By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,054)
Taped September 14, 2024 in San Antonio, Texas at Boeing Center at Tech Point
Aired September 19, 2024 on AXS TV
Highlights from TNA Victory Road aired. That show closed with another appearance from John Bradshaw Layfield… Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. Jade Chung was the ring announcer…
Alisha Edwards made her entrance to no music. Alisha was wearing a red neckbrace. She was ranting about how she’s no longer champion. Edwards blamed Masha Slamovich for her loss. Masha Slamovich then made her entrance. Alisha got in Masha’s face and told her she can’t hit her because she’s in “concussion protocol” again.
Alisha said she was the brains behind the tag team and Masha was nothing without her. Alisha then mocked Masha for not understanding her English. Masha took the mic and spoke in Russian. She then spoke in perfect English and said she understood everything Alisha said. She said she’s sick of hearing Alisha’s voice and like the fans she’s sick of Alisha overall.
Tasha Steelz showed up and clubbed Masha from behind. Masha managed to turn the tables, but Alisha hit Masha with “Kendra” the Kendo Stick. Before Tasha could get a home run swing on Masha, Jordynne Grace showed up to even the numbers. Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards showed up to surround Grace and Masha.
Matt and Jeff Hardy ran out to run off all the heels. Director of Authority Santino Marella made his entrance. Santino booked Masha “Slam a Bitch” and the “Hard” Boys vs. Eddie, Tasha, and Myers.
Before Santino could book Jordynne, Santino’s real life daughter Arianna Grace made her entrance. Arianna said she is just as shocked as Jordynne at all the chaos going on. Arianna booked Jordynne Grace and “a best friend from NXT” (Karmen Petrovic?) vs. Wendy Choo and Rosemary. Santino joked that Arianna reminds him of himself. The segment ended with Matt Hardy leading Delete chants…
John’s Thoughts: A very efficient segment to set the feud tables coming out of the Victory Road show. Alisha Edwards has struggled for years getting past undercard enhancement level. She’s elevated her game as one of the biggest heat magnets in the company and a damn good talker. What I also liked is that it seems, fingers-crossed, that Masha Slamovich has FINALLY escaped the purgatory known as the Knockouts Tag Division. Her speaking perfect English was a good reboot set piece and I hope that with her back in Singles, that they rebuild her as the unstoppable force she was introduce to the company as. One last fun moment from that segment was Santino sharing the stage with his daughter who’s also shown a lot of growth as a chip off the old block.
Eric Young met up with Josh Alexander backstage. Young talked about being in the same dark place as Josh. He talked about how Josh is heading to a place that’s harder to get back from than he thinks. Young talked about everyone paying attention to Josh. He told Josh to really think about what he’s doing here. Young told Josh that he’s a leader and it’s time to take things seriously…
Tom Hannifan plugged upcoming segments…[c]
Jordynne Grace met up with Masha Slamovich backstage. Grace asked Masha if she’ll take her up on one of her open challenges. Masha said they’ll see each other soon, but she has business to take care of. Grace talked about how she never dreamed that she’ll be saved by her childhood heroes, the Hardys. Matt said they had a similar situation when they teamed with their heroes Michael Hayes and Ric Flair. Hardy then psyched up both women for their matches later…
Entrances for the next match took place…
1. “First Class” AJ Francis and KC Navarro vs. “Sinner and Saint” Judas Icarus and Travis Williams. Navarro did a flip dodge and yelled “First Class”. Williams took down Navarro with a wrist drop. Icarus tagged in, hit a dropkick, and got a two count off Navarro. Francis and Navarro cleaned house. Francis hit Icarus with his famous Flop Dive Knee.
Navarro hit Icarus with a Blockbuster for a two count. Icarus dumped Navarro to ringside. Icarus hit AJ with a DDT to tag in Williams. Williams caught Navarro with a Missile Dropkick. Williams hit Navarro with a dive. Icarus hit Navarro with a Inside Out Suplex for a two count. AJ hit Williams with a Uranage. Navarro hit Williams with a Frog Splash for the win.
First Class defeated Sinner and Saint via pinfall in 4:24.
John’s Thoughts: Sinner and Saint are TNA’s designated “local competitors” when they are in the area, so they did their solid job as usual bumping around for the contracted wrestlers. With Rich Swann out at the moment, it would be good to give them some more promo time, especially for the sake of Navarro to not come off as just Swann’s “understudy”.
