By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TNA Impact Hits
Nathan Frazer and Axiom vs. Nic Nemeth and Ryan Nemeth for the NXT Tag Team Titles: Frazer and Axiom extended their streak of strong matches. It was interesting to see Nic looking frustrated by his brother’s antics. I thought we might be headed toward Nic turning to join his brother Ryan as a heel, but it came off like they could be setting up a brother vs. brother feud. No matter which direction they choose, this is the most entertaining work that Ryan has done to date.
Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, and Leon Slater vs. Moose, JDC, and Eddie Edwards: An enjoyable match with the Hardys continuing to be arguably the most popular act in the company, right there with Joe Hendry for best crowd reactions. It was a nice touch to have Jeff motion for Slater to perform his Swanton 450 before Jeff hit the regular Swanton on Moose for the win. That’s back-to-back wins for Jeff over Moose, so one can only assume that they’ll be meeting for Moose’s X Division Title soon.
Mike Santana vs. Matt Cardona: This was a good win for Santana, who continues to build momentum. Cardona never seems reluctant to put over other wrestlers and it was a nice feather in the cap for Santana to beat him.
Joe Hendry concert: A celebratory segment for the new TNA Champion with a receptive group of fans. Jake Something challenging Hendry sets up a good first television title defense for Hendry. Under different circumstances, I might be saying that they should have saved this match for somewhere down the road after Something had been build up as a strong challenger, but he announced recently that he’ll be taking some time away treat an injury.
Battle Royal for a shot at the TNA Knockouts Championship: A pretty standard battle royal. I like that they took the time to explain why Tessa Blanchard and Cora Jade opted against entering the match. Savannah Evans going over was good in the moment, but it’s hard to imagine her not being fed to new champion Masha Slamovich next week. I like Evans and I can’t help but wonder if they would have been better off building her up for an eventual showdown match with Slamovich rather than rushing to it on television.
Ace Austin vs. Tyson Dupont: A solid television win for Austin. I dig the addition of Dupont and Tyriek Igwe to Wes Lee’s act, but their gimmick last names leave a lot to be desired.
TNA Impact Misses
Cora Jade on commentary: The difference between Jade sitting in on commentary for the Knockouts Battle Royal and Arianna Grace joining the broadcast team for the NXT Tag Team Title match was night and day. Grace had a real presence on commentary, whereas Jade sounded unpolished. It’s odd given how long Jade has been in NXT, but it wasn’t so much what she said as much as it was that she sounded monotone and lacked a television voice. Jade is good in the ring and has a great look, but she really has to up her verbal game.
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