By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,068)
Taped December 14, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia at Center Stage
Aired January 9, 2025 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…
The System made their entrance first (sans Moose) followed by the entrance of their opponents Eric Young, Jonathan Gresham, and Steve Maclin…
1. Eric Young, Jonathan Gresham, and Steve Maclin vs. “The System” Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and JDC (w/Alisha Edwards). Eddie and Gresham started off the match. Gresham caught Eddie with a crossbody and tagged in Young. Young tossed Young into his corner to try to cut the ring in half on Young, but Young came back with elbows and a dropkick for a two count. Alisha distracted Young which allowed Myers and Curtis to tag Young with right hands.
Curtis tagged in and worked on Young with methodical offense. Eddie tagged in and taunted the crowd. This allowed Young to hit Eddie with a hook suplex. Myers tagged in and regained control. The heels cut the ring in half on Young with Young getting flashes of offense in. Young reversed Brian’s Roster Cut into a Death Valley Driver. Maclin caught the hot tag and hit Curtis with a Thesz Press.
Maclin stacked Eddie and Curtis in the corner. Maclin hit Eddie with an Angle Slam. Maclin hit Curtis with a backbreaker. Myers broke up Maclin’s pin on Curtis. Maclin hit Curtis with a Tree of Woe Spear and Death Rider for the win.
Steve Maclin, Jonathan Gresham, and Eric Young defeated Johnny Dango Curtis, Eddie Edwards, and Brian Myers via pinfall in 6:31.
While the face team were celebrating, the heels recovered and assaulted the faces with steel chairs to the back. Eddie and Brian planted Jonathan with a crucifix bomb. Myers and Eddie then wrapped Jonathan’s head with a chair and tossed it into a steel chair. The System gloated a bit and ran off once Young and Maclin recovered. Alisha told them that they’ll fight on The System’s time. Young called for medics to check on Gresham…
John’s Thoughts: A decent match with the babyface team going over. I really wish that this would be the end of this feud, but the heels getting their heat on the face team tells me that Maclin’s feud with The System will continue. One person who’s just been an extra in all of this is Jonathan Gresham. I was really intrigued by those awesome Lucha Underground style cinematic vignettes where he developed his black Great Muta persona (I loved that gimmick, but absolutely hated the part where he produced this virus from his mouth, leading to his feud with Professor Doc Kushida). I wonder with his wife, Jordynne Grace, presumably out of the company soon, if this injury angle was a way to jettison him out of TNA? With him burning his AEW bridge, I wouldn’t mind seeing him get a run in NXT, especially if he brings that Brotha Muta character over.
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary. They sent the show to a hype package for the upcoming Nic Nemeth vs. Joe Hendry match at TNA Genesis. Hendry talked about 2024 being a whirlwind, the perfect storm. He said a lot of people call it luck, but it’s not. He said it didn’t come easy to him and he had to try hard to get to where he was. Various pictures of Hendry’s past were shown, from him as a wee little lad, to him as a young and clean shaven pro wrestler.
Hendry talked about how he wasn’t the best student and didn’t really have any natural talent at sports. He said he had to work at everything over a long period of time. He said he doesn’t underestimate the work it takes to get to this point because he had to fight, scratch, and claw for everything. Hendry talked about picking up Judo early on and how the foundation of Judo is built on getting beat up constantly. He said while he was doing Judo at 13, he also did acting classes on Saturday.
Hendry talked about how while acting, he went to a audition for a musical and that nudged him to take up learning music. He talked about that leading to him and his cousin starting a band. He said he really likes his “just try it” kind of attitude. Hendry said having the courage without worrying of the consequences allowed him to take calculated risks. He talked about touring on the music loops for a while.
Hendry said when he failed at signing with a major label, that led to him getting introspective. He said he wanted to do pro wrestling for so long, and now was the time. He said he made a 2013 New Years Resolution and then said that starting on January 1 he’s a pro wrestler. He said that led to him joining the Scotland independent circuit.
Hendry said he noticed from other wrestlers two things. One, the most over wrestlers had the best entrances. And two, everyone was rock and roll hardcore, very edgy. Wrestlers like Davey Boy Smith, Kay Lee Ray (Alba Fyre), Nikki Cross, or Grado (I think there was even a Rockstar Spud clip in there?). He said he was going to run in the opposite direction, and become the pro wrestling pop star. Joe Hendry’s old “Local Hero” music video played (His first TNA theme). He talked about how pro wrestling led him to pick up amateur wrestling for the sole purpose of legitimizing himself and show that he can back up who he is in the ring.
