TNA Impact results (6/13): Moore’s review of The System visiting the Hardy Compound, ABC vs. Nic Nemeth and Ryan Nemeth, Mike Santana vs. Zachary Wentz, Masha Slamovich vs. Marti Belle

By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)

TNA Impact (Episode 1,038)
Taped May 18-19, 2024 in Newport, Kentucky at MegaCorp Pavilion
Aired June 13, 2024 on AXS TV

Highlights from last week’s TNA Impact aired… Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Jade Chung was the ring announcer… Entrances for the opening match took place…

1. Mike Santana vs. Zachary Wentz (w/Trey Miguel). Santana quickly started the match by attacking Wentz before the bell. Santana dumped Wentz to ringside and started to chase Trey around the ring. The distraction allowed Wentz to hit Santana with a Triangle Moonsault. Wentz hit Santana with double knees and a Standing Shooting Star Press for a two count.

Wentz sent Santana in the corner and hit him with a knee, followed by a few restholds. Santana escaped and came back with a chop. Wentz came back with an Atomic Drop and PK for a two count. Trey raked Santana’s face on the 2nd rope when Wentz distracted the referee. Wentz put Santana back in a headlock. Santana fought out with punches and back elbows.

Santana hit Wentz with a rolling cutter and dive to ringside. Santana hit Wentz with a back elbow and enzuigiri. Santana got a two count off a catch Death Valley Driver. Hannifan pointed out how Santana has added a lot of muscle weight since his tag team days. Santana put Wentz in an Argentine Backbreaker. Wentz escaped and hit Santana with a kick and double stomp combo.

Wentz hit Santana with a Swanton Bomb for a nearfall. Wentz caught Santana with a thrust kick. Both men traded kick variations. Wentz hit Santana with a Headlock DDT. Wentz distracted the referee, but Maclin dumped Trey to ringside off the distraction. Wentz went for a high knee, but Santana hit Wentz out of the air with a discus lariat for the victory.

Mike Santana defeated Zachary Wentz via pinfall in 7:51.

Santana and Maclin jawed a bit after the match…

John’s Thoughts: A good singles win for Santana as he starts his singles career while Wentz looked good in defeat. Wentz actually got a bulk of the offense here so he did gain a bit of credibility. While they book the Rascalz 50-50, I hope they get protected more down the road because they are way to talented to be simply “gatekeepers”. I know they’ve been pitching it online, but it would also be cool to see Wes Lee join them for a match or two via the NXT-TNA Crossover.

Tom Hannifan conducted a sit-down interview with TNA X Division Champion Mustafa Ali. Hannifan wanted to see what Ali thinks of his TNA career so far. Ali said he takes the moment to realize the honor behind the X Division Championship, by the forefathers who held the belt before him. Ali said he is walking the same path of greatness they did. He said he wants to “make the X Division Great Again”. Hannifan noted that Ali has cheated several times during his title reign.

Ali noted that he is all about fairness, rules, regulations, and creating an equal opportunity environment. He said when you look at TNA’s diverse roster, you don’t only have a champ that’s not only propelling the next generation, but inspiring the next generation. Hannifan noted that Ali is trying to put limits on the no-limit division. Hannifan pointed out other moments when Ali cheated, like at Under Siege where he used the title belt to hit Ace Austin.

Ali dodged the allegations and talked about how he was on the cover of Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He talked about breaking records with attendance sales. Ali also talked about being undefeated. Hannifan noted that Ali lost in the champion’s challenge match a few weeks ago. Ali said that didn’t count because he officially withdrew from the match before the final decision. Hannifan noted that Ali lost a tag match last week.

