By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,039)
Taped June 15, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois at Cicero Stadium
Aired June 20, 2024 on AXS TV
[Hour One] Impact opened with a video package that recapped the Against All Odds event that streamed on Impact+… The Impact opening aired… Tom Hannifan and Matt Rehwoldt were the broadcast team, and Jade Chung was the ring announcer…
Powell’s POV: I found out this morning after watching this episode late last night that John Moore was unable to cover the show. Due to the unexpected need to watch the show again, I will not have time to write a separate Hit List, but obviously my thoughts on the matches and segments will be included in the commentary of this review.
“The System” Moose, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, and Alisha Edwards made their entrance along with Dirty Dango. Alisha tried to speak and was booed by the fans. Eddie told the fans they were looking at history and said they are the super team of pro wrestling. Eddie boasted about how they all retained their titles at Against All Odds.
Myers asked how many heroes of the fans they had to beat up. An “Eddie’s bitch” chant broke out. Myers claimed The System is the greatest faction in pro wrestling history. Myers introduced Dirty Dango, who finally changed his name.
Johnny “Dango” Curtis asked what you do when you’re not booked for three months. He said he questioned whether he could still be a pro wrestler. Curtis said he can and the suits know it. A “Dango sucks” chant broke out. Curtis asked what else you have in life and answered his own question by saying friends.
Dango said he and Eddie Edwards started together 21 years ago. He said he’s known Alisha since she was 15 and considers her a sister. Curtis said he and Myers started in developmental together and he considers him a brother. Curtis said Moose is a little trepidatious about him, but he wanted him to know that he trusts in The System.
Moose told Dango to slow his roll. Moose said Curtis is not part of The System yet. Moose said he and The System are unbeatable. Moose said he hasn’t lost a singles match in nearly two years and there’s no one in the locker room who can beat him. Moose said the company had to bring in outsiders to try to take out The System.
TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella made his entrance and spoke from the entrance area. Santino praised Moose for having an impressive title run, but took issue with the way he does things. Santino announced “The Road to Slammiversary.” He said there will be five qualifying matches and the winner of those matches will face Moose in a six-way elimination match for the TNA Championship at Slammiversary.
Santino booked Curtis in a match against Ryan Nemeth for later in the show. He also announced Josh Alexander vs. Eric Young in the first qualifying match and said it will be the main event…
Powell’s POV: I’m thrilled that Curtis changed his name from Dirty Dango. His promo was decent yet unmemorable. I like the idea of making him a more serious act and yet I also hope there will still be some elements of his hilarious Dango act. The System still doesn’t do much for me, but adding Curtis would
Highlights aired from Against All Odds of Ace Austin and Chris Bey beating Josh Alexander and Eric Young…
Ace Austin and Chris Bey delivered a backstage promo. Austin spoke about how they need one more victory on their road to regaining the TNA Tag Team Titles… [C]
Footage aired of Frankie Kazarian walking backstage and exiting the WWE Performance Center. Kazarian accused Joe Hendry of trying to steal his thunder by competing in the 25-man battle royal that aired on Tuesday’s NXT television show. Kazarian boasted about eliminating Hendry from the battle royal…
1. “Spitfire” Jody Threat and Dani Luna vs. “The Hex” Allysin Kay and Marti Belle. Both entrances were televised. Hannifan mentioned Lars Frederiksen, but the punk rock legend was not in the corner of Threat and Luna. Threat and Luna performed a double team move that resulted in Luna slamming Belle, who was then pinned by Threat…
“Spitfire” Jody Threat and Dani Luna beat “The Hex” Allysin Kay and Marti Belle in 6:00.
Powell’s POV: A competitive match with a clean finish. The Hex just lost a Knockouts Tag Team Title match at Against All Odds, so it was logical for Spitfire to go over. But how were they able to win without the coaching of pro wrestling mastermind Frederiksen?!? Again, it’s cool that longtime fan Frederiksen is part of the act, but it does seem silly that he’s portrayed as coaching his team on in-ring matters.
Footage aired from Against All Odds of Moose pulling Rebecca Hardy into the path of Matt Hardy’s spear, which led to Rebecca being speared through a table in the corner of the ring…
Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Rebecca Hardy delivered a promo from outside the venue. Matt was fired up about Moose putting his hands on his wife. Matt said that he had help now with Jeff Hardy. Matt said they are the greatest tag team of all-time and would create mayhem, chaos, and take over TNA…
Powell’s POV: Matt wasn’t in “Broken” mode until he said the word “over” at the end, so hopefully he’s moving back to a more traditional version of himself now that Jeff is back. It was odd that we didn’t hear anything from Jeff even though he just had a big return at Against All Odds.