Mike Santana was backstage banging a barbed wire bat on the ground. He said he’s been digging himself out of a hole all his life. He said The System doesn’t know how comfortable he is in this world. He said we’ll find out if JDC can go through the fire, because he’ll be baptized in blood. Santana said JDC is a mother-f*cker (censored) that is locked in this world with Santana…
Tom Hannifan plugged upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: We’ve seen the “faction hunter” archetype before (Kazarian for the Elite, Matt Riddle for The Bloodline, Yoshi Tatsu for Bullet Club, etc), but I think Santana has been one of the better ones as he’s actually climbing a mountain successfully in terms of character development. On top of that, he gets to showcase that that awesome promo ability that we saw when Konnan was temporarily out during his LAX run.
Gia Miller interviewed TNA X Division Champion Mike Bailey. Bailey talked about being happy to win the title in his hometown. He then put over the X Division as the most competitive division in wrestling. He said in that division you have to be the best of the best. Gia talked about how he’ll be teamed up with Leon Slater and Kushida to take on Zach Wentz and ABC. Bailey said Slater and Kushida are two of the best wrestlers in the world so they’ll have a match that you will not forget…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in from ringside. Hannifan announced that Steph De Lander will be out for a period of time for neck surgery. He then sent the show backstage to husband and wife PCO and De Lander. PCO yelled “Cardona!!!”. De Lander calmed down PCO and said now was not the time and he has to be patient…
Entrances for the next match took place. Hannifan noted that De Lander’s recovery time is projected to be 6 to 10 months after neck surgery…
2. Matt Cardona vs. Rhino. Cardona stalled at ringside. Back in the ring, Rhino rallied with hands and a tackle in the corner. Cardona ducked to ringside to avoid a Gore. Rhino hit Cardona with a snap suplex on the ramp. Cardona caught Rhino with a throat punch and Missile Dropkick for a two count.
Cardona went for ten punches in the corner, but Rhino reversed it into a Power Bomb. Rhino brought a chair in the ring. Cardona picked it up and hit Rhino in the gut for the DQ.
Rhino defeated Matt Cardona via DQ in 2:56.
After the match, Cardona hit Rhino with the Ruff Ryder Leg Lariat. PCO then appeared and gave Cardona a chokeslam. Cardona rolled to ringside to avoid a PCO sault. PCO then beat up the chair like it was a person. PCO gave the Chair a PCO Sault. PCO then gave the chair over ten punches…[c]
Spitfire made their entrance first. Arianna Grace made her entrance and then announced Kendall Grey and Carlee Bright as their opponents…
John’s Thoughts: Even though I review NXT every week, I can’t tell you much about Grey and Bright because they are in their developmental stage and getting little TV time. All I know is Bright is one of NXT’s many college cheerleaders and Grey randomly beats up Myles Bourne outta nowhere.
3. “Spitfire” Jody Threat and Dani Luna vs. Carlee Bright and Kendal Grey for the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships. Threat worked on Grey with Belly to Back work. Grey reversed a headlock into a suplex for a one count. Jody tagged in Luna who gave Grey a lariat in the corner. Luna hit Grey with a Fallaway Slam.
Threat tagged in to hit Grey with a delayed double team suplex. Grey shoved Luna into Threat to get Bright into the match. Bright hit Luna with a huracanrana and handstand kick. Bright hit Luna with a Dragonrana and flip for a two count. Threat tagged in and hit both opponents with a top rope senton. Threat hit Grey with an assisted Power Bomb for the win.
Jody Threat and Dani Luna defeated Kendall Grey and Carlee Bright via pinfall in 4:24 to retain the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championships.
Tom Hannifan plugged upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Solid stepping stone match for the new tag champs. TNA’s women’s division has been very thin due to departures, and the tag team titles have hurt that division because it locks up four people in a feud while Jordynne Grace fights on an island of her own. Thankfully, the NXTNA relationship has actually boasted the Knockouts division immensely. NXT can send their “developmental” types to feed to the Knockouts champions which allows TNA to tell proper feuds with their contracted wrestlers.
