saturday at Rebellion.
The press conference will be open to the public and the first 50 fans will receive a limited-edition, autographed Rebellion collectible. It will also stream live on TNA’s Facebook page.
BREAKING: TNA Wrestling announced today that the Rebellion pay-per-view Press Conference is set for Thursday, April 18, at Mabel’s BBQ, located inside the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.
An anything goes Monsters Ball match will headline tonight’s TNA Impact as PCO will take on Kon.
The two have been feuding for several months with the latest chapter being Kon costing PCO the Digital Media title in his challenge of champion Crazzy Steve.
TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace and top contender Steph De Lander will sign the contract for their title match at this month’s Rebellion. Matt Cardona will accompany SDL tonight so anything could happen.
TNA World Champion Moose will take on Trent Seven in a non-title match as Seven & Mike Bailey prepare to challenge Moose’s System teammates Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards for the TNA Tag Team titles at Rebellion.
Former tag champions ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) will take on First Class (AJ Francis & Rich Swann).
The aforementioned Digital Media title will be on the line as Crazzy Steve defends against Laredo Kid.
Our live coverage will begin at 8:30 PM Eastern.
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iMPACT! opened with Hammerstone and Josh Alexander beating the hell out of one another with Alexander being busted open as security attempted to intervene but weren’t very successful. Tommy Dreamer then made his way to ringside to calm Alexander down and asked him to head to the back before turning his attention to Hammerstone who was now in the ring.
Dreamer entered the ring and told Hammerstone that they were in front of the best fans in the world and that Hammerstone was in TNA Wrestling because of him. Dreamer told Hammerstone that there was too much going on tonight for them to be brawling before Rebellion.
Dreamer told Hammerstone to head to the back but as Tommy was heading out of the ring, Hammerstone nailed him from behind before locking in him the Torture Rack. Alexander returned to ringside to save Dreamer and then made the announcement that at Rebellion, they would battle in a Last Man Standing match.
Crazzy Steve defeated Laredo Kid by disqualification to retain the Digital Media title
After some quick back and forth action in the first few moments, Steve started playing mind games and was able to gain some momentum. Kid attempted a comeback but Steve’s aggressive ground game was enough to keep his momentum going before locking Kid in a submission.
Kid would finally mount a comeback and after some near falls, nailed Steve with a Michinoku Driver in the corner. Kid attempted to follow up by heading to the top rope but was Steve was able to knock him down into a tree of woe and then followed up with a diving attack in the corner.
Steve refused to let up on his aggressive tactics and after getting a near fall of his own, focused on tearing the mask off of Kid. Kid finally snapped and after landing some major blows to Steve, refused to let up in the corner and shoved the referee when he was told to back off forcing a disqualification.
– It was announced that Against All Odds this year would take place at Cicero Stadium in Chicago, Illinois on Friday, June 14th with tickets going on sale on Saturday, April 20th.
– Backstage, Alex Shelley apologized to Chris Sabin and KUSHIDA for wanting to do things on his own and stated that Time Machine was much greater as a unit. Sabin and KUSHIDA accepted his apology and agreed with him.
First Cla$$ (AJ Francis & Rich Swann) defeated ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey)
Austin and Swann started the match but before they locked up, Swann quickly tagged out to Francis.
Francis attempted a test of strength but Bey side stepped and soon used his quickness to gain some early momentum. Francis would capitalize and Swann was tagged back in but Austin was quickly able to tag out to Bey as well and it became all ABC.
Bey attempted to land a dive over the top rope to Francis on the floor but AJ caught him. Austin was able to make the save but this only angered Francis as he quickly recovered and we saw both members of ABC down and out as we headed to commercial.
We’re back from commercial and Francis is laying a beating on Austin inside of the ring. Austin managed to persevere and both Francis and Austin made tags to their partners. After some quick offense by ABC, Francis managed to catch both of them at the same time before planting them down hard to the canvas.