Ali said Trent Seven looked impressive last week. He said he’s looking forward to creating magic with Trent Seven in Ali’s hometown of Chicago. Hannifan noted that it looks like Ali might have sent Campaign Singh to cost Speedball Mike Bailey a number one contenders because Ali might be ducking Bailey. Ali was about to get in Hannifan’s face, but Campaign Singh cut in and said they went over their allotted time…

Matthew Rehwoldt plugged upcoming segments…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Another good sitdown interview from Hannifan, who continues to be one of the best in the business when it comes to utilizing this format to get wrestlers’ exposition over. Ali is a mixed bag with me. I like how he comes off like that guy who makes excuses for everything, even if he’s wrong. He’s also very credible in the ring. This right-ish wing politician thing is just not clicking and coming off as a cheap vocational gimmick (and we’ve seen better “political” characters in the past, like Dutch Mantel’s “We the People” thing and even Joe Gacy’s weird liberal thing a few years ago). I don’t get why he was so hell bent all these years to get this caricature character over when we’ve seen him do better work as more realistic characters. Even Retribution Ali was better than this.

The System were hanging out backstage, worried about heading over to the Hardy Compound. Eddie Edwards said he was there before, and bad things happen there. Moose said he broke bones in Broken Matt Hardy. He said he can’t wait to beat Matt Hardy in front of his wife and kids. Alisha Edwards said she doesn’t think this is a good idea.

Masha Slamovich showed up and said something in Russian. Ali said now was not the time. The System walked away. Marti Belle and Allysin Kay went to talk trash to Masha. Masha said more words in Russian before walking off…

Entrances for the next match took place…

2. Masha Slamovich vs. Marti Belle (w/Allysin Kay). The match started off with Masha locking in a side headlock and standing switch. Marti and Mashas traded wristlocks and armbars. Marti hit Masha with a shoulder tackle. Masha hit Marti with a drop toehold on the 2nd rope and a clothesline for a two count. Marti draped Masha on the 2nd rope and gave her a knee to the back of the neck. Kay raked Masha’s face on the 2nd rope when Marti distracted the referee.

Marti hit Masha in the corner with a hip attack. Masha came back with a overhead kick and Yakuza Kick. Masha hit Marti with a spinning heel kick for a two count. Marti rolled up Masha, but the referee stopped the call because Marti’s legs were on the ropes. Marti rolled up Masha off the distraction for the win.

Marti Belle defeated Masha Slamovich via pinfall in 4:34.

John’s Thoughts: Huh? The match was fine enough. To Marti’s credit, she’s improved A LOT since those rough outings back in 2016 when she was a part of the Dollhouse stable with Taryn Tarrell and Mia Yim. I’m just confused as to what TNA has done with Masha Slamovich since she dropped her winning streak to Jordynne Grace. She was the most dominant woman in TNA, winning all those short matches. Beating Havok in 10 seconds or so. Now she’s losing to Marti Belle (and many other wrestlers). Can we get the old dominant Masha back because she was fun to watch.

Xia Brookside and Steph De Lander were hanging out backstage with Steph still mulling over PCO’s “yes or no” card. Steph said she needed a bit more time than a week to decide and she’s going to tell PCO the next night at Against All Odds. Rich Swann and AJ Francis were clowning around past Xia and Steph with AJ holding a red rose. After First Class went through the door, PCO followed them…[c]

Gia Miller introduced Rich Swann and TNA Digital Media Champion AJ Francis. AJ and Rich made their entrance for a Gia Miller interview. Gia noted that AJ defeated Laredo Kid to become Digital Media Champion, but she wondered if his win was tainted due to Rich Swann assisting AJ with the win. AJ said Gia and the broke idiots in the venue probably don’t know what it’s like to have friends. AJ said your friends are supposed to have your back.

He said when he’s in the ring Rich has his back and when Rich is in the ring AJ has Rich’s back. AJ said because of that, First Class has the Digital Media Championship. Gia asked AJ why he was holding a rose. He said he’s been getting a lot of DMs and he got the rose from a fellow admirer backstage. The lights went out, and when they turned on PCO was behind AJ and Rich. PCO punched out AJ who dropped the rose. PCO no sold Swann’s punches and punched out Swann. Guards dragged AJ and Swann to the back. PCO picked up the rose and siffed it to end the segment…[c]

An ad aired for Against all Odds on TNA Plus… Entrances for the next match took place…

3. Tasha Steelz vs. Dani Luna (w/Lars Frederiksen, Jody Threat). Tasha and Dani started the match with a collar and elbow wich Dani dominated due to her size advantage. Tasha got a break in the corner. Tasha hit Dani with a thrust kick. Dani came back with a release Belly to Belly Suplex. Dani hit Tasha with a basement lariat for at two count. Dani hit Tasha with a Falcon Arrow for a two count.

