By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TNA Thursday Night Impact (Episode 1,122)
Albuquerque, New Mexico, at Tingley Coliseum
Simulcast live on January 22, 2026, on AMC and TNA+
[Hour One] Impact opened with a shot of the host venue’s exterior. Tom Hannifan spoke, but the audio was a mess… A video package recapped the TNA Genesis pay-per-view… The Impact opening video aired…
The broadcast team of Tom Hannifan and Matt Rehwoldt checked in from ringside and introduced TNA President Carlos Silva, who spoke briefly about how proud he is of the show’s premiere on AMC…
Powell’s POV: Whew. I was worried that we might make it through the first five minutes of the show without a needless Carlos Silva appearance. Anyway, the audio issue was limited to the opening seconds of the show.
Ring announcer McKenzie Mitchell delivered the introductions for the opening match while the entrances took place…
1. Cedric Alexander vs. Moose (w/Alisha Edwards). Moose sold his lower back while the broadcast team recalled him suffering the injury at Genesis. The match spilled over to ringside. Moose clutched his lower back when he set up for a suplex, which led to Alexander suplexing him on the floor.
Back in the ring, Alexander put Moose down with a Michinoku Driver for a near fall. Alexander executed a standing Spanish Fly for a near fall. He jumped from the middle rope into a headbutt from Moose. In the end, Moose went for a powerbomb, but Alexander countered with a huracanrana into a pin for the three count.
Cedric Alexander beat Moose in 10:00.
After the match, Moose sold his back and then extended his hand. Alexander accepted the handshake, and then Moose raised Alexander’s arm before a commercial break… [C]
Powell’s POV: A nice win for Alexander. Moose was protected by selling the back injury, but that also took a little away from Alexander’s win. I suspect they’ll run it back at some point. By the way, the live review was an impromptu decision tonight. We’ll likely have Impact reviews on delay more often than not.
TNA World Champion Mike Santana made his entrance from the concourse through the crowd. He set up a chair and took a seat inside the ring. Santana had the production crew play a message that his father sent him before his death that said he wanted him to remember that he earned his way, he deserved to be there, and he belongs there. A “you deserve it” chant broke out.
Santana said when he came back to TNA two years ago after rebuilding himself from injuries and addiction and the clutches of depression and anxiety, he declared that he was coming for the top spot. Santana said he put action behind his words every single day because he, the sport, and the fans deserve it.
Santana said everything wasn’t always perfect, but he always picked himself back up. He gave some examples and said it all led to last week’s AMC premiere. Santana recalled AJ Styles telling him last week that he carries the company on his back now meant the world to him. Santana said he had to give respect to Frankie Kazarian after their two matches last week.
Santana said he knows there’s a bigger target on his back than ever. He said it could be Nic Nemeth, who has the Call Your Shot trophy, or the winner of the TNA World Championship shot from Feast or Fired. He said he stands before the fans as the guy. He said it’s because he earned his way there, he deserves to be there, and he belongs there. Santana dropped the mic and played to the crowd…
Powell’s POV: The usual strong mic work from Santana. It’s good that he got a chance to cut this promo after he didn’t get to say much during last week’s premiere.
Gia Miller spoke with “Order 4” Mustafa Ali, Tasha Steelz, Agent Zero, Jason Hotch, and John Skyler on a backstage interview set. Ali said he needed Miller to shut up, which drew good heat. Ali said the Hardys are sheep, and he will be the shepherd for the fans…
Hannifan hyped upcoming matches… [C] Podcast host Chris Van Vliet was shown in the front row… Highlights aired from Tuesday’s NXT of Sol Ruca and Zaria winning a three-way tag match to earn a future shot at the TNA Knockouts Tag Team Titles…
The Concierge stood in the ring and introduced himself. He insulted the locals for some easy heat before introducing “The Elegance Brand” of Ash by Elegance, Heather by Elegance, M by Elegance, and Mr. Elegance. Indi Hartwell made her entrance to a good crowd reaction…
2. Indi Hartwell vs. M by Elegance (w/Ash by Elegance, Heather by Elegance, Mr. Elegance, The Concierge). M ducked between the roeps to avoid Hartwell to start the match. Hartwell grabbed M’s foot, but Heather held M’s hand to prevent her from being pulled toward the middle of the ring.
Hannifan reminded viewers that Dani Luna is still owed a Knockouts Title match after visa issues prevented her from getting her title match last week. Some of the Elegance crew caused a distraction while The Concierge gave M his shoe, which she slammed on the foot of Hartwell. M performed a clunky Codebreaker for a two count. [C]
Hartwell put M down with a bulldog before covering her for a near fall. Hartwell set up for her finisher, but M blocked it. Hartwell went for the Hurts Donut again, but M countered by rolling her into a pin, which Hartwell reversed for the win.