Heather Reckless met up with Ash by Elegance and The Concierge to accept their offer to improve her look. The Concierge said they were busy at the moment and they’ll think about it. Reckless said she’ll wrestle Xia Brookside next week and would like it if Ash can be at ringside. Ash said she’ll think about it…
Entrances for the next match…
4. Mike Santana vs. JDC in a Texas Death Match. Both men traded hands to start the match. Santana rallied with corner elbows. Santana hit JDC with a enzuigiri. Santana then hit Curtis with a few Face Wash kicks. Curtis ducked to ringside. Santana hit Curtis with a flip dive. Santana set chairs back to back. Both men traded counters.
Santana came back with Ten Punches in the corner. Curtis reversed it into a power bomb on top of the spines of the chairs. Curtis then hit a trash can that was on Santana with a Kendo Stick. Curtis hit Santana with the Last Dance Leg Drop. Curtis sold the leg drop. Santana was bleeding.
Santana then revealed he had a barbed wire bat. He raked the barbed wire on JDC.[c]
Back from break, Santana and Curtis were brawling backstage. Curtis gave Santana ground and pound. Curtis showed that he had a crimson mask. Santana reversed Curtis into a pile driver on the stage. Curtis shoved Santana off him. Curtis hit Santana with a Tornado DDT on the stage for a two count.
Santana gave Curtis a back body drop onto a barricade on the floor. Santana slammed a production crate twice into Curtis. Santana went up to the stage and stopped himself from diving. He then set up a ladder parallel to Curtis. Santana hit Curtis with a Splash through the table from the top of the ladder to pick up the win.
Mike Santana defeated JDC in 12:14 of on-air time to win the Texas Death Match.
Moose showed up and beat down Santana with chair shots. Moose then posed over the fallen Santana…
John’s Thoughts: Well damn. I kinda expected Santana to just tear through Curtis given how he’s mostly been a chicken heel and fall guy. Instead both guys worked hard to put on their best matches ever as singles wrestlers. Santana benefits by continuing to take down The System one-by-one. The person who I though really got the boost here was Johnny Curtis. We know that Curtis is a great talker and he proved here he can put on a high level match as well. The crimson masks also elevated the profile of this match.
Josh Alexander met up with Judas Icarus and Travis Williams and said he thinks that both guys have potential after their good match. He told them to not hesitate to reach out to him for advice…
Hannifan plugged Joe Hendry appearing after the break…[c]
A Xia Li vignette aired which had both Chinese and English subtitles. She said as the flames rise, they symbolize her growth and transformation. Burning brighter than ever. She said through baptism by fire, she was reborn as a stronger self, steadfast and unyielding, never to be extinguished.
Her TNA name was revealed as Léi Yǐng Lee and she will debut next week (I appreciate the Pinyin accent marks to pronounce her name correctly, won’t do much to help non-mandarin speakers though)…
John’s Thoughts: Very cool to see Xia Li make her way over to TNA as Léi Yǐng Lee. Cool sounding name if you pronounce it with the right tones. I’m surprised WWE never found a use for her as they were really wishy-washy with her gimmicks. My guess this was a case of “Vince McMahon not getting it”. They had to invest a lot of money in her because of those cool anime/donghua cinematics and augmented reality entrance.
Say his name, and he appears! I believe in Joe Hendry, clapclap. Joe Hendry made his entrance. Hendry soaked in “we believe” chants for an extended time. Hendry talked about this year being a roller coaster for him, but Victory Road was special. He said he made a statement when he beat one of the best to step foot in this company, Josh Alexander.
He said his goal when he came to the company is to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. He said he has a lot of support, but there are people who don’t want to see him successful backstage. He said that doesn’t matter because people around the world chant We Believe. He said no matter how much people put him down, the crowd lifted him up. He said he also thinks they’ll lift him to the TNA Championship.
Frankie Kazarian made his entrance. Kazarian asked Joe if he really thinks the fans will lift him up? He said that’s funny because the room is filled with men who have bellies that hide their genitals. Kazarian said just because Hendry got one victory, he thinks he’s in line for a TNA title shot. Kazarian said the only reason Hendry won was because he had a hidden loaded weapon in his crotch.
He said that was probably not the first time Hendry stuffed his crotched. He said people become sick of one hit wonders and Kazarian is sick of Hendry. He said he’s sick of his stupid voice, sounding like a combination of Shrek and Groundskeeper Willie. He said that he has Santino in his pocket. Kazarian said he believes in Frankie Kazarian.