Tasha kicked the ropes to knock Dani off the top rope. Tasha hit Dani with a kick combination. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]

Both women traded fatigued strikes back from break. Both women then took turns hitting each other with lariats against the ropes. Both women took each other out with stereo dropkicks. Dani rallied with clotheslines and a Claymore-like kick. Tasha rolled up Dani for a two count. Luna came back with a power bomb for a nearfall. Tasha reversed Dani by raking the eyes. Tasha rolled up Dani for a two count.

Tasha hit Dani with a Sliced Bread #2 for a nearfall. Tasha but Dani in a Rings of Saturn. Dani got a foot on the rope for the break. Jody Threat tried to inspire Dani. Dani hit Tasha with a rebound Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Tasha countered a Fireman Carry into a huracanrana. Luna reversed a Bulldog into a Luna Landing (Sit-out Power Bomb) for the victory.

Dani Luna defeated Tasha Steelz via pinfall in 10:55.

Frederiksen and Threat held up Luna’s arms in victory after the match…

John’s Thoughts: A well worked women’s match with Dani Luna getting a bit of a chance to showcase what she can do. Personally, I think there’s more upside in Tasha Steelz, especially since her last long run in TNA went really well with great matches, she does tend to disappear for long periods of time, so I wonder if it’s a risk to push her (I don’t think so? But she does tend to disappear for long stretches). I’m curious to see where they go with Threat losing her match to Tasha and Dani winning? The easy route is that Lars Frederiksen has found the spark in Spitfire to get them back to the tag titles. I wouldn’t mind if they break them up to get two singles stars to fill in the thin Knockouts singles division.

Gia Miller interviewed Joe Hendry. She asked him about his thoughts on getting let lying in the ring by the System, especially after all Hendry’s momentum. Hendry said they say you can’t beat The System, and last week Joe Hendry was beaten down by The System. Hendry said he’s a man of humility. Hendry said given the circumstances, he’ll admit if he has to become the best in TNA, he needs to learn a thing or two. He said he enlisted a man to help him who has experience in making someone “Best in the World”.

Joe Hendry introduced Ace Steel to the interview (CM Punk’s trainer and long time friend). Steel said he has well skilled eye for noticing talent. Steel said he believes in Joe Hendry. Steel said he also has the ability to push Joe to limits that Joe never knew he had, to get him to the upper echelon of the industry, and break that glass ceiling. Frankie Kazarian showed up and bragged about putting on a clinic in last week’s main event.

Hendry pointed out that Kazarian lost his match last week. Ace laughed. Kazarian said what he thinks is funny is Steel thinking that he can teach Hendry to be a top guy because Ace and Hendry don’t have what it takes. Kazarian said kings aren’t thought, they are born. Ace challenged Kazarian to a match against Joe Hendry at Against All Odds. Kazarian agreed and said to be the king you have to beat the king…

The show cut to The System in a fan driving up to the Hardy Compound looking worried…[c]

Eddie, Alisha, Myers, and Moose were walking through the forrest in front of the Hardy Compound. Broken Matt Hardy welcomed The System to the Compound and said he didn’t know why they decided to enter from the back yard. He said he wanted to show them the surprises at the front gate. He said he wants to introduce them to Queen Rebecca, King Maxel, Lord Wolfgang, Bartholomew the Fearless, the Gothic Baby, and Senior Benjamin. Moose said he doesn’t care about any of those people, but he’s glad they are here so he can kick their ass in front of them.

