By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,078)
Taped March 15, 2025 in El Paso, Texas at El Paso County Coliseum
Simulcast March 20, 2025 on AXS TV and TNA+
Highlights from last week’s TNA Plus Sacrifice show aired…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. McKenzie Mitchell was the ring announcer…
TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich made her entrance. The recapped defending the title against Cora Jade at Sacrifice. She said she travels with the belt and represents TNA with pride. She said her mission was to prove she was the toughest wrestler in the Knockouts Division, but her new mission is to prove she’s the best champion in all of wrestling.
Masha was about to talk about her plans for Rebellion, but she was cut off by Tessa Blanchard making her entrance. Tessa said that Masha loves talking and instead of talking all the time Masha needs to put more effort into getting dressed in the morning. Tessa gave Masha kudos for defending the title at Sacrifice, but Tessa said she could beat Cora Jade with her eyes closed.
Tessa said you can count her in the conversation of being best in the world. Tessa said she has acomplished more than the locker room could dream of. She said she’s been places, done things, that Masha never have gone and never will do. Tessa said it’s time to take back what’s her. Before Cora could retort, Jacy Jayne showed up beat down Masha from behind.
TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella made his entrance. Santino took time to soak in chants from the El Paso crowd. Santino berated Jacy Jayne said said that’s not how things are done in TNA.Santino booked Masha Slamovich vs. Jacy Jayne. Santino also banned Tessa from ringside for that match…
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Masha feels like she’s missing something these days. Ever since she dropped the Russian character, she’s sorta just been a generic happy-to-be-here fighting champion. She’s a good talker and amazing wrestler! She just needs to add something back to her act to make her stand out. That weakness stood out against Tessa, who is extremely eye-catching and charismatic.
Santino Marella berated the NXT-TNA Liason (and his daughter) Ariana Grace backstage about NXT’s Jacy Jayne showing up and crashing the show. Grace said she had know idea Jayne would show up. Grace said the only surprise she knows about is the surprise coming later that Santino also knows already. Santino stormed off…
John’s Thoughts: I do wish we got more of Ariana Grace on NXT Television, but I also do appreciate the wholesomeness of Grace having the chance to work beside her father on TNA Television. It helps that she also shares her father’s gift of gab and comedic timing.
The Northern Armory made their entrance first. The Rascalz were out next. Eric Young joined Rehwoldt and Hannifan on commentary…
1. “The Rascalz” Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz vs. “The Northern Armory” Travis Williams and Judas Icaus (w/Eric Young). Wentz hit Icarus with a corkscrew crossbody for a nearfall. Trey tagged in and got a two count after tandem offense with Wentz. While the referee was distracted, Williams hit Wentz with a chop block which allowed Icarus to take control. The Northern Armory cut the ring in half on Wentz.
Wentz got a window of opportunity after hitting Williams with a leaping knee. Trey caught the hot tag and cleaned house. Wentz tagged back in. Icarus dragged Miguel to ringside. After Wentz kicked out of Williams’s pin, Trey hit Williams with a jawbreaker on the 2nd rope. Trey hit Williams with a Spinebuster. The Rascalz hit their double team diving meteora move to give Trey the victory.
The Rascalz defeated The Northern Armory via pinfall in 4:50.
Young and Northern Armory surrounded Trey and Wentz, about to jump them, but Ace Austin ran out and chased them off with a chair…
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: So, Sinner and Saint are back to just being good hand stepping stones in the division. I don’t even think they evolved much further from that while teaming with Josh Alexander. Personally, I wouldn’t have utilized The Northern Armory in this fashion if there were any plans to push them as a decent heel act.
A replay aired of Rosemay giving Xia Brookside a green mist during their match on Impact last week…
Gia Miller interviewed Xia Brookside. Gia asked Xia how her eyes are doing. She said her doctor said there’s no damage, but she can still feel it. Gia wondered why Xia was about to hit Rosemary with a chain, because that’s unlike Xia? Xia said she tries to do the right thing all the time and people take advantage of that. Xia said Rosemary is trying to get in her head.
Rosemary appeared on the monitor and asked Xia if she’s finally understanding. Rosemary talked about her hesitation causing her to lose the match to Savannah Evans and the fight against her. Rosemary said she who hesitates is lost. Rosemary said that the world rewards ruthlessness and your morals will be chewed up and spit out in front of your feet. Rosemary said that Xia needs to let go. Rosemary told Xia to meet her in the ring for a giftwraped surprise. After Rosemary left, Xia said she has the perfect partner to confront Rosemary…
AJ Francis and KC Navarro made their entrance for their “First Class Penthouse” segment. First Class soaked in “culero” chants (Culero is Spanish for “ass hole”). AJ said that they should watch their mouths because there’s children present. AJ introduced himself and KC for their Penthouse segment. AJ then introduced Chavo Guerrero as the only person in El Paso who deserves to be called first class.