Swann attempted a 450 on Austin but failed and ABC started capitalizing when Francis attempted a double suplex on both Austin and Bey but instead found himself on the receiving end of a death valley driver.
ABC attempted an assisted Art of Finesse on Swann but Bey was met with a neckbreaker instead. Swann then rolled up Austin and with a handful of tights, scored the 1-2-3 for his team.
After the match, Joe Hendry appeared with a mic in hand. Hendry recited verses from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song before referring to Francis as Uncle Phil in which the crowd started chanting. Hendry then stated that he spoke to Santino Marella and announced that it would be Hendy and Swann at Rebellion.
– Backstage, Santino Marella was met by Ash by Elegance and The Personal Concierge. They stated that Ash was ready for her Knockouts title match at Rebellion but instead of agreeing to make it happen, Marella left them hanging instead.
– Backstage, Mustafa Ali was with the Grizzled Young Vets. Ali vented that his match at Rebellion should not be taking place before Jake Something interrupted and stated that the match was indeed going to take place.
Jordynne Grace and Steph De Lander (w/Matt Cardona) in a Rebellion Contract Signing
Santino Marella was in the ring and introduced both De Lander and Grace to the ring. Marella welcomed both women but before anything more could be said, Cardona put over the King and Queen being present and stated that SDL was going to become the new Knockouts champion at Rebellion as De Lander signed the contract.
Grace then put over her own accomplishments before Cardona took offense to Jordynne’s claim about the Digital Media title. De Lander then stated that they didn’t have enough time to talk about all of her accomplishments but Grace countered by stating that she’s beaten her before, beaten her boyfriend before and beaten her boyfriend’s wife before. As both Cardona and De Lander started fuming, Grace followed up by calling Cardona a b****.
As Cardona was going nuts and the fans were chanting b****, Grace finally signed the contract. Grace and then De Lander shook hands but as the aggression was high, a brawl ensued and after Marella was knocked down and out, De Lander put Grace through a table before posing with the title.
– Backstage, Masha Slamovich was interrupted by The System and Eddie Edwards stated that her and Alisha could make a great tag team. Slamovich then gave them an answer in Russian and left as Eddie, Alisha and Brian Myers looked confused.
– A video promo aired focusing on Jonathan Gresham in a board room full of people, reflecting on the masks he wears in life.
Moose (w/The System) defeated Trent Seven (w/Mike Bailey) in a non-title match
Seven attempted to match power with Moose in the early moments but it wasn’t a great idea as several chops by Seven were met with one huge grounding chop by Moose.
Seven wouldn’t give up however and after landing multiple more chops, finally sent Moose off his feet with a DDT. Both men then exchanged blows back and forth but as Seven looked like he was ready to setup the Burning Hammer, he was met with a massive spear instead as Moose picked up the victory looking very strong going into Rebellion just nine days away.
After the match, The System entered the ring looking to do more damage but Mike Bailey entered the ring as well. Bailey was cornered quickly and after he managed to hold his own for a second or so, The System was on the attack. Before they could inflict too much damage, Time Machine hit the ring to make the save.
– Backstage, Santino Marella was interrupted by The System, who were angry about what just took place. Marella stated that The System would defend the world tag team titles next week against the Motor City Machine Guns and the winners would battle Speedball Mountain at Rebellion. Marella was then interrupted by Decay who stated they wanted their rematch for the Knockouts world tag team titles at Rebellion in which Marella agreed.
Jake Something defeated James Drake (w/Zack Gibson)
Something immediately used his power game to gain the early advantage but having Gibson out at ringside meant Drake could easily switch momentum at any given time which happened multiple times in the first few moments of the match.
After Something had Drake setup in the corner, he went to the opposite corner but Gibson grabbed his leg allowing Drake to land a running dropkick. Gibson then followed up by choking Something with his scarf as Drake distracted the referee.
This was enough to ignite Cody Deaner, who hit ringside to even up the odds. Deaner took out Gibson and Something followed up by nailing Drake with Into The Void the get the 1-2-3.