Hendry said many people told him that you can’t just pick up a sport at the age of 26, but he proved them wrong by becoming the British Freestyle and Greco Roman champion. He talked about how his blackbelt in Judo gave him that athletic base. Hendry talked about how he started feeling at that point that he could put all the pieces together to be a pro wrestler. He talked about how his buddy Kyle introduced him to TNA and he was shocked that there was more televised wrestling other than WWE.
Hendry said he pulled up the pro wrestling TV channel and was hooked to TNA Impact. He said he had only one video on his ipod back in the day, and it was TNA Genesis 2006, Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe, complete with Angle headbutting Joe to set up the match. He said it’s a bit strange how the universe works because now Hendry gets to fight for a championship at Genesis too.
Hendry said he doesn’t know what he would say to 17 year old Joe that had that ipod video, that he would main event TNA Genesis in 2025. He said it wasn’t just him, but the fans brought him here. Hendry said it’s do or die for him. Hendry said he’s not an overnight sensation and this is where he deserves to be…
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Awesome stuff! I always knew I had a reason to have Hendry as one of my top favorite indie wrestlers back in 2017 and onward. I loved him for his shared love of karaoke, but this dude is also a fellow Judo practitioner (Striking martial arts are awesome, but learning Judo or Jujitsu will definitely change your life and brain chemistry). I wouldn’t be surprised that if his MBTI personality type is also a ENFJ Personality (a personality type I also see with Mike Santana, Trick Williams, or Cody Rhodes). This man could have an anime made after him. Dude went through a Judo training arc, Bocchi the Rock arc, badass arc, and main character arc. This was an awesome and well produced promo package that reminds me of some of the Jeremy Borash profile videos in NXT/WWE. I’m so happy that this man found a way to turn a entertainment-based character that some would think had a mid-card ceiling, into a serious protagonist kind of character (similar to what Ethan Page in doing in NXT now in taking his lighthearted character and evolving it).
An ad aired for the first live TNA show in 8 years happening on January 26…
Savannah Evans made her entrance first. Xia Brookside made here entrance in street clothes and then told the production truck to air some footage. A clip from Turning Point aired of Rosemary breaking up Xia’s pin after a Straitjacket Bomb. Xia said that clip showed that she had Evans beat and would be number one contender to the Knockouts Championship (Uhm? Everyone has their pins broken. That’s how multi person matches work).
Xia said Evans injured her and she’s not medically cleared now. Xia said there is someone else that Evans injured someone else before and she’s back to take her revenge out on Evans right now. The former other Xia, Lei Ying Lee made her entrance. Lee stormed the ring and the ref called for a bell…
2. Lei Ying Lee vs. Savannah Evans. Evans reversed a crossbody into a clunky front slam. Li caught Evans with a Savate Kick and then followed up with a Cannonball from the apron. Lee hit Evans with a crossbody for a two count. Evans blocked a Buzzsaw Kick and planted Lee with a sit-out Uranage for a two count. Evans put Lee in a Cravate with knees and palm right hand strikes mixed in. Lee got to a vertical base.
Evans used her size to block a huracanrana and sunset flip. Lee staggered Evans with a enzuigiri. Lee worked on Evans with Ten Punches in the Corner. Evans used her size and low base to block a suplex. Evans took out Lee with a lariat. Lee reversed a Full Nelson and hit Evans with the Thunderstruck Spin Kick (Trouble in Paradise) for the victory.
Lei Ying Lee defeated Savannah Evans via pinfall in 4:21.
John’s Thoughts: Good to see the former Xia Li back in TNA as her unique style and presence will definitely help boost the TNA Knockouts Division (that is expected to lose Jordynne Grace any time between now and the Royal Rumble). We still haven’t seen her work a long-form epic match yet in TNA or WWE, but maybe we get there, or maybe she works quick buzzsaw matches like Bobby Lashley or some of Asuka’s early matches. Despite being a bit short, Lee is chiseled like a Lashley or a Jordynne though, so she has the look going for her. Why essentially squash Evans like that tho? I was looking forward to her reboot, and was very impressed by some of her singles matches from her first run (notably against Mickie James). Now she gets beat quick. She was a monster heel that was losing all the time and sometimes it’s tough to bounce back from that type of typecasting.