Chavo Guerrero Jr. made his entrance in a suit. The crowd gave Chavo “Chavo” and “Eddie” chants. AJ told Chavo that anyone who wrestled in WCW needs to sit they ass down or get hurt. AJ said if he wanted the 2nd best Guerrero as a guest of his show, he would have called his buddy Dom Mysterio. Chavo said that they still don’t know if Dom is a Guerrero yet, but they are waiting to find out. Chavo agreed that Dom’s mom got around and Eddie was damn good looking.
John’s Thoughts: Hol up? Did Chavo just call Rey’s wife a ho? Dang
AJ said he’s sick and tired of all the old timers disrespecting him on his own show. Frankie Kazarian made his entrance. KC told Kazarian that he wasn’t invited to the show. Kazarian took the mic and called KC gross. Kazarian said that he still has heat with Chavo due to Chavo and Shawn Hernandez taking the TNA Tag Titles from him and Christopher Daniels back in 2012. Kazarian said since Chavo’s been gone he is a king and runs thigns around here.
Kazarian told Chavo to get his free plate of catering and go home. Chavo congratulated Kazarian for doing a good job. Chavo said that you can talk smack to him all you want, but he draws the line when you talk smack about El Paso. AJ threatened Chavo by saying that he, Kaz, and KC outnumber him 3 to 1. Chavo said he has the 3000 people in El Paso in the crowd to back him up.
Laredo Kid and Octagon Jr. showed up wearing generic TNA shirts to stand by Chavo. Chavo proposed a three vs. three match between He, Octagon, and Laredo vs. AJ, KC, and Kazarian. AJ said to cut the feed and he was done with the show. Chavo and The Aztec Warriors stood tall to end the segment…[c]
John’s Thoughts: These First Class Penthouse segments feel more like Economy Class Coach. They just feel low budget and bad, and that’s a shame because AJ Francis is such a good talker and personality. These segments came off way better with him and Rich Swann when they were holding them from luxury suites balconies, maybe sippin on some Cristal or Henny. Unless TNA is trying to make them out to be posers, which is counter-productive to the gimmick. Very good to see Chavo again! I feel like he’s been off TV and in Hollywood enough to feel fresh again (For a while, he had a good gig going where he was hired as the pro wrestling consultant to Hollywood shows and films).
Mustafa Ali made his entrance first. Mike Santana made his entrance from the crowd. Rehwoldt reminded viewers that Santino has banned Ali’s cabinet from ringside. Before the bell, Santana hit Ali with a flip dive. Santana gave Ali a whip into the timekeepers table. Santana then gave Ali ten punches in the corner at ringside. Hannifan noted that Ali has a jaw injury while Santana has a left hand injury…
2. Mike Santana vs. Mustafa Ali. Ali managed to dump Santana to ringside with a huracanrana and baseball slide. Ali then focused his attack on attacking Santana’s right arm to take away Spin the Block. Ali hit Santana with a rolling Cutter for a nearfall. Santana countered a rolling Cutter into a Death Valley Driver for a nearfall. Santana hit Ali with a Cannonball.
Santana surprised Ali with a rolling cutter. Santana did the Eddie shimmy, but Ali rolled to ringside to avoid the frog splash. Ali yelled to Rehwoldt and Hannifan that he got his win already and was done. Ali walked through the crowd and took the countout loss.
Mike Santana defeated Mustafa Ali via countout in 4:13.
The Great Hands escorted Ali to the back. Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
Gia Miller caught up with Mustafa Ali and his Cabinet at the loading dock area and asked him why he ran away from Mike Santana. Ali said he didn’t run from Mike Santana, he conquered Mike Santana. Ali said he is done with Santana and Mustafa Ali will be the one addiction that Mike can’t beat. Tasha Steelz stopped Gia from asking more quesitons. Ali yellled for them all to go and they all drove off in an SUV…
Ryan Nemeth made his entrance. A replay aired of Nic Nemeth betraying Matt Hardy at Sacrifice by locking him in the cage after their match and beating him down. Ryan said that Nic sacrificed the love and admiration of the fans for the greatest little brother in the world, Ryan Nemeth. Ryan then introduced “My big brother”, the best wrestler in the whole wide world, Nic Nemeth.
Nic Nemeth made his entrance wearing a Cleveland Browns jacket. Nic soaked in “delete” and “Hardy” chants. Nic said the Hardys ain’t coming. The crowd then showered Nic in “culero” chants. Nic said everyone started talking about TNA again about a year ago, about TNA getting buzz and being called the best company in wrestling. Nic said that was all because of him. Nic said over the course of a year, he sold out venues as champion and Merch was flying off the shelves.