After the match, Mustafa Ali came down to the ring with a mic but was quickly quieted as Something dove to the outside over the top rope taking out his campaign before grabbing Ali himself.
The Grizzled Young Vets would recover however and nail Something with Grit Your Teeth. Deaner attempted to make the save but after he was taken out, Something was finished off as well as Ali and GYV proved to be too powerful.
PCO defeated Kon in a Monster’s Ball match
No food, no water, no light for the past 24 hours and it was the 58th Monster’s Ball about to create havoc here this week.
After both men started in what looked like a traditional wrestling match, they decided that was enough as PCO grabbed a kendo stick and Kon grabbed a steel chair. Kon gained early momentum as PCO’s kendo stick was no match. Kon found himself on the outside of the ring and PCO looked to capitalize with a dive through the ropes but was met head first with a garbage can instead.
Kon continued the momentum inside of the ring and after trapping PCO with a trashcan in the middle of the ring, Kon wrapped his arm in a steel chain and beat down on PCO trapped inside. Kon followed up by setting up a table ringside but before he could attempt to piledrive PCO through it, he was sent flying off of the ring apron.
PCO followed up with a somersault dive to the floor wiping out Kon and then set him up on the table that had been previously setup on the floor. PCO climbed to the top rope and as Kon laid helpless, PCO nailed him with a Deanimator.
Kon would once again make a comeback using a kendo stick but it was short lived. After he climbed to the top rope, PCO sent him flying through a table to the floor below. PCO then setup a bridged ladder from the ring apron to a ladder setup at ringside and had a wicked finish in mind but after he setup Kon and climbed to the top rope, he crashed and burned hard through the ladder instead.
Kon capitalized and that magical black bag appeared as both men were back in the ring. Kon dumped out thumbtacks everywhere including the mouth of PCO before applying a chinlock to the French Canadian Frankenstein. PCO spit out the tacks and soon started to gain the final advantage he needed.
After dumping tacks over the body of a grounded Kon, PCO looked to finish him off. PCO climbed to the top rope and with a massive PCOsault, scored the victory in the 58th edition of Monster’s Ball.
Final Thoughts:
We’re nine days away from Rebellion and it will be interesting to see who walks out with gold that night.
Steph De Lander looked strong tonight and seeing her put Jordynne Grace through that table makes me believe she can knock the Juggernaut off of the mountain and become Queen of the Knockouts division.
The same can be said with regards to Speedball Mountain as Trent Seven stood his ground with Moose tonight and with The System battling MCMG next week with the titles on the line, Speedball Mountain will have an opportunity to simply watch on and create a game plan.
Speaking of Moose, he’s looking more powerful and dominant than ever before and I honestly don’t think at this point that even Nick Nemeth will be able to change that. You add the fact that Moose has got The System by his side and I’m predicting now, #AndSTILL at Rebellion.
Solid show by TNA Wrestling tonight and I’m looking forward to the go-home edition next week!
Next Week:
The System defend the world tag team titles against the Motor City Machine Guns
Hammerstone will be in action
Nic Nemeth will share his final thoughts going into Rebellion
TNA Sacrifice has come and gone which means it’s time for a reset episode of Impact which I recap on this week’s Big Vinny V Show.
On that note, we had an excellent main event pitting Nic Nemeth & “Speedball” Mike Bailey & Trent Seven against Steve Maclin & The Rascalz — a great TV match that wrapped up two feuds and set up new challengers for TNA World Champion Moose and TNA Tag Team Champions The System.
The opener was also tremendous with Mustafa Ali defending the X-Division title against Chris Sabin who has suddenly found himself and his Time Machine teammates embroiled in drama.
All this and more in a very quick edition of the Big Vinny V Show!
After superkicking Moose as part of his first night in the company, Nic Nemeth will finally challenge the TNA Champion at April’s Rebellion pay-per-view.