Indi Hartwell beat M by Elegance in 9:05.
After the match, Heather by Elegance attacked Hartwell from behind. Ash entered the ring and barked at Heather and M to stop. Heather shoved Ash, who then struck a fighting pose.
Knockouts Champion Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside ran out and stood with Ash, who then hit Lee from behind. The other Elegance Brand members joined in on the attack of the babyfaces and then posed together afterward…
Powell’s POV: It was good to see Ash get physical again, as hopefully it’s a sign that she’ll be able to return to the ring soon. Even so, this was a lousy swerve. What was the Elegance Brand’s big plan if no one ran out to help Ash? And why would Lee and Brookside come to the heel’s defense after one simple shove from Heather? Somehow, this was still an upgrade over last week’s lousy Elegance Brand segment. I got a kick out of Dana Brooke reinventing herself and The Concierge is fun, but I really don’t know why they keep adding people to the act and giving it so much air time.
Hannifan ran through the sponsored injury report. Elijah is cleared after aggravating his surgically repaired tricep, Frankie Kazarian is out with multiple injuries suffered at Genesis, and Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy are banged up, but they are both cleared…
Rehwoldt hyped the return of Feast Or Fired for after the break… [C]
[Hour Two] Backstage, Ash by Elegance declared that she’s back. Heather said she knew that Ash had a plan. The Concierge said she’s now part of the comeback club with Michael Jordan, Muhammad Ali, and Tiger Woods. He said they would have an Elegance comeback party…
Some wrestlers were already in the ring for the Feast or Fired match. Mance Warner and System members Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards received televised entrances. Hannifan read through the rules of the match, and they were shown in small print on the screen. He said the contents of the briefcases will be shown on next week’s show. Steve Maclin and Trey Miguel also had televised entrances. Hannifan said TNA re-signed Miguel and the company is thrilled to welcome him back…
3. The Feast or Fired match. The entrants included Trey Miguel, Steve Maclin, Eddie Edwards. Brian Myers, Mance Warner, AJ Francis, Rich Swann, Home Town Man, Eric Young, Jason Hotch, and John Skyler.
Miguel and Swann teamed up to powerbomb Francis. They shook hands, but then Miguel superkicked Swann. Rehwoldt said Miguel knows how the game is played. TNA International Champion Stacks, Arianna Grace, and Daria Rae were shown watching the match on a backstage monitor, and then a separate shot aired of Mike Santana and Santana Marella watching the match.
Home Town Man pulled down Briefcase No. 1. Eric Young pulled off Home Town Man’s mask and then took the briefcase from him. Young was awarded the briefcase because Home Town Man never made it to the floor.
Maclin pulled down Briefcase No. 2 and got to ringside with it. A short time later, a “this is awesome” chant actually broke out. Miguel pulled down Briefcase No. 4 and got to the floor.
Myers dove from the ropes onto a pile of wrestlers on the floor so that Edwards could take the Briefcase No. 4. Francis tried to block his path, but Edwards hit him with the briefcase and made it to the floor, where he celebrated with his wife Alisha and Myers…
Eric Young, Steve Maclin, Trey Miguel, and Eddie Edwards left with Feast or Fired briefcases in the 9:15 match.
Powell’s POV: So three of those wrestlers will get title matches, but one will be fired next week for simply grabbing the wrong briefcase. The concept is ridiculous, but perhaps the mystery of which wrestler will be fired will pull in some viewers.
In the parking lot, Nic Nemeth told Mike Santana that he had to watch his back because he had a lot of challengers coming his way. Nemeth said he heard Santana’s comments earlier and said he’s too emotional. Nemeth spoke about calmly calling his shot, placing the trophy on the table, and taking the title from him. Nemeth mentioned Santana’s daughter, which led to the wrestlers trading punches until they were pulled apart…
The broadcast team hyped upcoming segments, including Elayna Black speaking after a break… [C]
Backstage, four guys were playing video games. Nic Nemeth showed up and barked at the four wrestlers. He said they are all soft and nobody knows what they are doing. He said there are marks in the locker room.
BDE stood up for himself and said he earned his way there, and wrestling is for everybody. He challenged Nemeth to a match on next week’s show. Nemeth took the match and kicked something before leaving the room…
Powell’s POV: Name graphics, please. I figured out it was BDE, but I have no idea who his buddies are or whether we’re supposed to know them.
Elayna Black was introduced, and then she delivered a promo from the stage. She said she is the only one the fans need to pay attention to in the Knockouts Division. She said she’s the only one who got one million viewers on TNA socials in just 24 hours. She said she is the only one who makes headlines wherever she goes. She said she is the only one who matters.