Nic brought up Matt Hardy trying to drive a wedge between him and his little brother. Nic said family is most important and now due to Matt’s actions, everyone can now know what frauds the Hardys truly are. Nic said they don’t just now know Nic as the grestest wrestler in the industry, but they are now looking at him and Ryan being the best sibling tag team in wrestling.
Leon Slater made his entrance. Leon said he wasn’t going to just wait in the back and hear Nic shout bullocks. Nic said he doesn’t even know what “bullocks” means. Leon said they were disrespecting the Hardy’s. Leon called Nic “bug eyed”. Leon talked about how he sees Nic glaring at him because Nic feels the show is being stolen from the show stealer by Leon Slater.
Nic asked Leon if he knows how rich and powerful he is. Nic said Leon wouldn’t have a job if not for him. Ryan said that next week Nic can do the same thing to Leon’s face that Nic did to Matt’s face. Leon said someone needs to the Nemeths, and maybe that is him. Later stormed the ring and managed to get the upper hand a bit. Leon hit Ryan with a Cresent Kick. Nic hit Leon with a Superkick. The Nemeths stood tall and headed to the back…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I’m a bit surprised that they pulled the trigger on a Nic Nemeth heel turn so soon. I thought there was a little gas left in the tank of having the babyface Nic Nemeth teaming up with his annoying little brother (in fact, if they wanted to feud with the Hardys, they could have executed the heel turn there at a PPV or Impact show). Maybe they want to tear through the Hardys vs. Nemeths to get to Joe Hendry vs. Heel Nic? We’ll see where they go. I also wonder if TNA will take the tag belts off the Hardys anytime soon? 1) The Hardys are selling out crowds as the tag team champion nostalgia act. 2) WWE is getting a lot of mileage out of the Hardys as tag champions and using the TNA tag belts as a belt wrestlers are actively fighting for on the NXT show.
Rosemary and Savannah Evans made their entrances first. Xia Brookside and Lei Ying Lee made their entrances. Xia was looking more serious than usual…
3. Rosemary and Savannah Evans vs. Xia Brookside and Lei Ying Lee. Xia fended off Evans with chops, but was chopped back down. Rosemary tagged in and was beat around by Xia. Evans and Lee tagged in. Evans countered a sweep and hit Lee with a Chokebomb for a nearfall. Evans hit Lee with a Samoan Drop for a nearfall. Rosemary hit Lee with the Upside Down while the referee was distracted.
Rosemary and Evans cut the ring in half on Lee. Rosemary and Evans dominated the match for a few minutes. Lee tagged in Xia for a hot tag after hitting Rosemary with a enzuigiri. Lee tagged back in and hit Evans with a kick for a nearfall. Evans held Xia in place for a green mist, but Xia ducked, causing Rosemary to mist Evans. Xia hit Rosemary with a Codebreaker.
Lee hit Evans with a rough looking Burning Hammer. Lee then hit Evans with the Thunderstruck kick for the victory.
Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside defeated Savannah Evans and Rosemary via pinfall in 6:01.
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
The Personal Concierge was in the ring with a neckbrace. The Concierge ordered two “beefcakes” to bring out the championship cake. Two shirtless men walked out carrying a cake to the ring. The Concierge then introduced Ash and Heather by Elegance as the new TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champions. Ash and Heather made their entrance. Heather took the mic first and called it a dream come true.
She said she used to be a nobody like the people in El Paso, but look at her now! Ash said the fans weren’t being elegant. Ash said The Concierge spent $5000 on the cake and she needs silence so she can make her wish come true. Ash asked the men to put the cake on the apron. The lights went out and the Meta Girls Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson made their entrance.
Lash did her annoying squeal to shut up Ash and Heather. Lash talked about her and Action Jackson being the top women in any women’s division. Jakara said they have crossed the line and will take the tag titles from Ash and Heather. Spitfire made their entrance. Hannifan reminded viewers that Spitfire are due their contractually obligated rematch for the titles.
Dani also reminded Ash and Heather about their contractually obligated rematch. Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley made their entrance. Tatum said she and Gigi are the freakiest thing to happen in the tag division. Tatum said she and Gigi are underutilized and can’t have that happen anymore. She said she and Gigi are coming after the tag titles. Ash threw a fit and said she needs to make her wish on the cake.
Gigi asked Ash if she was going to wish to kiss Gigi’s ass. Ash slapped Gigi, leading to all the women brawling. Security guards ran out to try to keep the peace. Santino then ran into the ring and told everyone to calm down. Santino them booked Ash and Heather vs. “Ge ge” Dolin and Tatum Paxley. Santino also banned Spitfire and the Meta Girls form that match next week. Lash and Jakara then tossed around some security guards before getting in Santino’s face.
