By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,064)
Taped November 9, 2024 in Fayetteville, N.C. at Crown Arena
Aired December 12, 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…
TNA X Division Champion Moose made his entrance for a promo. Moose talked about how everyone has been asking him the question, “what am I going to do with the [X Division Championship]”? He noted that he’s a 3 time world champion. That being said, he said he’s going to make the X title the most important title in TNA. Moose talked about the world title currently being held by one of the best wrestlers in the world today, Nic Nemeth.
Moose said nobody is talking about Nic because the people are busy talking about Moose. Moose said Joe Hendry is the hottest thing in the industry now, but he doesn’t have a title like Moose. Moose noted that Matt and Jeff are the most declorated tag team in wrestling history, holding thet tag titles, but nobody is talking about them because the people are chanting “Moose”. Moose said the truth of the matter is he doesn’t need the stupid people.
Moose said once he’s done with the X Division, he’ll go down in history as the best X Division Champion in history. Cody Deaner made his entrance to interrupt. Deaner talked about how he was listening to Moose trash talk the people. Deaner said even though he respects Moose, Moose needs to shut his damn mouth. Deaner talked about how he lost his way a few months ago along with his love for pro wrestling. He said he put his faith in the hands of the people by making his decisions for him.
He said that led to the most fun he’s had in pro wrestling and the people made him love pro wrestling again. Moose called the fans imbeciles and pathetic idiots, especially a fat guy in the front row. Moose noted that ever since Deaner trusted the idiots he never won a match. Deaner said he thinks if he had the people behind him he can win a match. He said if he has the people of North Carolina behind him, he can win the X Division Championship.
Moose said Deaner doesn’t have to do his “People’s Choice” thing because the decision is easy. Moose blasted Deaner with a Mafia Kick and called for a damn referee…
1. Moose vs. Cody Deaner for the TNA X Division Championship. Moose told the crowd to chant “Cody” while he put the boots to Cody. Moose said he has dinner plans so it’s time to go home. Deaner dumped Moose to ringside by dodging a spear and hit him with a Suicide Dive.
Back in the ring Deaner got a few rollup two counts. Moose blasted Deaner with a Mafia Kick again. Deaner escaped a Power Bomb and hit Moose with Sliced Bread Number 2 for a two count. Moose reversed a DDT into a Uranage. Moose hit Deaner with a Spear for the victory.
Moose defeated Cody Deaner via pinfall in 3:05 to retain the TNA X Division Championship.
Hannifan plugged the Moose vs. Kushida X Title match for Final Resolution…
John’s Thoughts: Decent enough promo from Moose, but it’s still not clear what Moose has planned to make the X Division title unique by being the heavyweight that holds the, essentially, cruiserweight title while running through Cruiserweights. Again, it’s hard to step to that next chapter when they keep having to speed-book for these Impact Plus shows (which don’t even have as much Impact as NXT’s intermediary themed shows). As for the match, good fodder match as Cody is a good intro fodder person for new champs. I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a huge singles title win down the road as a reward for putting people over, similar to what they did with Showtime Eric Young back in the day.
Gia Miller interviewed AJ Francis, KC Navarro, and Tasha Steelz. She talked about how AJ and Tasha have big title matches at Final Resolution and how the main event of this episode is a preview where AJ, KC, and Tasha face Joe Hendry, Nic Nemeth, and Masha Slamovich. KC said they are feeling blessed because AJ and Tasha are future champions. Tasha said tonight will just be a taste as to what she’s going to do to Masha at Final Resolution.
Tasha said Masha is going to get the full entree and be taken to painville at Final Resolution. AJ said beating Nic Nemeth won’t just be the culmination of 6 years in pro wrestling, but the culmination of 34 years of AJ’s life. He talked about how he earned, worked, and trained for this opportunity. He said he’s going to put these big hands on Nic tonight, and chokeslam him the next night three times to take the life out dat boi and become TNA World Champion. AJ said that will give First Class more money, money, money. Before leaving, AJ and KC told Gia that she looked great…
Tom Hannifan plugged upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: AJ has done a great job as First Class, but I would come up with a better catchphrase than “money, money, money”. Yes it’s easy and common to know. Yes he used it in Hit Row. But I don’t think they need to reference the faction that never really got off the ground. On top of that, “money, money, yeah, yeah” by JTG and Shad Gaspard (RIP Shad) was way more catchy.