Kazarian then called out Nic Nemeth to grant him a title shot. TNA Champion Nic Nemeth made his entrance. Kaz said he’s surprised that Nic came out because Nic is scared of him. He said he knows all of Nic’s strenghs and weaknesses which will allow him to take Nic’s strap. Nic told Kaz to shut up.
Nic congratulated Hendry for his recent win. He said he’s counting on Hendry to do good things. Nic then told Kaz to take his sunglasses off indoors. He then talked about how Kaz calls himself the King of TNA, but there’s only one crown, the TNA title, and standing in front is as close as Kaz is getting to the title. Santino Marella made his entrance and simply booked Joe Hendry vs. Kazarian next week for a shot at the TNA Title at Bound for Glory…[c]
John’s Thoughts: No way Frankie Kazarian wins next week. I’m only saying that because it would be bad storytelling. Hendry’s the a top babyface on NXT and TNA and that would only make sense. The JBL random appearances intrigue me. My guess, is that they don’t want a split crowd at Bound for Glory and they might end up using Bradshaw to turn Nic Nemeth for the night. Not sure, just a hunch.
The following segments were plugged for next week: Rosemary and Wendy Choo vs. Jordynne Grace and a mystery NXT wrestler, Laredo Kid vs. Jonathan Gresham, Zach Wentz and ABC vs. Mike Bailey, Leon Slater, and Kushida, and Frankie Kazarian vs. Joe Hendry…
Entrances for the main event took place…[c]
5. Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Masha Slamovich vs. Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and Tasha Steelz (w/Alisha Edwards) in an intergender six person tag match. Masha hit Tasha with a drop toehold, boot, and clothesline for a two count. Eddie tagged in and squared off with Masha. Eddie took a cheap shot at Matt. Matt then tagged in. Matt hit Eddie with a shoulder tackle and right hand.
Matt then choked Eddie on the 2nd and top ropes. Jeff tagged in and the Hardys hit Eddie with stereo strikes. Jeff hit Eddie and Myers with Poetry in Motion. Tasha gave Matt clubbing blows. Masha tossed Tasha to the corners. Masha hit Tasha with Poetry in Motion. Masha hit all three opponents at ringside with a top rope cannonball heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
Back from break, Eddie accidentally chopped Myers. Jeff tagged in and hit Eddie with his signature strikes for a two count. Jeff missed a Whisper of the Wind because Myers dragged Eddie to his corner. Myers tagged in and gave Jeff boots and a leg sweep for a nearfall. Tasha tagged in and did the Jeff Hardy dance with a twerk.
Tasha tagged in Eddie. Eddie ate a suplex, but Myers quickly tagged in to cut off Jeff at the pass. The heels used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Jeff. Myers knocked Masha off the apron. Jeff managed to take down the tag champs with Whisper of the Wind. Matt Hardy tagged in for the hot tag.
Matt rallied with body slams. Matt hit Eddie with a neckbreaker. Matt slammed both opponents into the buckle. Matt hit Myers with a Side Effect for a two count. The referee saw Alisha Edwards interfering, which caused the referee to eject her. Alisha refused to go back. Ace Austin and Chris Bey showed up and dragged Alisha to the back.
Masha dumped Tasha to ringside and hit her with a Middle Corkscrew Plancha. Jeff hit Eddie with a Twist of Fate. Matt hit Myers with a Twist of Fate. Jeff hit Myers with a Swanton Bomb. Matt picked up the pinfall.
Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Masha Slamovich defeated Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, and Tasha Steelz via pinfall in 16:11.
Tom Hannifan plugged some matches for next week to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: I was questioning why they would go with this standard six person tag in the main event slot, but all six wrestlers put in hard work to put on a good match. I still would have gone with the Santana vs. Curtis death match in the main even slot though given how epic that turned out. Even a low key assist from Alisha Edwards who continues to draw heat in unique ways.
A solid show from TNA this week with a combination of good action and segments to set the table for Bound for Glory. As I mentioned earlier, the NXTNA relationship helped pad out their roster a bit. Even if it’s the “developmental” wrestlers being sent over, that allows TNA wrestlers to go over strong (Unless your name is Wendy Choo or Rosemary, who’s booking on both shows confuses me). One thought though, aside from the ascent of Hendry, Bound for Glory doesn’t quite sound like “the biggest show of the year”. Can TNA call Hunter and HBK to see if they can borrow AJ Styles for the night?
Saint & Sinner are contracted talent as well. They signed a while ago.