Santino got intimidated and Lash looks a lot bigger than on TV and is a whole lotta woman (she is a former WNBA player). Ariana Grace marched to the ring while her dad was using flustered. Grace said she has authority over them. Grace banned Lash and Jakara from ringside next week…
John’s Thoughts: Oh shoot. They spent money on a whole cake during a pro wrestling segment, and it didn’t end up in someone’s face. That’s different. I’m happy that the tag team belts are on the more entertaining Ash and Heather tag team because they felt like they were in a holding pattern for a long time while Spitfire and the Elegance’s had that neverending feud. It looks like it opened the floodgates too, as now it looks like the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles are going to be the mid-card title that the stacked NXT Women’s mid-card roster will fight over. That’s good as a lot of talented women are struggling to get TV time on the two hour CW show. In a way, TNA has blessed Shawn Michaels with a 2nd brand like Raw and Smackdown so he can divide up his deep roster, while also boosting the roster of TNA symbioticly.
An ad aired for the TNA Unbreakable show airing during WrestleMania week…
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary…
Mance Warner and Steph De Lander got a televised entrance. Mance’s local competitor opponent was already in the ring…
4. Mance Warner (w/Steph De Lander) vs. Magno. Mance quickly took down Magno with a few clotheslines. Mance pulled down the knee pad and gave Magno a running knee for the win.
Mance Warner defeated Magno via pinfall in 1:01.
Mance and Steph made out after the match…
John’s Thoughts: Short and sweet, but they still need to give this man a microphone. He was one of the most enjoyable parts of MLW when he was on the show as the dopey babyface that feuded with Sami Callihan. The guy is a wonderful speaker and I feel that he can use that speaking ability to get over whatever he’s trying to get over as this new heel persona.
A Steve Maclin pre-tape promo aired. Maclin reiterated that he doesn’t need the help of Eric Young and the Northern Armory. Maclin said he’s done everything in his life alone including becoming World Champion. He said he beat Frankie Kazrian last week, but one thing didn’t sit right with him. He said he watched the match over and didn’t like that Young interfered in is favor. He said he wants to die at the top of his own hill and in the end he wants to stand by himself…
The following matches were advertised for next week: Ash and Heather by Elegance vs. Tatum Paxley and Gigi Dolin, Laredo Kid, Octagon Jr, and Chavo Guerrero vs. First Class and Frankie Kazarian, Masha Slamovich vs. Jacy Jayne, and Nic Nemeth vs. Leon Slater…
Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and Alisha Edwards made their entrance first. Joe Hendry and Elijah made their entrance next…
5. TNA World Champion Joe Hendry and Elijah vs. Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards (w/Alisha Edwards). Hendry dominated Myers and hit him with a power slam. Elijah and Eddie tagged in. Elijah gave Eddie an Undertaker Old School. Alisha and Myers distracted Elijah which allowed Eddie to hit him with a baseball slide. The System cut the ring in half on Elijah. The System dominated for a few minutes.
Elijah got a window of opportunity after hitting Eddie with a spinning neckbreaker. Joe caught the hot tag and cleaned house. Joe hit Eddie and Myers with Fallaway Slams, followed by the Zoolander turn. Myers surprised Hendry with a Spear. Elijah prevented Myers from hitting Hendry with a Roster Cut. Elijah gave Eddie a knee and trapped him in the corner. Hendry hit Myers with a Standing Ovation for the victory.
Joe Hendry and Elijah defeated Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards via pinfall in 7:40.
Elijah and Hendry celebrated to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A fun match for the live crowd, but fairly filler in-terms of story progression. Hendry has sorta faded into the background as World Champion. He’s still poping crowds huge, but he’s not doing anything of importance other than teaming up with the guy who’s WWE job he stole as WWE’s acoustic guitar guy (“Joe Hendry took Elias’s job” has been the premise of their indie feud for a while). Hopefully they can find a way to get Hendry back on track as TNA’s main protagonist.
On one hand, this week’s show was a step down in terms of feeling important. At the same time, it didn’t feel like a waste of time. Its another one of those harmless pro wrestling shows that was still enjoyable. NXT’s involvement is definitely allowing TNA to have a deeper television roster these days. Curious to see where their booking goes as they not only have their WrestleMania Weekend show, but they also have their bigger event the week following at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.
I speak Yorkshire so let me translate Slater’s promo for you. He said ‘bollocks’ not ‘bullocks’ – literal translation is balls, but in this context he meant BS. He also said ‘bog eyed’ not ‘bug eyed’. That means cross eyed.
Thanks for the translation. I was in the same boat as Nic Nemeth when he told Slater “I don’t know what that means?”