By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,086)
Taped May 2, 2025, in Irvine, California at the Bren Events Center
Simulcast May 15, 2025, on AXS TV and TNA+
An “In memory of…” graphic aired for the late Terry “Sabu” Brunk…
Highlights from last week’s TNA Impact aired… Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt were on commentary. McKenzie Mitchell was the ring announcer… Entrances for the opening match took place…
1. Nikkita Lyons and TNA Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich vs. Tessa Blanchard and Victoria Crawford. Lyons worked on Tessa with Tae Kwon Do footsies. Lyons then trapped Tessa in the corner and hit her with a reverse Bronco Buster (A booty buster? That would be a wild name for a move). Tessa raked Nikkita’s eyes and tagged in Crawford. Masha tagged in and took down Crawford with a clotheslines and rally of smapmares. Masha got a two count after a PK.
Tessa tagged in and caught Masha with a slingshot elbow drop. The heels cut the ring in half on Masha. Masha went for a tag, but Tessa pulled Lyons off the apron. Masha rallied with short-arm clotheslines on Masha. Lyons made sure to clear Tessa from the ring. Crawford tried to use a hair, but Masha kicked her and took the chair away. Masha hit Crawford in the back with a chair for the DQ.
Victoria Crawford and Tessa Blanchard defeated Masha Slamovich and Nikkita Lyons via DQ in 4:15.
Lyons got in Masha’s face to berate her over the DQ. Santino Marella made his entrance and restarted the match, saying that the fans deserve a decisive finish. Rehwoldt, correctly, pointed out that in that case Masha would get rewarded for swinging an illegal chair around. Robert Stone made his entrance and noted that the decision will stand instead, Tessa and Victoria win…
Hannifan hyped the upcoming long awaited rematch between Dolph Ziggler and Jeff Hardy happening due to Jeff Hardy not being allowed to travel to Canada (via his past DUIs)… [c]
John’s Thoughts: Very weird. While I did expect Lyons to be an opp due to her playing a heel on NXT TV, I was pleased and surprised that she played things straight here. As a biased TKD practitioner, I liked her using more Tae Kwon Do here in addition to her bootybutt offense. Not sure what they wanted us to think about the finish. Masha had no real reason to go for the DQ loss against Alicia Fox. It’s Alicia Fox! Santino looked bad afterwards with Rehwoldt pointing out the babyface authority figure rewarding a babyface for cheating.
Former NBA journeyman Tracy Murray was shown in the crowd…
The show cut to a sit-down interview between Tom Hannifan and Cody Deaner. Hannifan asked Deaner how his nerves were, having to face a former TNA Champion in Eddie Edwards, two hours away from his hometown, in order to stay with TNA. Deaner said they are all over the place. Deaner talked about dreaming to be a wrestler since five years-old. He said the first time he shared that at his hometown, they laughed at him.
Deaners said his emotions are all over the place. Hannifan asked Deaner what his family’s support means for him. Deaner said his wife is a saint, allowing Deaner to be on the road all the time. Deaner said his kids are proud of him and having that support from his kids means everything in the world. Deaner said it really hit him when one of his kids cried after Deaner lost a pro wrestling match. Hannifan brought things back to Deaner’s poor win-loss record, where he hasn’t won a match in over a year.
Hannifan pointed out that Deaner does more than we see on TV. He does things behind the scenes. Deaner talked about how, to him, wrestling isn’t just about wins and losses, it’s about relationships. Deaner talked about having great relationships with the fans and behind the scenes. Pictures were shown of Deaner hanging out with Kevin Nash and Rey Mysterio. Deaner said he also does a lot of work with children to pay it forward, being a kid in the same position before.
Hannifan said Deaner’s task ahead of him is to prove he belongs by beating a two time world champion and future hall of famer Eddie Edwards. Deaner talked about Eddie being on a pedestal he deserves to be on. Deaner said people will look at him differently if he can beat that man on a pedestal. Deaner noted that the one set of people that won’t look at him different is his family. He said he’ll vindicate his family in believing he’s a hero. Hannifan asked Deaner if he can handle having to leave TNA if he loses.