Gia Miller tried to interview Jordynne Grace, but Grace snatched the mic away and took over the interview. Grace mugged in the camera and said “you want to fight? Let’s fight bitch! I’ll be in the ring, meet me there!”. Grace shoved the mic in Gia’s chest and headed to the ring…[c]
After the break, the show cut to this week’s TNA Plus Flashback Match of the Week. This week’s match was Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett in a No DQ match from TNA Genesis 2009. I fast forwarded 11 minutes (They might have aired the full match, dang). The end of the match had Jeff Jarrett hitting Angle with a (protected) chair shot to the head for a nearfall. Angle got a quick crucifix rollup for the victory…
A creepy Rosemary promo aired where she was talking about Masha Slammovich. It was tough to pick up what Rosemary was saying as there was lots of distortion. She was definitely talking about Masha, darkness, and stuff. Matthew Rehwoldt said Rosemary looks to be playing mind games with Masha Slamovich…
Mike Santana made his entrance through the crowd, carrying Josh Alexander’s headgear to the ring. Tom Hannifan noted that Santana took out The System one by one and is trying to take down the Northern Armory one-by-one. Rehwoldt noted that it took Santana months to beat The System members individually, while he’s trying to do the same to The Northern Armory in one night. Judas Icarus and Travis Williams made their entrance next. Hannifan noted that Josh Alexander wasn’t accompanying his crew…
3a. Mike Santana vs. Judas Icarus (w/Travis Williams) in the first round of the Gauntlet Match. Icarus quickly attacked Santana right after the bell with various strikes. Santana then no sold some hammerlock lariats and took down Icarus with a chop and running Senton. Icarus came back with a elbow and right hands. Santana fought his way to the top rope, but was tripped by a dropkcik from Icarus. Santana rolled through and no-sold a lariat, right into Spin the Block for the pinfall.
Mike Santana defeated Judas Icarus via pinfall in 1:55 to progress in the Gauntlet Match.
Santana pointed at Williams and demanded he get in the ring. Williams had some kinesio tape on his left shoulder…
3b. Mike Santana vs. Travis Williams (w/Judas Icarus) in the second round of the Gauntlet Match. Santana immediately hit Williams with a chop. Williams tripped Santana and gave Santana’s left arm a PK and dropkick for a nearfall. Williams caught Santana with a Yakuza Kick heading into regular break. [c]
Williams countered Santana into a Crossarmbreaker. Santana deadlifted Williams into a Buckle Bomb. Santana then hit Williams with a Reverse Bomb right into a Sitout Bomb for the pinfall.
Mike Santana defeated Travis Williams via pinfall in 2:25 of on-air time to progress in the Gauntlet Match.
The lights went off and Josh Alexander made his entrance, taking his time to get to the ring…
3c. Mike Santana vs. Josh Alexander (w/Travis Williams, Judas Icarus) in the final round of the Gauntlet Match. Before Alexander could enter the ring, Icarus and Williams jumpped Santana from behind, causing the referee to call for a DQ.
Mike Santana defeated Josh Alexander via DQ in 0:01.
All three Northern Armory member put the boots to Santana. Alexander planted Santana with a C4 Spike (Jay Driller). Alexander took back his signature headgear and posed over Santana, telling Santana “you will never be the guy”. The crowd chanted “you look stupid” when Alexander put his headgear back on…
John’s Thoughts: I decent enough usage of time to build up Santana as a protagonist with the expected wonk finale to stretch out the feud between Santana and the former flagbearer of TNA (Alexander and his wife are also presumed to be on their way out). TNA is doing a great job these last few years in building up their main protagonists like Josh Alexander, like Joe Hendry, and now Mike Santana. All three having a different flava to them. Santana comes off as real real, for real for real. In the ring, as exhibited here, I like they way he exhibits no-selling, as it doesn’t discredit the opponent, but it looks like his pluck and grit are driving him to be superhuman.
The show cut to backstage with Ash by Elegance’s Personal Concierge (George Iceman). The Concierge claimed he was going to do something unprecedented, predict Ash and Heather by Elegance as the new Knockouts Tag Team Champions. He said they represent gold, silver, and value. The Concierge said next week they will hold a pre-championship “Celebration by Elegance”…
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Ugh, so the never-ending Spitfire vs. Elegance duo feud continues. I assume Ash and Heather get the titles, leading to the two teams feuding for another 4 to 6 months. Well, at least that’ll keep everyone else in singles matches, thus keeping TNA from diluting their singles women’s division. I actually would like to see the TNA and NXT relationship kick up again as it was beneficial to both companies to have the developmental women show up in Impact. Having developmental women in TNA boost the Knockouts division while allowing women who can’t get TV time in NXT to get meaningful reps and experience (as experienced on this past Tuesday, WWE can have a majority of their show featuring women, and still have a lot of women needing TV time and not getting it. Men on NXT are struggling to get TV time, NXT’s women roster is that damn talented, deep, and congested).