Nemeth, the current IWGP Global Champion, will be looking for his first taste of TNA gold and his first World singles title since he held the WWE World Heavyweight title in 2013.
Moose is currently in his second TNA World title reign after winning the gold at January’s Hard to Kill — the same event where he was confronted by Nemeth. The leader of The System will be looking for his third title defense.
The two have never shared the ring together.
Moose’s System factionmates will also be in action as TNA Tag Team Champions Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers will defend against Speedball Mountain (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven).
Edwards and Myers defeated ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) for the titles at last month’s Sacrifice. After Thursday’s trios main event on Impact had concluded, Moose, Edwards and Myers laid out Nemeth, Bailey and Seven to foreshadow the announcements to come.
The bouts are the first two announced for the Saturday, April 20th PPV from the Palms in Las Vegas.
Here’s the current card:
TNA World Champion Moose defends against Nic Nemeth
TNA Tag Team Champions The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) defend against Speedball Mountain (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven)
It’s the long-awaited review of Sacrifice, the latest PPV/PLE/app special from Total Nonstop Action.
The show had some good stuff—Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin, Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards challenging the ABC for the tag titles, Mustafa Ali & the Grizzled Young Veterans vs. Time Machine, and Jordynne Grace defending the Knockouts title against Xia Brookside and Tasha Steelz.
But it also had some stuff that felt like it belonged on another show in another era—Kon vs. PCO, Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone, and Moose defending the TNA title against Eric Young in the main event. And finally, it had the Knockouts tag division, which pretty much always sucks.
For more details, listen right away to the latest edition of The Big Vinny V Show!
It’s a weird episode of TNA Impact squeezed in between two PPVs.
What is the fallout after Mustafa Ali’s historic X Division Title win at No Surrender, and with a crowded field of challengers, what does the future hold for him at Sacrifice? And speaking of Sacrifce, Moose will defend the TNA championship against Eric Young, but it sure feels like Kazarian has been a bigger part of the show than either of them.
The Grizzled Young Veterans are conspicuous by their absence, IWGP Global Heavyweight champion Nic Nemeth is ready for Steve Maclin, and the Knockouts tag division is a complete disaster. All this and more on the Big Vinny V Show!
The next challenger and date for TNA World Champion Moose is official after Friday’s No Surrender.
Moose will take on Eric Young at Sacrifice on Friday, March 8th — the company’s next streaming special.
The 44-year-old Young earned the shot Friday after defeating Frankie Kazarian in a number one contender’s match. He will be gunning for his third TNA World title reign and first since 2020.
The 39-year-old Moose successfully defended his title by defeating Alex Shelley in a No Surrender rules match Friday after KUSHIDA threw in the towel for Shelley. He is in his second reign as champion.
Despite both men being in TNA/Impact for years, this will be their first-ever singles match.
The show will take place at St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario.
Given the short turnaround time from No Surrender, the card will be built over the next two weeks on TNA Impact which is being taped Saturday in New Orleans.
Here are some notes from TNA No Surrender which took place Friday in New Orleans — the first show the company has held since the surprising firing of Scott D’Amore.
MK Ultra regained the TNA Knockouts Tag Team titles at No Surrender, taking the gold from now-former champions Decay.
The end came when Havok hit a spinebuster on Killer Kelly for a near fall, leading to her teammate Rosemary looking for a spear to end it. However, she took a Snow Plow from Masha Slamovich to give MK Ultra the win.
Slamovich and Kelly held the titles for roughly six months from the summer of 2023 through January’s Hard to Kill when they lost the titles to Havok and Rosemary. This was the champions’ first title defense.
In a rematch from January’s Hard to Kill, Moose retained the TNA World title by defeating Alex Shelley under No Surrender rules which means the match could only end after one of the two men’s cornermen threw in the towel. KUSHIDA did the duties for Shelley after the challenger took three spears, including one with a chain wrapped around Moose.