Alan Angels hosted his “Soundcheck” talkshow in a backstage area with guest Kushida. Angels set up footage of Jonathan Gresham giving Kushida the ink treatment, and then of Kushida showing up during a Gresham match and taking a sample of the ink out of his mouth. This was followed by a segment that listed Kushida as being in Tokyo that showed him and another man doing something with the ink in a kitchen.
Angels asked Kushida what he was doing. Kushida said Gresham’s ink made everyone sick and now he’s looking for a cure. Angels asked if he’s qualified. Angels accused him of trying to sell snake oil to the public. Kushida barked at Angels and was about to leave, but Angels stopped him and asked if he was trying to start a fight. Kushida said they could have a fight next week. “I didn’t think he was going to say that,” Angels said after Kushida walked away…
Powell’s POV: Angels continues to portray himself as a cowardly joke. He’s a talented wrestler and he does a fine job with the character he’s playing, but the problem is that the character is an undercard heel. I wish he would aim higher.
Hannifan listed the Road to Slammiversary qualifying matches starting with Alexander vs. Young as this show’s main event, Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan and Nic Nemeth vs. Rich Swann for next week, and Frankie Kazarian vs. Mike Santana and Joe Hendry vs. Jake Something in two weeks…
Powell’s POV: The idea of a six-way elimination match as the Slammiversary main event doesn’t do a lot for me, but the qualifying matches give
Frankie Kazarian made his entrance. Highlights aired of Frankie Kazarian and Joe Hendry’s involvement in the NXT battle royal. Ace Steel made his entrance while footage aired of Steel and CM Punk from Steel’s TNA Asylum debut…
2. Frankie Kazarian vs. Ace Steel in a Chicago Street Fight. Kazarian bodyslammed Steel at ringside heading into a picture-in-picture break. [C] Kazarian dominated the action throughout the break. A trashcan, chairs, and a kendo stick were introduced as weapons. Late in the match, Kazarian placed two chairs in the middle of the ring and then hit his Fade to Black finisher on top of them before getting the three count.
Frankie Kazarian defeated Ace Steel in 10:30 in a Chicago Street Fight.
After the match, Kazarian put Steel in a chicken wing submission hold. Joe Hendry ran out and hit Kazarian with a Standing Ovation. Hendry’s entrance theme played while he checked on Steel…
Powell’s POV: It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Steel in the ring, so I enjoyed it from that standpoint. Cagematch.net listed this as Steel’s first match since April 2023 and just his second match since August 2022. He did a really nice job despite the long layoff. That said, he popped up on television and they made it seem like he was Joe Hendry’s coach. As someone who didn’t catch the Impact+ special, I have no idea how we went from Steel as a coach to returning to the ring. For that matter, they showed some footage of Johnny Curtis helping The System retain the tag team titles, but there was no explanation for what actually led to him being at ringside. I’m sure there are far more fans watching Impact that don’t see the Impact+ or pay-per-view specials, so the company has to be better about not leaving those viewers in the dark.
Backstage, Mustafa Ali spoke with Campaign Singh about a scandalous video that was leaked at Against All Odds. Singh tried to suggest that Ali speak to the people. Ali cut him off and acted like the idea to speak was his own and said he would hold a State of the Union Address…
Powell’s POV: Why not play the video? Leaving viewers who don’t watch the Impact+ specials in the dark may cause some fans to order Impact+, but there’s a big risk of turning off even more viewers who don’t want to pay for the streaming service and causing them to stop watching the show if they feel like they can’t keep up on the product by watching the weekly television show.
A group of security guards were lined up in two rows in a hallway. They all applauded when PCO entered the area, presumably due to PCO getting a date with Steph De Lander. PCO punched one of the security guards, causing the rest to scurry away… [C]
[Hour Two] Steph De Lander made her entrance and Hannifan noted that she was in Elvira mode. The ring had a table and chairs set up for the late. PCO made his entrance. De Lander held the ropes open for PCO, who joined her inside the ring. De Lander pulled out PCO’s chair and he sat down. PCO stood up and then picked up De Lander’s chair as if it was a weapon, but she talked him down and they both took their seats.
PCO lit candles on the table. De Lander asked PCO what he likes to do for fun. He yelled and pumped his arms. She said she loves The Notebook too. PCO drank black liquid and spit some all over himself, then passed it to De Lander, who winced before drinking the substance.
De Lander called for the masked waiter, who was standing in a corner of the ring, to bring wine. PCO overfilled her glass. PCO removed the cover of a plate that was in the middle of the table. It looked like a bunch of black noodles meant to look like worms on the plate. PCO said it was the Stephanie Special.
PCO took a mouthful of the noddles and tried to hand her some, but she had him put them down. De Lander showed him how to use a fork. PCO and De Lander were about to share a kiss when they were interrupted.