Rosemary was backstage taking a sip of her drink at a bar area, talking to someone off screen. The person off screen told Rosemary that Masha is simply “predictable”. Rosemary agreed and talked about how Masha wears the title like armor, but she can smell Masha’s fear. The camera panned over and showed she was talking to Scott “Raven” Levy. Raven said Masha is predictable, but Rosemary hasn’t held the belt in a long time. Rosemary felt offended and asked Raven what that was supposed to mean?
Raven pointed out that it’s been 7 or 8 years since Rosemary won the title. Rosemary pulled Raven in, holding a kitchen knife to his throat and asked him if she had to prove she was capable? Raven said, “If only I wasn’t spoken for.” Raven told Rosemary she should challenge Msaha to a Raven’s Clockwork Orange Match so Rosemary can do whatever she wants without worrying about it being a problem. Rosemary asked Raven if he’ll be there, and he agreed. Rosemary said Masha will find out how hardcore Rosemary is. Raven said “quote the raven, nevermore”…
The Good Hands, Jason Hotch and John Skyler, made their entrance. Skyler cut his usual pre-match cheap heat promo. Skyler talked about how the fans cheer degenerates like The Rascalz. Skyler said the Rascalz at least have a better tree house compared to the trailers in Georgia. Skyler said that the fans sports fan can’t even win a game in a scrimmage against themselves. Skyler said they will take care of the Rascalz with these “good hands”. The Rascalz made their entrance…
4. “The Rascalz” Zachary Wentz and Trey Miguel vs. “The Good Hands” John Skyler and Jason Hotch. Wentz hit Hotch with a kick and crossbody for a nearfall. Trey tagged in leading to the Rascalz swarming Hotch with alternating kicks. Trey got a two count after a Wentz stomp on Hotch. Wentz tagged in. Wentz went for a handstand, but Skyler held Wentz in place by the legs, leading to him getting dropkicked by Skyler. The Good Hands cut the ring in half on Wentz with quick tags and cheap shots.
Wentz got a window of opportunity after hitting Skyler with his signature running Tiger Knee. Miguel caught the hot tag. Miguel cleaned house. Miguel hit Hotch with a nice Tornado Draping DDT. The Good Hands dumped Trey to ringside. Skyler hit Wentz with a Rolling Fireman Carry Slam. Hotch hit Wentz with a Frog Splash for a nearfall. Skyler tagged in and ate a knee from Wentz. Trey tagged in. The Rascalz hit Skyler with their double team assisted Double Stomp for the victory.
“The Rascalz” Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz defeated “The Good Hands” Jason Hotch and John Skyler via pinfall in 4:49.
John’s Thoughts: The match was only about 5 minutes, but both teams made the most of those five minutes for a pretty entertaining match. We know we are guaranteed for a great match with Trey and Wentz, but Hotch and Skyler continue to show that not only are they “good hands” but they have the potential to be more with the stuff they can do bell-to-bell.
A smug looking Frankie Kazarian walked up to Rhino backstage while Rhino was doing bicep curls. Kazarian hyped up Rhino and told Rhino to soften Nic Nemeth up so that he might be able to cash in his Call Your Shot trophy. Rhino simply huff and puffed when Kazarian left…
An ad aired to plug TNA’s big 2025 Live Events (If I’m free, I’m hoping I can attend the Rebellion PPV at the University of Southern California Galen Center, which is one block away and a larger venue, I think, compared to the Shrine Auditorium where NXT held their New Years Evil show this past Tuesday)…
The show cut to backstage with Steve Maclin and Eric Young. Maclin said The System did more than just cross the line. Young said The System think they’re above The System, but this isn’t flag football, politics, or child’s play. Young said he and Maclin are renegades and are about to hand down their own justice. AJ Francis and KC Navarro pulled up to clown on Maclin and Navarro.