After winning the title at Hard to Kill, Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace successfully retained the title by defeating past title challenger Gisele Shaw. Shaw had earned the shot with her win in an Ultimate X match at Hard to Kill.
ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) successfully defended the TNA Tag Team titles by defeating the Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) in the third of their best-of-three series. The first two matches took place on TNA Impact.
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Eric Young will once again have the opportunity to be called TNA World Champion for a third time after he defeated recent rival Frankie Kazarian to earn a future title shot.
Young first won the title in the spring of 2014, holding the gold for 70 days before losing it to Bobby Lashley. Six years later, Young held the title for a short two-month run in September/October 2020 before losing it to Rich Swann at that year’s Bound for Glory.
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PWInsider reported that all the top Anthem Sports & Entertainment executives were on hand in New Orleans for the first event after D’Amore’s firing.
The outlet also reported an attendance of 750 for the show and that the company added more seats after initially being set up for 600.
TNA will hold their first streaming event in the post-Scott D’Amore era with tonight’s No Surrender, live from New Orleans, Louisiana, on TNA+.
The event is headlined by TNA World Champion Moose defending against Alex Shelley in a rematch from January’s Hard to Kill but under No Surrender rules where a cornerman must throw in the towel for the match to end.
Mustafa Ali will make his TNA debut as he challenges X-Division Champion Chris Sabin for the title.
Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace will defend against Gisele Shaw while the TNA Tag Team titles will be decided in the best-of-three finale between champions ABC and the Grizzled Young Veterans.
Josh Alexander will face Simon Gotch, and Eric Young will take on Frankie Kazarian to determine the next World title contender.
Other main card matches will see PCO vs. Kon, and Knockouts Tag Team Champions Decay defending against MK Ultra in a rematch.
The pre-show kicks off at 7:30 PM Eastern with two matches.
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The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) defeated Speedball Mountain (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven)
The heel Rascalz got a hot start with a double suicide dive to the floor before Wentz worked over the knee of Bailey on the ground. A missed Bailey split kick attempt led to him eating a flurry of kicks for 2. Bailey recovered enough to land a second-rope missile dropkick and got a hot tag into Seven, who landed a series of back to back dragon suplexes on the Rascalz for 2.
Bailey hit an orihara moonsault en route to Trent landing a superplex and a shooting star from Beily got 2 on Miguel. Bailey tagged back for a seven star lariat on Miguel for 2. Wentz prevented Ultima Weapon and landed a second rope double stomp on Bailey for 2. Miguel ate a superkick and the ref’s distracted before a Maclin chop block to a Bailey tapout off a kneebar.
The TNA World Title match is hyped with a recap video covering the different allies involved in the No Surrender match and the stipulation itself. Kazarian said that whoever wins in that match faces him at Sacrifice because he’s not in this for meaningless matches.
The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) defeated Jet Setters (KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight
Knight started off strong taking both members of the System down before armdragging Edwards down. KUSHIDA is tagged in after a shoulder pumphandle, but ate a back elbow from Myers before Edwards came in. KUSHIDA landed a hiptoss to Edwards but can’t tag in Knight due to Knight being taken out on the apron. A punt to the right arm of Edwards led to a double-tag.
Knight came in and punched and kicked both guys before taking them down with a dive to put Myers up to land a flat-footed top rope rana from the corner for 2. KUSHIDA put Myers on his shoulders and Knight paid homage to Mark Jindrak with a dropkick to a man in that position for 2. Myers recovered briefly with a desperation impaler DDT. Edwards got a backpack stunner out of the corner before a Myers diving elbow got a fantastic 2.5 count. Knight got a schoolboy for 2 before a combination of the Roster Cut lariat and the Boston Knee Party took out Knight.
Eric Young defeated Frankie Kazarian to earn a future TNA World title match
Kazarian forced Jade Chung to remind the crowd that he is the King of TNA, ensuring that he got heat throughout the match. Kazarian ground away on the mat to start after winning a tie-up and a takedown. Kaz landed a nice back suplex before stomping away. Hannifan talks about how each man got a shot against Josh Alexander in 2022 and came up short.