Mike Santana was about to cut a promo, but he was quickly cut a pre-tape promo, but he was interrupted by Josh Alexander, Judas Icarus, and Travis Williams. Santana said Josh was stupid because the producer clearly said “pre-tape” three times. Josh talked about how Santana ran through The System members, but he did as well. He also talked about being a part of an iconic tag team (The North w/Ethan Page) to send Santana [and Ortiz] packing from TNA initially.
Santana said “let’s do it”. Santana called Icarus and Williams chihuahuas and told Josh to keep them on a leash. Josh said nothing is happening now because Santana knows that Josh can put him down anytime. Santana said Josh ain’t puttin’ anybody down. Josh said at Final Resolution, he’s putting Santana down…
Entrances for the next match took place…
2. Rosemary vs. Xia Brookside. Both women started with chain wrestling. Xia got in a side headlock takedown. Xia then took down Rosemary with a huracanrana and dropkick. Xia flipped Rosemary in the corner and got a two count. Rosemary blocked a huracanrana and turned it into a sidewalk slam for a two count. Xia escaped a side headlock takedown. Xia caught Rosemary with a crossbody. Rosemary took out Xia and her self by fighting through with a clothesline.
Rosemary and Xia traded fighting spirit punches. Xia won the rally and hit Rosemary with a Frankendriver. Xia caught Rosemary with a meteora and Russian Legsweep for a two count. Rosemary escaped a Crossface with a rollup. Rosemary put Xia in the Upside Down hold. Xia came back with a drop toehold and two count. Rosemary reversed a Jackknife pin with a Rear Naked Choke. Xia escaped with a pin attempt. Rosemary hit Xia with the Wing Clipper for the victory.
Rosemary defeated Xia Brookside via pinfall in 6:31.
Rosemary attacked Xia after the match. Jordynne Grace ran out to chase away Rosemary…
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Standard stepping stone match as they continue to build the repackaged Rosemary (yes, she had that failed run with Wendy Choo as a tag team, but it’s best we forget about that forgettable run). Interesting to see how they book her against Jordynne Grace, who was the most dominant wrestler in TNA, but has lost more matches than ever since losing the title. Xia is someone who I feel NXT and TNA have underutilized (and Xia’s dad is a head trainer in NXT! Regal’s son is doing well!). She’s someone I always thought had potential as a “Tomboy Girl Next Door” type, which is what I saw her play on the California indies. I never saw her really sink her teeth into a heel run, but that might be what’s needed to freshen her up?
Gia Miller interviewed Trent Seven. Gia informed Trent that he has a match against Ace Austin at Final Resolution. Trent said that shouldn’t happen, because he beat Ace in Hardy Country in North Carolina. Ace showed up and said that Trent cheated to beat the Hardy’s and him at North Carolina, which was disgusting. He said it was also disgusting what Trent did to his tag partner (Mike Bailey… He also technically betrayed Tyler Bate in his previous tag team the exact same way).
Ace said he’d do anything to still have his tag team partner active and healthy, Chris Bey. Ace said he’ll show Trent exactly how the alphabet goes. Trent said he’d see Ace at Final Resolution…
Entrances for the next match took place. Hannifan plugged a QR code which links to Chris Bey’s gofundme…
3. “The Rascalz” Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel vs. Laredo Kid and Leon Slater. The match started with quick tags and quick counters, leading to a four way stalemate. The show cut to picture-in-picture.[c]
Back from the break, Wentz was working on Slater’s left arm with a submission, which Slater got a rope break off. Slater got a window of opportunity after hitting Trey with a cutter. Kid tagged in and cleaned house. Kid hit Wentz with two Twisting Moonsaults for a two count. Slater tagged in. The Rascalz took out both opponents with stereo huracanranas and stereo suicide dives.