Deaner said if he has to look at his son in the eyes with him saying he lost, he can’t let that happen…
John’s Thoughts: Awesome stuff. TNA has really done a stellar job over the past year with the Tom Hannifan exposition sit-down interviews. I still remember those great interviews he did with Crazy Steve. Not just Hannifan though, as Cody Deaner is one hell of an overall professional wrestler, who you would underestimate due to him being the Larry the Cable Guy comedy gimmick that he established himself as. This sit-down and Cody’s delivery actually sold me on a random match against Eddie Edwards. I hope he’s in line for a big push as he takes whatever is given to him, even some gimmicks that should totally fail (like the cheesy “people’s choice” stuff), and he makes it golden. He’s also pretty damn good in the ring too.
John Skyler, Jason Hotch, and Tasha Steelz made their entrance. Skyler cut one of his usual “good hands” promos on his way to the ring where he goes for cheap heat against the local crowd. Skyler blamed the fans for rejecting them and Ali, causing Ali to going into a downward spiral. He said they care for degenerates like The Rascalz. Skyler said the crowd were degenerates. Skyler talked about tearing this place down with these “Great Hands”. Trey Miguel and Zach Wentz made their entrance…
2. “The Rascalz” Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz vs. “The Great Hands” John Skyler and Jason Hotch (w/Tasha Steelz). Trey gdumped Skyler to ringside with the Road Dogg shake rattle and roll. The Rascalz swarmed Hotch with a Motor City Machine Gun kick and dropkick combination. Skyler dumped Wentz to ringside and hit Trey with a spear on the apron for a nearfall. Trey dumped Skyler to ringside and hit Hotch with a Backbreaker.
Wentz hit Hotch with a rally of strikes and a standing Shooting Star for a nearfall. The Rascalz hit both opponents with tandem strikes. Wentz and Trey superkicked Hotch. Wentz was about to go for a double stomp finisher, but he was distracted by Mustafa Ali walking down the ramp. Skyler shoved Wentz off the top rope to ringside. The Great Hands hit Trey with a tandem Samoan Drop Blockbuster to give Hotch the win over Trey.
The Great Hands defeated The Rascalz via pinfall in 4:18.
Ali stormed the ring and gave Miguel punches. Ali choked Miguel with the ring apron. Ace Austin ran out with a small pipe in hand to chase away Ali and the Great Hands…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I’m a bit numb to distraction finishes at this point, especially if it makes the babyfaces look like dopes, but as Hotch and Skyler rarely win in general, this worked on that aspect. Not a huge fan of the Rascalz being utilized in shorter matches in recent months, as I would have picked them to have the weekly barnburner match to fill in the void left by Josh Alexander and Mike Bailey.
Ace Austin tried to approach Mustafa Ali backstage, but was jumped by Hotch and Skyler. Ali chop blocked Ace with the small pipe. Ali tossed the pipe over his shoulder and walked away looking despondent…
Entrances for the upcoming number one contenders match took place…
3. Matt Cardona vs. Mance Warner vs. Ace Austin vs. Elijah in a four-way to become number one contender to the TNA International Championship. Ace dumped Cardona to ringside and hit Mance with kicks. Elijah hit Cardona with a flying punch. Elijah hit Mance with Old School while wrenching Cardona’s arm.[c]
Cardona choked Ace with a shirt back from break. Mance chop blocked Ace when Ace tried to come back. Mance worked on Ace with methodical strikes. Elijah hit Ace and Mance with a Tower of Doom. Elijah went for several nearfalls. Elijah kicked Cardona to ringside. Cardona tried to bring in a chair, but it was taken by Steph De Lander. Mance jumped off a chair to hit Ace with a DDT.
Elijah gave Mance a Tombstone on a steel chair. Cardona broke up the pin. Elijah hit Cardona with a Final Cut. Ace and Elijah traded strikes and counters. Cardona rolled up Ace for a nearfall. Ace it Cardona with a Savate Kick. Ace went for The Fold on Cardona, but his leg gave out on him when he ran. Cardona hit the injured Ace with a Ruff Ryder Leg Lariat for the victory.
Matt Cardona defeated Ace Austin, Mance Warner, and Elijah via pinfall in a four-way in 7:10 of on-air time to become No. 1 contender to the TNA International Championship.
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: So Cardona picks up the win to be the next person to lose to Steve Maclin. Good to give Maclin a win, but Cardona’s formula on television has been very predictable in the recent year. I really think he needs to sign with a company. He was fun when he signed with TNA the last time. Every time he pops up in a unsigned company now it just feels like he’s here to be the “jobber to the stars” (not far off from where Woo Woo Woo Zack Ryder was). I hope that if he finds his way back to WWE, that they let him remain Matt Cardona too.