Kazarian wanted the blind-dive springboard legdrop, but EY avoided it and landed a wonky Roode Bomb for 2. An EY diving elbow off the top got 2 before Kazarian got the Jerry Lynn-style slingshot apron legdrop for 2. Kazarian couldn’t get the chickenwing, but slung EY in after his apron bump for a cutter for 2. That was one of the most-impressive spots in the new TNA era. Kazarian landed a backstabber and Fade to Black for 2.9! Kazarian argued with the referee and an EY crucifix got the win!
After the match, Kazarian yelled at the ref and sent him down with a clothesline before landing a series of grounded kicks and grounded elbows and punches. Tom Hannifan is such a great babyface announcer being offended by all of this logically. Gia Miller chats with the Grizzled Young Veterans, who say that they are in fact Grizzled Young Veterans and they came to America for the TNA Tag Team Titles.
ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) defeated Grizzled Young Veterans (James Drake & Zack Gibson) to retain the TNA Tag Team Titles
Gibson and Austin started off with GIbson going for the arm that was hurt in match two before Drake came in and ate a high/low and a Click Click Boom double team splash/legdrop for 2 from Bey. Bey ate a double-team stun gun – giving him a weakness alongside Bey’s left arm. Gibson landed an outside-in suplex for 2 before Drake worked over the throat of Bey more with a chinlock.
Bey landed a desperation missile dropkick and wanted a tag, but Drake sent Austin off the apron to prevent the tag before Drake choked out Bey with a scarf. These two teams have fantastic chemistry and you couldn’t really ask for a better set of teams to be the foundation of a modern-day TNA tag team division. Bey got a desperation neckbreaker and tagged in Ace Austin.
Austin ran wild until being double-teamed and fighting back with a double missile-dropkick! Massive moonsault from Austin gave the faces an edge for a bit before Bey tagged in and landed a frog splash. Bey landed a Yokasuka cutter before an Austin corkscrew senton, but the GYV locked on submissions right after with a rear naked choke on Bey and an armbar on Austin! Bey got 2 off a flip off on the RNC. The GYVs land a doomsday device suicide dive lariat onto Austin on the floor!
Bey stood alone against both members of the GYV and kicked away at both men to give himself a slight advantage until a run-up famouser on Gibson. Gibson trapped him in the corner for a draping lungblower and a Drake coast to coast dropkick got 2.9! 1-2- SWEET ENDS IT and the ABC retain the TNA World Tag Titles in the best of three series.
Backstage, the Rascalz are cocky jerks to Speedball Mountain. Kon came out for his match with PCO looking like the largest grunge bodyguard ever while PCO got a bit stretcher entrance.
PCO defeats Kon by DQ
PCO and Kon started off with clubbering and clotheslines after brawling on the ramp. PCO went for a suicide dive cannonball, but Kon avoided it and PCO went splat on the floor before taking an apron chokeslam. He recovered from that to post Kon and set him up for the draping Deanimator that missed! Kon grabbed a steel chair and he hit him and that’s a DQ. There are DQs in PCO matches!? PCO does the theatrical neck snap while someone rings the bell a thousand times. Do the neck snap on them! Well, he punched them and threw them down – so I’ll count that as close enough. PCO landed the suicide dive cannonball! PCO sent him down with a chairshot before eating a low blow and a chokeslam on the ramp. Kon zip tied PCO to the tunnel and does the neck snapper again…now with a chair to somehow do more damage. This was good before the weird finish.
Backstage, Shelley talks about how he doesn’t want Sabin out there because he’s in the main event. Sabin demands that the Jet Setters absolutely can’t throw the towel in and Shelley tells them to not throw it in no matter what.