Kid hid Trey with a Suicide Dive. Slater hit Wentz with a Flip Dive over the ringpost. Slater hit Miguel with a Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Trey set up Slater for Wentz to hit him with a draping Swanton Bomb for a two count that Kid broke up. All four men got up and traded right hands. They all then took turns hitting signature moves. Slater and Kid were left standing. Wentz hit Salter with a sick looking superkick while Slater was in a Swanton 450. Trey hit Kid with Cheeky Nandos. Trey then hit Kid with a double stomp while Wentz hit him with a Burning Hammer. Wentz picked up the pinfall win over Laredo Kid.
The Rascalz defeated Laredo Kid and Leon Slater via pinfall in 11:44.
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Fun tag team match and what you would usually expect from the Rascalz on a regular basis. I just came to the realization that there’s a hole in TNA now that we don’t get Mike Bailey’s weekly guaranteed main event worthy match. WWE clearly want the Rascalz. There’s a reason WWE put the tag belts immediately on Wentz and Dez in their first month in the company. If the Rascalz bolt, we lose that weekly guaranteed banger too. Let’s enjoy them while they last. Kid and Slater are two singles wrestlers put together, but they meshed well. Slater in particular is someone who TNA can consider to help fill the Mike Bailey banger vacuum, especially when he’s taking and selling superkicks off Swanton 450s like that, while hopefully being safe.
The System cut a promo backstage to all hype up their matches at Final Resolution…
Entrances for the next match took place…
4. Jake Something and Alexander Hammerstone vs. Sami Callihan and PCO. PCO no sold Something’s right hands and took him down. Sami tagged in and worked on Jake’s fingers with joint manipulaiton. PCO tagged in and tackled Jake in the gut. Hammerstone distracted PCO with a knee to the back which allowed Jake to hit PCO with a leaping hip attack. The heels used tags to cut the ring in half on PCO.
PCO hit Jake with a clothesline. Jake no sold Callihan’s right hands. Callihan bit the face of Jake. Callihan hit Jake and Hammerstone with a DDT and Flatliner at the same time. PCO tagged in and hit both opponents with a DDT at the same time. PCO hit Jake with a Suicide Dive. Callihan hit Jake with a Stunner. PCO went to the top rope and no sold a chair shot from Hammerstone, leading to a DQ.
PCO and Sami Callihan defeated Hammerstone and Jake Something via DQ in 5:15.
PCO’s face was shown bleeding. The lights went dark and the random number 23 thing flashed on the screens…[c]
John’s Thoughts: A fun little big man match. PCO and Sami seem random. Sami’s latest run in Impact has been underwhelming. It’s so underwhelming, that I currently see him as his disappointing NXT character, Solomon Crowe, the non-hacker version. I do like Hammerstone and Something’s anti-non-heavyweight tag team. Not really intrigued by this “23” thing yet. I’m all for viral marketing that makes the crowd think; but I’m also used to some of these not really leading to big payoffs.
Entrances for the next match took place. The Personal Concierge handled the introduction for Heather by Elegance…
5. Dani Luna (w/Jody Threat) vs. Heather by Elegance (w/Ash by Elegance, The Personal Concierge). Heather called for a collar and elbow instead of a Test of Strength. Dani hit Heather with a shoulder tackle and hit her with a fallaway slam. Heather rolled to ringside with Ash. The Concierge held Dani’s leg in front of the referee. The ref ejected The Concierge.
Heather rolled up Dani for a two count. Ash got a cheap shot in while the ref was not looking. Dani rallied with clotheslines, caught Heather out of the air, and hit her with a body slam. Dani hit Heather with a rebound back suplex for a two count. Heather hit Dani with a Mero Sault for a nearfall. Dani came back with a deadlift and regular German Suplex. The referee was about to eject Ash after Ash interfered, but Jody hit Ash with a Suicide Dive. Dani hit Heather with a sitout Bomb for the win.