Hannifan advertised the USA vs. Canada Border Brawl event featuring TNA wrestlers (TNA Champion Joe Hendry is neither American or Canadian, which is why I’m assuming he’s working NXT Battleground that day. I kid, I kid)…
Tessa Blanchard got in Arianna Grace’s face backstage, talking about how Santino failed in trying to take away her win earlier. Tessa said once she helps get Santino kicked out of TNA, his little princess (his daughter) will be kicked out too. Arianna tried to clap back, but she was slapped back by Tessa. A random lady said she’ll find some help for Arianna…
AJ Francis and KC Navarro made their entrance for their Penthouse talk show segment. AJ was wearing a turtleneck sweater as opposed to his usual giant jersey (which is actually an improvement in terms of fit). AJ and KC did their usual prolonged introductions. AJ talked about the Penthouse happening in a place that deserves them, Los Angeles, Hollywood (Uhm? Irvine is about 1 or two hours south of Hollywood and LA depending on traffic).
They talked about Kendrick Lamar, Dre, Snoop, Ice Cube, and Nipsey Hustle coming from SoCal. Navarro talked about how Tupac even came from here. AJ clarified that Tupac came from AJ’s hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, which drew heat from the SoCal crowd. AJ said he made the SoCal idiots think he’s actually from LA. AJ said that what’s even more idiotic was the Lakers fans thinking that Luca and Lebron were going to get LA a ring.
KC Navarro referenced Shannon Sharpe by saying “Lakers not in 5” (not the best person to reference at the moment). AJ said they bring the best to the penthouse. He said they brought a bona fide movie star. AJ listed off movies and noted how he loves Cocaine Bear. AJ introduced Ice Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson Jr. O’Shea Jackson made his entrance and dapped it up with AJ. O’Shea asked AJ what was up with him calling SoCal people idiots?
AJ said he was just talking about the fans, not him. Jackson said that you can’t just be mocking SoCal in front of him. AJ said he doesn’t come to Jackson’s movie sets to tell him what to do, so Jackson shouldn’t do the same to him in TNA. Jackson said AJ thinks he’s Shug Knight, but he’s actin’ like a broke ass Uncle Phil. KC tried to keep the peace between Jackson and AJ.
The lights went out and the spotlight focused on Mike Santana making his entrance from the stands. AJ and KC stormed off once Santana made it to the stage. O’Shea and Santana dapped it up to end the segment…
John’s Thoughts: A bit better than their last few “Penthouse” segments. Might be esoteric as it being focused on Southern California resonated with me being a SoCal guy; so it might be more meh to other viewers. I thought AJ was in his good old form here as he wasn’t just wasting time introducing random people nobody knows. Always fun seeing Ice Cub Jr. on the screen. Legit SoCal royalty, and a hardcore wrestling fan. One thing I do give AJ credit for as a heel is that he’s always willing to be the butt of a joke to put others over, here taking the easy Uncle Phil jab.
Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary. Hannifan thanked O’Shea Jackson for appearing on Impact…
Indi Hartwell made her entrance to her new Downstait theme. Her not-so local competitor opponent was “already in the ring” (the opponent was billed from Florida)…
4. Indi Hartwell vs. Kelsey Heather. Heather pie faced Indi to start the match. Indi took control and slammed Heather to the mat. Indi got a two count after a sidewalk slam. Heather put Indi in a sleeper. Hartwell shrugged Heather off and slammed her to the mat. Indi hit Heather with a spinebuster. Hartwell hit Heather with a draping boot. Indi hit Kelsey with the Hurts Donut (reverse Mone Maker) for the win.
Indi Hartwell defeated Kelsey Heather via pinfall in 1:30.
Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Simple and effective debut for the former NXT Women’s Champion. She looked great and I’m happy to see her get back on her feet after being wasted in WWE her last final months. Injuries might have played a bit of a role, but I feel like they should have at least given her one more shot to make an impact. That said, I hope that Impact has her locked down for the long haul as she can really be a strong personality and leader in the division.