MK Ultra (Killer Kelly & Masha Slamovich) defeated Decay (Rosemary & Havok to win the TNA Knockouts Tag Team titles
All four women brawled on the floor to start before Havok worked over Slamovich before landing a corner lariat. A Rosemary tag in led to an exploder for 2. Kelly tripped up Rosemary for 2. Slamovich earned her name slamming Kelly on Rosemary twice. A Kelly slap is countered into a Rosemary rainmaker for 2. Rosemary and Kelly went back and forth with creepy pin counters for 2 before Slamovich cane in. Rosemary got an edge-o-matic on Slamovich before a double tag. Havok landed a spinebuster to Kelly for 2. Rosemary wanted a spear but ate a Snow Plow for the win!
MK Ultra got a couple of cheap shots in after the match before Dani Luna and Jody Threat made the same. The System tells Moose that they saved him from the Border City Stretch last night, but they won’t throw in the towel. Rehwoldt talks up how deranged Gotch is and how bitter he became over seeing what kind of success Alexander has had.
Josh Alexander defeated Simon Gotch
Gotch and Alexander started off with strong, intense matwork before Gotch goes for finger manipulation to get an advantage. Gotch and Alexander exchange sick uppercuts and chops respectfully. One fantastic thing about this program for Gotch is that it’s giving him a chance to rewrite that name from being comedy into something more serious – it’s a shame that the Gotch name was used for comedy in that regard.
Gotch sent Alexander down on the apron before posing next to Rehwoldt and saying that THEY ARE MANLY! Gotch shot the half for 2 before locking on an armbar on the right arm before switching on the surgically-repaired left arm. Alexander landed rolling Germans and stopping at four before Gotch grabbed the rope and landed a back elbow and a kick to the ear of Alexander.
Both men exchange hard slaps to the jaw before Gotch nails him with a head-trapped knee to the face. A Gotch senton missed, but an Alexander splash to the back on the apron didn’t. They go for a fantastic near-countout barely making it in before 10 in a rare non-AEW example of a countout working well in North America. Back and forth forearm exchanges set up a giant Gotch boot before an Alexander one and they go even on lariats too. A running boot gives Alexander the edge and a “this is awesome” chant.
Alexander got 2 on an exploder and wanted a C4 Spike, but Gotch avoided it into a bulldog choke by moving the headgear around. Alexander used the headgear to slip out of the choke and got the ankle lock. Powerbomb backbreaker and the C4 Spike end it for Alexander!
0 AJ Francis meets with Rich Swann and tells him that it must be hard to see a former World Champion like Alexander succeeding while he’s losing on Xplosion. Francis says that just because they’re opponents on Thursday doesn’t mean they’re enemies. AJ Francis is doing the best work of his career in this TNA run.
Moose defeated Alex Shelley to retain the TNA World Title in a No Surrender Match
Shelley started off quickly with punches and diving forearms in the corner before he ground away on the left arm. Moose used the good arm for a snake eyes attempt that Shelley avoided and turned into an opening for a left-arm Fujiawara armbar. A Moose escape opened the door for a big boot on the floor and apron powerbomb before working Shelley over with a ringpost bow and arrow.
Moose wanted a slam through the announce table, but an eye rake prevented that and gave Shelley a chance to take Moose down on the floor. Shelley worked on the left knee on the floor until being kicked into the post. Shelley returned the favor and removed coverings on the turnbuckle to torture the fingers to try and get a win but to no avail.
Moose recovered well enough to use the good hand to slug away for a while before trapping Shelley’s hands in the turnbuckle for a chairshot. Shelley recovered and sent Moose into the ropes for a draping dragon screw to play off all the work on the leg on the floor earlier. Shelley used a kendo stick on the left leg in the corner before doing a golf club-style swing to it and using the kendo stick for the half-crab. Myers breaks that up by getting on the apron and Edwards gets the stick.