Maclin yelled at AJ for joking around after losing his title shot in December. AJ said if Maclin got multiple world title shots it can’t be that hard to get another one. AJ said he and Navarro are after tag team gold and he doesn’t mind stepping over Maclin and Young to get there. AJ and KC walked off saying they were going to have a word with the Authority Figure Santino Marella…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt tried to check in on commentary, but were cut off by Alisha Edwards yelling “do you want to know something?” on a mic (that has become Alisha’s dog-whistle heat generator, similar to Vickie Guerrero’s “excuse me”). Alisha Edwards made her entrance wearing a nice and sparkling blue dress, with X Division Champion Moose behind her (Moose wearing distractingly bright neon sneakers). Alisha soaked in the “shut the hell up” chants from the crowd. Moose then took the mic and said he’s the greatest X Division Champion of all time.
Moose said at Genesis, Ace Austin will find out why you always trust the system because Moose is going to beat the hell out of Ace. Moose then called the X Division Championship belt a piece of trash and said that at Genesis he was debuting a new X Division Belt that will be fit for a champ like Moose. Alisha dumped the belt to ringside. Moose said that was the ugliest title he’s seen in his life and he was embarrassed to have to wear it the last few weeks (well? We’ve definitely seen a lot worse titles so even as a heel that sounds hyperbolic).
Randomly, former TNA Tag Team Champion Andrew Everett made his entrance. Everett said Moose dumping the title like that is exactly while Moose doesn’t belong in the X Division. Everett said when he was in the company, the X Title was the only thing that gave him purpose. He said he and the high flyers of TNA put everything on the line for a chance at the X title. Everett said even so, he never got a shot at the title. Everett said the X Division built TNA, not the face of the franchise. Moose scratched his head and asked Everett “who the hell are you?”.
Moose asked Alisha if she knew who he was. Moose told Andrew to get out of the ring or get put down. Andrew said asking Moose anything is a losing battle, so he’s going to keep it simple. Everett said he’s an X Division wrestler and Moose is not. Moose turned a round a bit and floored Everett with a Mafia Kick. Moose called out a ref and told Everett that Everett earned himself a X Division title shot for the first time in his life. Moose wrestled in his casual gym clothes…
5. Moose (w/Alisha Edwards) vs. Andrew Everett for the TNA X Division Championship. Moose manhandled and beat down Everett. A picture-in-picture showed Ace Austin watching the match from backstage. Everett got hope when he hit Moose with a Tornado DDT and swan dive over the top rope.
Moose caught Everett out of the air and choke slammed him on the apron, which Everett sold well. Moose then Power Bombed Andrew on the apron. Moose gave Everett a Last Ride in the center of the ring and put a foot on his chest for the win.
Moose defeated Andrew Everett via pinfall in 2:55 to retain the X Division Title.
Via picture-in-picture, Ace Austin was shown shaking his head at Moose. The camera then cut to Jordynne Grace making her way to the ring from backstage…[c]
John’s Thoughts: So TNA decides to rebrand the X Division Title, yet the “Digital Media Championship” still exists as-is? (PCO has that belt right? I do remember him covering some belt with that Canadian Intercontinental Belt). It also seemed a bit fabricated for Moose to all of a sudden think that the new X Division Belt that TNA got last year looks “ugly” when we’ve seen far more putrid looking belts in the past in other companies. That nitpick aside, I did like the segment once Andrew Everett got involved. I missed seeing that guy in TNA as they did a good job really building him up a few years ago and Everett did a good job in the ring himself. He reminds me of a younger Jack Evans in terms of skill level. He was solid here in selling and being fodder to put heat on Moose who looks to be building up himself to be the “enemy” of the X Division. This should lead to a great match against Ace Austin who’s going to fight valiantly for the fallen Chris Bey (again, prayers and best wishes to Chris Bey! Awesome to see the wrestling world come together in recent months for him too with CM Punk even delivering a classy Chris Bey name drop of Netflix for him).
An ad aired for the TNA Genesis PPV…
Sami Callihan met up with Director of Authory Santino Marella. Sami said that PCO was eating raw meat right now, so he had the time to walk up to Santino and said that he and PCO feel shafted for not being booked in the TNA Tag Title match at Genesis. Sami said he and PCO haven’t been pinned or submitted as a tag team. Sami said that whoever wins between the Hardys and Rascalz, “we got next”.
Santino called Sami and PCO, “Death Meat” and “Death Squad”, which Sami said wasn’t their name. Santino said he’ll just settle with Death Meat (Santino! The “dead meat” joke was sitting right there). Santino said he was booking “The Hard Boyz” vs. “Death Meat” in a non-title match where if Death Meat can win, they will be inserted into the tag team title match at Genesis…[c]
Jordynne Grace made her entrance with a mic in hand. Grace said there is so much she can say right now, but Tessa should be terrified of Grace having a mic in her hand. Grace said she isn’t like Tessa. Grace said she’s going to stand in the ring and ask Tessa to come out and fight her like a woman. Grace said if Tessa thinks the Knockouts Division is her’s, then she’ll have to go through her to get it.