Indi Hartwell was about to cut a promo about how excited she was to pick up her first win in TNA, but Tasha Steelz and the Great Hands butted in. Tasha said Indi was cutting a “cute promo”, but she has to speak now. Tasha tried to give a Mustafa Ali press release, but Indi cut in, saying Tasha is rude. Tasha said she has news about someone more important than Indi, Mustafa Ali. Tasha said she needs to talk with Santino to deal with things…
Rosemary made her entrance and got a picture-in-picture promo to hype her upcoming match. Xia Brookside made her entrance…
5. Rosemary vs. Xia Brookside. Rosemary stalled at ringside for a minute or so. Rosemary hit Xia with a jawbreaker. Xia came back with a jawbreaker and huracanrana. Rosemary countered Xia with a Package Suplex. Rosemary pulled out brass knuckles and put them in front of Brookside to use while she had Xia in a crossface. Xia refused the knuckles and got the rope break.
Xia rallied with right hands. Xia hit Rosemary with a huracanrana and trapped her in the corner. Xia hit Rosemary with a Meteora and DDT for a two count. Rosemary went for The Power of the Punch, but Xia grabbed Rosemary’s hand and ripped away the Brass Knuckles. Xia gave Rosemary a headbutt. Xia put on the knuckles and Rosemary begged for her to punch her. Rosemary loaded up a green mist, but Xia chopped Rosemary in the throat. Xia choked Rosemary on the ropes. The referee tried to pull Xia off for the 5 count, but Xia shoved the ref to the mat. The ref called for the DQ.
Rosemary defeated Xia Brookside via DQ in 5:30.
Rosemary managed to turn the tables. Lei Ying Lee ran out to chase off Rosemary…
John’s Thoughts: I thought this story was good about six months ago, but all they ended up doing with it was start, stop, and reset the story. I felt like we’ve been at this chapter before. The problem is TNA’s booking of Rosemary in recent years. She keeps cutting good promos during her character resets. I even like her having a completely different look coming off her Courtney Rush run. But after the transformation and giving her a butcher’s knife, it’s been immensely start and stop with her character development to the point where she’s stale again.
The sponsored TNA Injury Report aired. Hannifan announced that Maclin has a, presumably kayfabe, skull fracture and immense blood loss…
Hannifan ran through some advertised Under Siege matches while also hyping Frankie Kazarian appearing later in the show…[c]
Highlights from the Joe Hendry and Trick Williams contract signing from this past Tuesday’s NXT. Hannifan plugged Joe Hendry and Trick Williams having advertised musical performances on the upcoming episode of NXT. He also did a plug for the NXT Battleground PLE…
Arianna Grace demanded a match against Tessa Blanchard from Santino. Santino told Arianna that she’s not supposed to be an in-ring competitor when she came to TNA. Robert Stone showed up and booked the Tessa vs. Grace match for Under Siege. Santino acted annoyed with Stone. Arianna said she understands that Santino is looking out, but she needs this match…
Frankie Kazarian made his entrance. Hannifan hyped Trick Williams and Frankie Kazarian vs. Joe Hendry and Elijah for Under Siege. Kazarian said as the King of TNA he’s really happy to be in his home area of Southern California. He said he wanted to say that, but he doesn’t see SoCal’ers in he crowd, he sees traitors. He said they rather cheer for a clown like Joe Hendry instead of a King like Frankie Kazarian. Kazarian said Rebellion was the “Los Angeles Screwjob”.
Kazarian said he wasn’t pinned and should be TNA Champion now. He said Joe Hendry cannot and will not beat him. Kaz said what he hates worse than Joe Hendry, is the Joe Hendry fans. Kazarian said one other guy “gets it”, one of the rising stars in wrestling, a Frankie Kazarian fan, Trick Williams. Trick got a mixed reaction.
Trick said Frankie doesn’t like him and he doesn’t like Frankie, but that’s cool because they aren’t here to be liked, they are here to be respected. Trick said Joe Hendry wants to be liked. “Say his name and he appears! I believe in Joe Hendry! Clap Clap!”. TNA Champion Joe Hendry made his entrance. Kaz said you say his name and the mark appeared. Kazarian said Joe should put his money where his mouth is.
Elijah made his entrance to stand by Joe’s side. Trick and Kazarian cleared the ring when Elijah and Joe entered. TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella made his entrance to a favorable reaction. Santino said instead of Under Siege, they should have this tag team match tonight in Irvine. Robert Stone made his entrance to cut off Santino, saying they can’t have the tag match tonight.