Dani Luna defeated Heather by Elegance via pinfall in 6:39.
Hannifan noted that both teams are even at 2 wins a piece. Hannifan then plugged the main event…
John’s Thoughts: Only 4 matches between these teams? It just feels like more than that; but that’s also because for the past year, I felt like it’s been a bunch of singles matches between Spitfire and random singles wrestlers put together to form the women’s tag title picture. The Knockouts Tag division is a bit of a void. You’re less over and developed wallowing in it. Look at Masha when she was in it and was losing matches cleanly to wrestlers like Dani Luna and Jody Threat. Only way I would justify this Division is if WWE can ship a bunch of their talented developmental women stuck in WWE’s pipeline; but the NXTNA partnership seems on-hold at the moment.
Hannifan and Rehwoldt checked in on commentary, where they ran through the TNA Plus Final Resolution advertised card…
Entrances for the main event took place…
6. Masha Slamovich, TNA Champion Nic Nemeth, and Joe Hendry vs. Tasha Steelz, AJ Francis, and KC Navarro in an intergender six person tag team match. Joe and KC started the match. KC got a cheap shot in off a AJ distraction, but Hendry quickly got control and hit KC with a long delayed body slam. Nic tagged in and worked on KC with quick amateur wrestling and pin attempts. KC caught Nic with a Gamengiri, but got taken down when he tried to mock Nic’s hip dance.
Nic worked on KC with dropkicks. Masha and Tasha tagged in. Tasha rallied with right hands. Masha came back witha draping boot and clothesline for a two count. KC got a cheap shot knee on Masha heading into picture-in-picture.[c]
The heels cut the ring in half on Masha. Masha hit KC with a backfist to bring in Nic. Nic hit KC with a neckbreaker. Nic hit KC with is signature 10 elbow drops for a two count. AJ clotheslined Nic when Nic was tuning up the band. AJ tagged in and stretched Nic on the ropes. AJ hit Nic with his signature Flop Dolla move (Yes it’s now called Tennessee Whiskey, but I do appreciate how AJ has taken his famous botch and made it his own signature move).
The heels used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Nic Nemeth. Nic got a window of opportunity after a hanging DDT. Hendry hit KC and and AJ with Fallaway Slams. AJ broke up Hendry hitting KC with a Standing Ovation. Hendry dumped AJ to ringside. Nic hit AJ with a diving clothesline. Nic hit KC with a FameAsser. Tasha broke up Nic’s pin. Masha dumped Tasha to ringside and hit her with a dive. Nic hit KC with a Danger Zone for the victory.
Nic Nemeth, Joe Hendry, and Masha Slamovich defeated KC Navarro, AJ Francis, and Tasha Steelz via pinfall in 15:55.
Francis tossed Hendry into the steel steps. Francis hit Nemeth with a spear. Francis tried to chokeslam Masha, but Masha bit his hand. Tasha hit Masha with a cutter. Nemeth rallied with right hands, but Francis did what he said earlier, and hit Nic with three chokeslams. The show closed with Francis posing with the TNA title and putting it over the body of the fallen Nemeth…
John’s Thoughts: Standard formula match that usually previews a PLE or Themed Show. Face team leaves the crowd going home happy with the heels getting their heat heading into their title matches (though the “going home happy” part kinda undermines the heat a bit). I like AJ Francis. Think he’s a great heel anchor in the midcard. No one sees him as more than just a challenger of the month, notably because they’ve been building towards Nemeth vs. Hendry with Nemeth showing heel tendencies.
I kinda think that telegraphs that Hendry wins the number one contenders four way. I almost think Maclin and Santana will end up in a feud with Northern Armory (based off the pre-tape earlier) leading to Joe Hendry as the obvious winner by default. This show had a bunch of matches, but it was just alright. If anything, I’d recommend the Rascalz match as the match you can cherry pick for your weekly viewing. It’s just tougher to recommend these builds towards TNA Plus shows as “must-see”.
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