“First Class” AJ Francis and Rich Swann made their entrance. Francis offered a toast to “eternal undead love.” Francis took a drink of the wine and then spat it out. He said the problem with cheap win is that you feel like you got kicked in the head the next morning.
Francis threw the wine at PCO and then Swann superkicked PCO. Swann tied PCO to the ropes while De Lander slapped Francis, who then grabbed her by the throat and chokeslammed her through the table… [C]
Powell’s POV: This was not for me. The live crowd enjoyed the campy date way more than I did. I was surprised by the man on woman violence. I guess TNA doesn’t have to worry about network standards and practices departments when their own parent company owns their network.
Heather Reckless was in the ring and playing to the crowd coming out of the break. The Concierge came out asked Reckless what her name was, then said the only thing reckless about her was her tattoos. The Concierge delivered his over the top introduction of Ash By Elegance…
3. Ash By Elegance vs. Heather Reckless. Ash won the brief match with her Rarified Air finisher.
Ash By Elegance beat Heather Reckless in 2:45.
Afterward, Ash set up Reckless for Juggernaut Driver. Jordynne Grace came out and set up Ash for the same move, but The Concierge hit Grace with an intentionally weak couple of shots from behind. The Concierge begged off. Grace grabbed him by the collar. Ash attacked Grace and then hit her with the Knockouts Title belt. Ash posed over Grace with the title belt… [C]
Powell’s POV: A showcase for Ash followed by an angle that will apparently end the slow build to Grace vs. Ash.
Backstage, Jordynne Grace said Ash By Elegance stared as a minor annoyance and has become much more than that. Grace said she was going to ask Santino Marella for a match with Ash…
4. JDC (Johnny Dango Curtis) vs. Ryan Nemeth. Curtis was listed as JDC on the pre-match graphic, so that appears to be the name he will be using. Nemeth hit a late DDT and a neckbreaker. JDC rolled to the floor to avoid being pinned. Nemeth threw JDC back inside the ring. When Nemeth followed, JDC kicked the ropes into his groin. JDC performed an Air Raid Crash and a top rope leg drop and then pinned Nemeth.
JDC defeated Ryan Nemeth in 3:20.
After the match, Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers walked out applauding JDC and joined him inside the ring. The trio put the boots to Ryan Nemeth. Nic Nemeth came out without entrance music and was able to clear the three heels from the ring…
Powell’s POV: Does pro wrestling really need another guy who goes by three initials? Oh well, JDC is an upgrade over Dirty Dango. JDC going over was the right move given that he’s rebooting his character. It did make Ryan look a little soft that he lost to JDC, only to have his brother clear JDC, Edwards, and Myers from the ring all by himself.
The following matches were announced for next week’s Impact: Xia Brookside vs. Masha Slamovich, Ace Austin and Chris Bey vs. Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel vs. Cody Deaner and Jake Something in a three-way tag match, and Steve Maclin vs. Sami Callihan and Nic Nemeth vs. Rich Swann in qualifiers for the TNA Title match at Slammiversary…
The broadcast team spoke at ringside and plugged upcoming shows… A video package aired with comments from Eric Young and Josh Alexander about facing one another in the main event… Entrances for the main event took place…
5. Josh Alexander vs. Eric Young in a qualifying match for the six-way TNA Title match at Slammiversary. Young caught Alexander with a back elbow and was in offensive control heading into an early break. [C] Hannifan noted that Moose smiled when the six-way main event was announced for Slammiversary. Rehwoldt said that’s the level of confidence that the champion has.
Young executed a nice neckbreaker and followed up with a piledriver. Young had the pin, but Alexander put his foot over the bottom rope at the last moment for a good near fall. Young set up for a piledriver from the middle rope. Alexander slipped away and applied a an ankle lock that Young escaped.
A short time later, Alexander hit a German suplex and then lowered the straps on his gear. Alexander hit the C4 Spike and scored the clean pin.
Josh Alexander defeated Eric Young to qualify for the six-way TNA Title match at Slammiversary.
After the match, Alexander approached Young and both men shared a hug. Young left the ring and then Alexander celebrated his win to close the show…
Powell’s POV: A good main event. I love the finish. No overprotection bullshit, just a good clean finish. I hope that was a sign of things to come for the rest of the qualifiers. Overall, there was more good than bad, but the company needs to be better about making things easier for fans who only watch the television product to follow along.
Why not just watch the TNA+ specials? I don’t really see the point of watching the weekly shows that build to the specials, but not watching the specials themselves? Feels like an important part of reviewing a product, not to mention the live specials are the best part of TNA.
Very simple. I try to have some semblance of a life outside of work, which is not easy these days given the amount of content all these companies are putting out there. But it’s not about me. I’m far from alone when it comes to not watching the TNA+ specials. Even if I watched them all, I’d be saying the same thing – they are alienating a lot of Impact viewers when they fail to properly recap the specials.