Black said that after her match next week against whoever is stupid enough to step foot in her ring, it will become very clear that she is the only one next in line for a shot at the Knockouts Title. She said the fans are living in the Era of Elayna…
Daria Rae told Santino Marella that Elayna Black is the future of the Knockouts Division. He said time will tell. Arianna Grace showed up and asked Rae if she could speak with her father. Rae exited the room.
Grace apologized for the things she did to Santino. She said the job has never been easy, but he knows that he did it for the family. He said they have an amazing relationship, and she knows she was wrong. She asked Santino to forgive her and then hugged him. He eventually hugged her back…
Powell’s POV: A solid promo from arrogant heel Black. This was better than I remember a lot of her NXT promos being. So is Santino the only one buying Arianna’s apology, or will we find out that even his character figured out that she was full of it?
Mustafa Ali made his entrance for the main event with Order 4 and secret service agents. Jeff Hardy, who was accompanied by Matt Hardy, made his entrance before the break… [C]
4. Jeff Hardy (w/Matt Hardy) vs. Mustafa Ali (w/Tasha Steelz, Agent Zero, Jason Hotch, John Skyler). Ali dumped Jeff to the floor a few minutes in. Matt checked on his brother. Matt had to fight off Hotch and Skyler. Matt argued with Tasha until Agent Zero put him down with a big boot. [C]
Late in the match, Matt pulled a title belt away from Ali and then fought off the other Order 4 members. Ali put Matt down. When Ali returned to the ring, Jeff put him down with a Twist of Fate. Jeff went for a Swanton Bomb, but Ali moved out of the way. Ali hit a 450 splash and covered Jeff for a near fall.
Elijah walked onto the stage and strummed his guitar, which distracted Ali. Jeff took advantage by putting Ali down with a Twist of Fate. Jeff followed up with a Swanton Bomb and scored the pin.
Jeff Hardy beat Mustafa Ali in 15:25.
“The Righteous” Vincent and Dutch spoke outside the building. Vincent said the Hardys are still what you point to when you hear the word great. Dutch said that greatness isn’t the price when you arrive, it’s the door you’re already standing in front of…
The System members were shown walking backstage while Hannifan hyped the reveal of the new member for after the final break… [C]
Powell’s POV: Jeff’s win was a crowd pleaser, but I’m not a fan of wrestlers kicking out of 450 splashes and other major moves. I was also a little disappointed, because I thought for a second they were going to have Ali go over. The Hardys are the most popular wrestlers in the company, so a loss wouldn’t have hurt Jeff, and TNA really needs to build up some strong heels.
An ad listed the following matches and segments for next week’s Impact: Nick Nemeth vs. BDE, Elijah vs. Jason Hotch, Elayna Black in action, and the reveal of the Feast or Fired briefcases…
Hannifan added Rich Swann vs. AJ Francis in a No Holds Barred match as next week’s main event…
“The System” Moose, JDC, Eddie Edwards, Alisha Edwards, and Brian Myers made their entrance. The broadcast team noted that JDC worked his final match at Genesis. JDC thanked the fans for the sendoff that they gave him. JDC said the night isn’t about him, it’s about his replacement. JDC said he believes the man is the future of the business.
Bear Bronson was introduced as the new System member, and then he headed to the ring. JDC hugged Bronson and then Eddie, who dropped down and low-blowed him. Moose acted surprised, and then Bronson attacked him.
Cedric Alexander ran out with a chair. Moose and JDC were down, and the others fled the ring except for Alisha. Moose stood up and then Alexander hit him with a chair. The others returned to the ring. Eddie jawed at Moose and JDC about how they can’t beat The System.
The new System members all put the boots to Moose and JDC. Alisha barked at Eddie and the others. Bronson laughed in her face, and then she shoved him. Bronson, Alexander, Eddie, and Myers posed while Alisha stayed down with Moose and JDC while the producer credits were shown to close the show…
Powell’s POV: I’m cool with shaking up The System, but this was a rushed and awkward angle that felt like it came out of nowhere. The worst part was the Alexander swerve, as he wasn’t the least bit convincing when he tried to act like he was there to help Moose and JDC. I suspect Alisha siding with Moose and JDC is also a swerve that will be revealed later.
Overall, this was an upgrade over last week’s show, but TNA still hasn’t put its best foot forward on AMC. It should help that they are taping some upcoming episodes and will have the ability to clean them up in post-production. John Moore will be back on Friday with our weekly TNA Impact audio review, which will be available exclusively for Dot Net Members (including our Patreon patrons).
I generally enjoyed the show, but while they have no young talent, do they
Not enough on the men’s side. I’ve said for a while that they need to be more aggressive in scouting the independent scene. They have some young talent on the women’s side. Most of them are green, but hopefully they will improve with more reps.