Stone said the higher ups already have the Under Siege match set in stone. Stone said the Higher Ups won’t want to have this match in a junkyard like Irvine, CA. Stone said he’ll have suitable opponents for Elijah and Joe next week…
A NXT on CW ad aired to advertised Joe Hendry’s rock concert and Trick Williams’s rap performance…
A teaser montage aired to hype up the long awaited rematch between Jeff Hardy and Dolph Ziggler (Nic Nemeth), who haven’t faced in a singles match since 2009…[c]
John’s Thoughts: The Frankie Kazarian portion of the promo was solid. He’s continuing to show his vast improvement on the mic after all these years. Even though I thought it made storyline sense for him to get the title at Rebellion, I do hope he gets another shot at a main event run given how well he’s done to reinvent and elevate himself in this recent TNA run. He no longer needs Chris Daniels talking for him! What I’m not fully vibing with is this weird authority figure feud they’re having between Santino Marella and Robbie E. It feels very forced and not-entertaining. I also watch Evolve and NXT where he’s a babyface, then all of a sudden he’s a different-but-the-same person in TNA.
The TNA Plus Flashback Match of the Night was Rob Van Dam vs. Sabu at TNA Hard[Core] Justice 2010. RVD avoided a chair leg drop and hit Sabu with the Five Star Frog Splash for the win. Rob and Sabu hugged and raised each others’ hands while Bill Alfonso was hopping around in the background…
The following segments were advertised for next week: Ace Austin vs. Mustafa Ali, Robert Stone vs. Santino Marella in a debate, First Class vs. Santana and Sami Callihan, and The System vs. Joe Hendry and Elijah…
Nic and Ryan Nemeth made their entrance first. The Hardy Boyz made their entrance to a strong reaction. Hannifan noted that due to Jeff Hardy not being able to leave the country, Leon Slater will be his surrogate as Matt’s tag partner at Under Siege. Hannifan also noted that while Jeff and Nic have been in many multi-person matches, this is the first singles match they’ve had since 2009…
6. Jeff Hardy (w/Matt Hardy) vs. Nic Nemeth (w/Ryan Nemeth). Ryan tripped Jeff early on. Nic hit Jeff with a DDT for a nearfall. Jeff took out Ryan and Nic with a diving clothesline heading into break.[c]
Jeff worked on Nic with methodical offense. Nic avoided a Stinger Splash and hit Jeff with a neckbreaker. Nic slammed Jeff on three turnbuckles while mocking Jeff’s Jeff Hardy Dance. Nic dominated for a stretch with methodical offense. Jeff sent Nic into the turnbuckle. Jeff rallied with an Atomic Drop and leg drop combo for a nearfall. Jeff hit Nic with a Wisper in the Wind for a nearfall
Nic reversed a Twist of Fate with a Sleeper. Jeff used a jawbreaker to escape the Sleeper. Nic sent Jeff into the ring post and hit him with a Fame Asser for the nearfall. Jeff reversed a Sweet Chin Music with a Twist of Fate. Nic blocked a Swanton with his knees and rolled up Jeff for a nearfall. Jeff got a two count after a leg drop pin. Nic hit Jeff with a superkick for a good nearfall.
Jeff shrugged off a Danger Zone and hit Nic with a Twist of Fate. Jeff hit Nic with a Swanton Bomb for the clean win.
Jeff Hardy defeated Nic Nemeth via pinfall in 11:50.
The Nemeths jumped the Hardys after the match. Leon Slater ran out for the save to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: A solid match with a good closing segment. I’m happy they decided to go with the compelling clean ending sequence over having a lot of shenanigans from Ryan and Matt. I’m surprised and happy they went with giving Jeff the clean win. TNA has low key been doing a solid job protecting Jeff during his singles matches in TNA, which will pay off big time if they decide to give him a main event singles run (and because he’s Jeff Hardy, it’s very very likely. His last run in WWE was in the main event against Roman). Nic loses nothing as he has built up enough equity away from being the losing Dolph.
Jeff gains a lot beating a recent TNA world champion. As long as Jeff can keep his head on straight (which unfortunately is something we always legitimately have to worry about), there is actual MONEY in a Jeff singles run. Mainly as it would keep this TNA Hardy money train rolling as the Hardys have been selling out every TNA show they’ve been a part of in the recent years, and it’s solely due to Matt and Jeff’s nostalgia equity. Speaking of Jeff vs. Dolph, solid episode of Impact this week with TNA being episodic and focusing on making the first Jeff vs. Nic match since 2009 seem like a big deal.
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