Hardy told Moose to stop moving forward because he just set off one of the traps. Random fireworks started firing at The System. Opera music also played. When the wireworks slowed down, Brian Myers picked up a Matt Hardy action figure (because Myers and Cardona love action figures). The toy caused him to warp to a random room in the compound filled with arcade machines. Myers then picked up another toy and said it was an upgrade.

Myers saw someone run past the door, and he chased him. He picked up another Matt Hardy action figure, which caused the SFX to calm down. A kid showed up and yelled “yaaaaaaaas!” (a grown up Maxel Hardy? Last time we saw him in these he was essentially a baby). Myers walked into a room with a ring and random skeletons all over the place. Matt welcomed Myers through the speakers. One skeleton was dressed up as Edge.

Myers heard Joe Hendry singing about Myers being “Edge’s bitch” in his head. He also saw neon green kick pads and that reminded him of the time when he was in Global Force Wrestling and won the TNA tag titles alongside Trevor Lee. Myers then saw a skeleton dressed up as himself and he heard Tom Hannifan (in WWE) announcing how he lost 269 matches in a row. Myers tried to pick up another action figure, but was speared by the Edge skeleton. Then Hardy’s son did Hardy’s “ohhhhhh” pose on the top of the ladder, followed by the usual leg drop on Myers.

Eddie Edwards was wandering around the forest near the Hardy Compound, yelling if anyone like Willow was around. He ran into Wolfgang Hardy, who asked Eddie if Eddie was an American Wolf. Eddie said that was behind him. Wolfgang said something else was behind Eddie right now. Eddie stared at a full moon and then transformed into a werewolf (they actually put effort into the makeup). Wolfgang Hardy howled with Eddie.

Alisha Edwards was in the house where piano music was playing (it sounds familiar, but I can’t pinpoint what it is). Alisha approached Reby Hardy and another one of their kids. Alisha said she thinks Matt and his family are all freaks and this place is a house of horror. Reby thanked Alisha for the comment. Alisha said she seen enough and walked away. One of Hardy’s kids got in Alisha’s way and shot confetti at her.

Moose was walking through the yard, yelling for Matt to show his face. Another one of Matt’s kids put his hand on Moose’s leg. Moose asked if the kids was stupid. The kid said he wasn’t stupid, he was Bartholomew the fearless. Bartholomew told Moose to follow him. Moose lost Bart Hardy. He found Senor Benjamin’s house. Senor Benjamin was in the theater room watching The Final Deletion. Moose entered the shack and found himself in “Matt Hardy’s childhood home”. Moose said Matt was one weird dude.

Matt appeared behind Moose and slammed him into the wall. Matt put Moose in a wheelchair and wheeled him into a garage. Somehow, Reby got Alisha in a Guillotine, as in the one that cuts heads off. The camera panned up, and Reby dropped the blade on Alisha’s neck apparently. Matt dumped Moose into the Lake of Reincarnation. Moose walked out wearing a Football Jersey and helmet.

Hardy said he turned Moose into his best form, number 69. Moose said Hardy wasn’t going to make it to Against All Odds. Moose was about to spear Hardy, but the Vanguard 1 Drone got in the way. Before Hardy could land the Twist of Fate on Moose, The System teleported to the front gate of the Hardy Compound, unscathed. Eddie wondered if all that was real. Moose said Hardy is a dead man and he’s going to kill Matt Hardy at Against All Odds. The segment ended with Matt Hardy yelling “yaaas!”…

John’s Thoughts: Not a bad iteration of the Broken Universe. The quality of the Universe really dropped off since Jeremy Borash left TNA, but this felt at least close to the quality of those stellar ones from back in 2016. Again, not for everybody. I thought they actually should have reintroduced Hardy using one of these instead of just having him be “Broken” outta nowhere. The System still suck as a top faction, but I thought this was the best they did with them in terms of trying to define their characters a bit. Part of why I liked this was because it’s been a hot minute since the last Broken Universe cinematic, where at one point we were getting burned out with them (and as I mentioned, the quality dropped off by the end of it).