Tessa Blanchard ran out and a brawl ensued. Security guards and referees ran out to separate both women. Grace managed to fight out and toss a guard over the top rope. The guards dragged both women back to the corners. A “let them fight” chant ensued…[c]
The following matches were advertised for next week: Trent Seven vs. Leon Slater, Laredo Kid vs. Jake Something, Eric Young and Steve Maclin vs. AJ Francis and KC Navarro, and The Hardy Boyz vs. Sami Callihan and PCO in a non-title match.
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary. Hannifan noted that Santino Marella just booked Jordynne Grace vs. Tessa Blanchard for Genesis. Hannifan and Rehwoldt then ran through the advertised Genesis card so far…
Rhino made his entrance followed by Joe Hendry, Ryan Nemeth, and Nic Nemeth for the next match…[c]
The match started with about ten minutes left at the top of the hour. Frankie Kazarian joined Hannifan and Rehwoldt on commentary. Kazarian wished Rehwoldt a Happy New Year and told Hannifan that he hopes Hannifan’s new year sucks…
6. “The Wanted Man” Nic Nemeth and “The Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth vs. Joe Hendry and Rhino. Ryan rolled to ringside to stall. Ryan then teased going after Rhino, but quickly tagged in his big brother Nic. Rhino and Nic traded some wrist holds. Rhino hit Nic with a shoulder tackle. Nic came back with a dropkick. Ryan tagged in and hit Rhino with a double team clothesline for a one count. Rhino recovered and dragged Ryan to his corner.
Rhino and Joe traded quick tags to take turns chopping Ryan Nemeth. Ryan beat his chest a few time and dared Joe to chop him some more. Joe no sold Ryan’s chop. Joe took down Ryan with a chop and shoulder tackle. Joe hit Ryan with his signature delayed Vertical Suplex while walking around the ring for a nearfall. Rhino tagged in. Ryan tagged in Nic. Rhino took down both Nemeths with shoulder tackles. Ryan slammed Rhino to the mat by the hair while Nic and the referee were distracted.
Ryan tagged in and got a two count on Rhino. The Nemeths then cut the ring in half on Rhino. Nic went for a Fameasser, but Rhino reversed it into a Power Bomb for a window of opportunity. Joe caught the hot tag after Ryan tagged in. Joe hit Ryan with an Attitude Adjustment and hit Nic with a Fallaway Slam. Joe did his signature Zoolander Blue Steel Turn. Joe hit Ryan with a cutter. Nic broke up Joe’s pin. Rhino hit Nic with a Power Slam.
Rhino called for a Gore, leading to Kazarian getting ready to try to steal the pin and World Title. Ryan Nemeth took the bullet for Nic and ate the Gore. Nic hit Rhino with a Superkick. Kazarian said he only got out of his seat because he was making sure that Joe Hendry didn’t have a weapon in his boot. Hendry dumped Nic to ringside and did a stomp stomp clap. Hendry hit Ryan with a Standing Ovation uranage for the win.
Joe Hendry and Rhino defeated Ryan Nemeth and Nic Nemeth via pinfall in 9:14.
Joe Hendry and Nic Nemeth glared at each other in the ring to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A standard television main event formula that the players involved managed to turn into a fun and productive segment to forward the build towards the Genesis world title match. Props to Ryan Nemeth for taking his reputation of being Dolph Ziggler’s invisible younger brother, leaning into it, and turning it into this entertaining punk-ass little bro persona. It’s fun watching Ryan as a heel work around his older brother being a babyface. A bit of a underwhelming send-off (I assume) for Rhino, but at least it was better than the even more underwhelming DQ finish from last week.
A solid episode of TNA Impact this week. I feel like their weekly shows and weekly booking works better when they are booking for their more-cannon and meaningful PPVs as opposed to their intermediary and less meaningful TNA+ online PLEs. Nice and steady builds, as opposed to rushed “challengers of the week”. There were some decent matches to watch this week and a very strong and meaningful Joe Hendry profile video to go out of your way to watch. A solid episode of pro wrestling that doesn’t feel like a waste of time in the crowded sea of weekly pro wrestling television shows.
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