Moose landed a uranage before Myers tossed in a trash can that Moose set upright for a superplex! Shelley avoided that and sent Moose onto his own creation with a powerbomb. Shelley grounded him with a figure four that Moose escaped from using the kendo stick. Moose sent him down with a giant Gunther-esque chop before Moose charged in and was met with another Fujiwara armbar turned into a Border City Stretch!
Moose escaped that but fell to his own spear attempt through a table that sent him crashing through. Shelley grabbed a chain and put it through the mouth of Moose for the Stretch before the System tried to get involved before Knight dove onto them. Moose speared Shelley with KUSHIDA in the ring and KUSHIDA leaves before Moose landed a second spear. A third spear hits using the chain on his shoulder to do even more damage to KUSHIDA’s friend. The usage of the seconds and the towel is very much just TNA putting an official stipulation to the Survivor Series ’94 I Quit stipulation and that third spear was too much as KUSHIDA throws in the towel. I’m pleasantly surprised to see Sabin didn’t turn heel on this one and it set up KUSHIDA vs. Shelley at some point. Ash by Elegance and her personal concierge are out for the VIP treatment for the Knockouts Title match.
Jordynne Grace defeated Gisele Shaw to retain the TNA Knockouts Title
They start off with a cat and mouse game that Grace won briefly by smacking her into the apron, but Shaw sent her off the apron to the floor. Grace calls out Ash by Elegance, who looked on unamused before Shaw gained an edge and landed a tornado kick to the back of the head in the corner. Grace hopped out of the corner and landed a series of slams.
Shaw went for a sunset bomb on Grace on the floor, but had no leverage or power and Grace had her hands locked, so she just stomped her and hit a senton. Grace wanted a Juggernaut Driver to the floor off the apron, but Shaw countered into a Spanish Fly off the apron instead!
Shaw landed a knee strike for 2.5. This pisses Shaw off and they go back and forth with forearm exchanges before a Cody Cutter attempt by Shaw is met with a crucifix for 2. Backfist and the Juggernaut Driver end it – this was an excellent showing for both women. Shaw has never looked better in TNA and it was a fine showcase for Grace as a blend of speed and power.
Jake Something hypes up Ali vs. Sabin as the main event and says he’s coming for the gold. Sacrifice is hyped as the next premium live event for the company on March 8 before running through their taping schedule. Clips air of the legendary Unbreakable triple threat to set up this as the first X Title main event on PPV in 18 years. Ali has his faux-Secret Service and intense theme giving him a main event-level presentation on a global stage for the first time ever.
Mustafa Ali defeated Chris Sabin to win the TNA X-Division Title
They go back and forth with fast matwork to start before a standoff mid-ring after they each go for a dropkick at the same time. Sabin sent him down with a tackle and grounds him with a seated surfboard. A Sabin bow and arrow was turned into a pin for 2. A Sabin sleeper is turned into an Ali jawbreaker. Ali landed a slick 450 to the draped arm on the rope gives Ali an edge.
Ali locks on a crossface and uses the damaged arm as his base for the hold. Ali stomped the arm while saying that Sabin isn’t the champion they deserve. Sabin landed a tornado DDT for 2. A Sabin crucifix into a crossface shows a rare side of Sabin’s submission game before a massive “Ali” chant breaks out. Sabin works heel here with the ref while in the story, Ali should be the heel because he’s putting down the company loyalist.
Ali dropkicks Sabin on the floor and a 450 is avoided and Sabin sent him face-first into the buckle with a hard hammer throw. Sabin dives onto the Secret Service goons to save Ali. The Good Hands came down to distract Sabin, allowing Ali to get 2 off a schoolboy. Clothesline from Hell, Michigan hits hard and the Cradle Shock gets 2.5 when Ali just straight-up kicks out!
Sabin goes up for an avalanche Cradle Shock, but Ali avoids it and hits a sunset bomb before the 450 wins it! Mustafa Ali wins the X Title in his TNA Debut! This was a fantastic overall in-ring story with Sabin as the character babyface, but Ali as the more over man in the match.