Jaida Stone made her entrance. Hannifan noted that she’s been wrestling on XPlosion. George Iceman, the unnamed concierge, entered the ring and asked Stone for her name and where she’s from. She said her name and noted she’s a local from Kentucky. Iceman told Stone and the referee to exit the ring so he can do his personalized introduction for Ash by Elegance.

Ash then made her entrance for the next match. Hannifan noted that Ash by Elegance as involved in the NXT Women’s Match at Battleground. Rehwoldt noted that Tatum Paxley cost Grace the NXT Women’s title. Hannifan noted that Ash might be as much to blame due to her showing up uninvited while Paxley is a member of the roster. Right after the bell, the camera showed that Rosemary was watching the match from the rafters..

4. Ash by Elegance (w/George Iceman) vs. Jaida Stone. Stone refused to just lay down. Ash slammed Stone to the corner and put the boots to her. Ash showboated with a flip. Stone managed to avoid a few of Ash’s moves and then dumped Ash to ringside with a dropkick. Ash was claiming to maybe have a broken tooth to Iceman. Ash blocked a dive with a right hand. Ash hit Stone with a suplex at ringside. Ash got a few two counts in the ring.

Hannifan plugged Grace’s open challenge at Against All Odds and said if Ash is brave enough, she should take Grace up on it. Stone managed to hit Ash with a rebound kick. Ash got knees up to block a moonsault. Ash hit Stone with Rarified Air (Swanton Bomb) for the victory.

Ash by Elegance defeated Jaida Stone via pinfall in 3:53.

As usual, Iceman stopped everyone so he can announce Ash as the winner. For some reason Rosemary was holding a knife…

The show cut to a stylized promo by Jonathan Gresham. He was wearing his Great Muta-esque mask and formal attire. He said he really likes Sami Callihan. Gresham said Callihan makes him laugh and the joke’s on him. Gresham said the way he sees it is he beaten Callihan once, so why does he have to get in the ring with Sami again. Gresham said that at Against All Odds it’s Gresham vs. Sami’s immune system. The segment ended with a close up of Gresham opening his mouth…[c]

John’s Thoughts: Here’s the thing, this Gresham character is actually really cool and I’ve loved the trichotomy and therapy cinematics which added some depth to the old but stale pure rules guy. Gresham actually has shown solid acting chops in these cinematics. But he just loses me with the whole contagion gimmick. This wouldn’t even fly on Lucha Underground, it’s so campy; and that other show had Jeff Cobb eating people. I mean, even if we were to kayfabe this, shouldn’t this man be sent to quarantine in a hospital or something? Ugh….

The show cut to a promo from Jordynne Grace. Grace said she’s disappointed she didn’t win the NXT Women’s title, but totally understands that this is 100 percent on her. She said she should have anticipated the interference and she should have prepared for it. She said as disappointed as she was at the outcome, she still made history. She said she’s still a Knockouts Champion and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. She said she’s going to return the favor.

Grace said no matter if you’re an independent, TNA, WWE, MLW, NWA, Stardom, AAA, Grace doesn’t care, if you think you can take the Knockouts title, come try to take it. Grace said it doesn’t matter where you come from, what company you work for, nobody can stop the Juggernaut…

John’s Thoughts: No AEW mention on that list? Whatever happened to that working relationship (I actually really liked the heel Tony and Tony, Khan and Schiavone, paid advertisements). Good for Grace to make it clear that the person accepting the challenge is from another company. You can’t just use a TNA roster member after that promo. NXT foreshadowed Tatum Paxley being the person that accepts due to her suddenly being obsessed with the Knockouts Title outta nowhere. That should be a good match and I’m looking forward to see how Tatum is progressing in her development. I do hope we get Grace getting a win against a more credible and less developmental WWE star via this crossover too. Vic Joseph randomly making Joe Hendry references makes me think that we might at least be getting a Joe Hendry sighting next week via NXT teasing wrestlers from “other locker rooms” showing up.

Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from the center of the ring. Hannifan noted that Against All Odds was sold out. Hannifan ran through the advertised card. He also announced that Moose vs. Hardy will be a “Broken Rules Match”. Hannifan also announced a free pre-show which will feature Sami Callihan vs. Jonathan Gresham and Edwards and Slamovich vs. The Hex in a Knockouts Tag Title Match…

Entrances for the next match took place. Hannifan noted that Nic and Ryan Nemeth have never teamed together and in fact wrestled opposite each other in a tag match back in 2013 (presumably in NXT/FCW)…[c]

5. “ABC” Ace Austin and Chris Bey vs. Nic Nemeth and Ryan Nemeth. Bey kept his distance when Ryan went for an early takedown. Ryan got a few judo takedowns on Bey. Bey got a clothesline and a few strikes. Bey asked for Nic to tag in. Nic tagged in and got a rollup for a two count. Bey got an armdrag and mocked Nic with a Dolph Ziggler hip swivel. Nic took down Bey with a dropkick and returned the favor with his signature hip swivel.

Ace tagged in. Ace put Nic in a side headlock and then used a drop toehold to set up a listo kick for a two count. Austin kept Nic under control with joint manipulation. Austin used a hammerlock to cut Nic at the pass. Nic backdropped Austin, but Bey tagged in and double stomped Nic to prevent the tag. The show cut to picture in picture.[c]

Back from break, ABC used tags and tandem offense to cut the ring in half on Nic. ABC dominated for a few minutes, and even during the PIP. Nic dodged a Stinger Splash by Bey in the corner to get a window of opportunity. Nic tagged in Ryan for the hot tag. Ryan took down Bey with a flying shoulder tackle and neckbreaker for a two count. Bey backslid Nic for a two count after he tagged in.

Nic hit Bey with a Fameasser for a two count. Ryan tagged in. The Nemeth hit Bey with a double team clothesline. Bey escaped Ryan’s suplex and traded right hands with him. Bey and Ryan took each other out with clotheslines. Nic and Austin tagged in. Ace rallied and hit Nic with a side Russian Leg Sweep and leg drop. Ace caught Ryan with a Bulldog.

Ace hit Nic with a Disaster Kick for a two count. Bey and Nic hit Nic with a Brainbuster-kick combo to give Ace a two count. Ryan caught Ace with a DDT. Bey caught Ryan with a cutter. Ziggler caught Bey with a superkick to leave everyone lying. A TNA Chant ensued. Nic rolled up Ace for a two count. Ace rolled up Nic for a two count.

Ace hit Nic with a face stomp for a two count. Ryan dragged Ace to ringside when he went for a Fold. Ace crash and burned after Ryan dodged a Plancha. Ryan caught Bey with a Paydirt. Nic hit Bey with a Zig Zag/Danger Zone for the victory.

Nic Nemeth and Ryan Nemeth defeated Chris Bey and Ace Austin via pinfall in 20:59.

John’s Thoughts: Hard work from all four men, with Nic Nemeth continuing to be one of the best sellers in the business with his extended selling segment. I was surprised this match went over 20 minutes, but it didn’t drag so that’s good. While I find it admirable that Nic is doing his brother a solid by teaming with him, I feel like the tag division is above him and it should be Nic taking the title off Moose sooner rather than later (and definitely ahead of the depth chart over Matt Hardy). I would just put the titles back on ABC and let those two run with it.

A solid episode of NXT as most weeks are. I have a feeling TNA television might be in for a little bit of a shakeup in the next few weeks. They actually have me wanting to check out the TNA Plus special this week to see what they have in store for TNA. TNA and NXT have been teasing some crossover. Weather or not it will be delightful or underwhelming, we’ll have to wait and see. They also released RD Evans who was supposedly their de facto head of creative after D’Amore was cut. Of course, I’ll stay away from spoilers as usual, but it’s definitely going to be intriguing. Heck, NXT is live next week and they seemed to tease TNA involvement.