By Jason Powell, ProWrestling.net Editor (@prowrestlingnet)
TNA Impact Hits
Jordynne Grace vs. Tasha Steelz: The usual good match from both women. It means something when Grace takes a loss, but I don’t know how much Steelz actually gained from winning because of interference from Alisha Edwards. The promo that Steelz cut to set up the match was really good. The context of the promo was basic, but her delivery and poise really stood out.
Kushida vs. Trent Seven vs. JDC vs. Leon Slater vs. Ace Austin to become No. 1 contender to the X Division Title: A good X Division opener. Kushida going over was well received by the live crowd, but I can’t say that seeing him earn another X Division Title shot did much for this viewer. Have we heard from Seven since his big turn on Mike Bailey? Is Slater ever going to be positioned as more than an up and coming high spot guy?
Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy vs. Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers the TNA Tag Team Titles: A solid match with a bad finish that also involved even more interference from Alisha Edwards. The post match angle with the heels putting the Hardys through a table sets up a tables match between these teams for the Final Resolution event.
Josh Alexander, Frankie Kazarian, Judas Icarus, and Travis Williams vs. Mike Santana, Steve Maclin, Eric Young, and Jonathan Gresham: Good work from the various wrestlers. The match felt rather inconsequential just as most eight-man tag team matches do. In this case, Alexander taking the pin after Kazarian hit Gresham with the Call Your Shot trophy didn’t really accomplish much from a storytelling standpoint. Nevertheless, it was encouraging to see Icarus and Williams get a credibility boost by holding their own during the match.
TNA Impact Misses
Nic Nemeth promo: TNA hyped that Nemeth would address the controversy at Turning Point, but that never even came up. He was quickly interrupted by AJ Francis and KC Navarro, which led to Nemeth and Francis agreeing to meet for the TNA World Championship at Final Resolution. Francis has done a good job of generating heat for the two versions of the First Class tag team. It’s a big step up for him to challenge for the company’s top championship and I’m looking forward to seeing how he does.
PCO and Sami Callihan vs. “The Good Hands” Jason Hotch and John Skyler: A soft Miss. There was no mystery regarding the outcome of what felt like an unnecessary showcase win for PCO and Callihan. Skyler is good on the mic and can typically draw some cheap heat. I wish that he and Hotch were positioned as more than the punching bag tag team. Hotch also has upside as a singles wrestler and deserves better than he gets from the creative forces. The post match bit with “23” appearing on the big screen was mildly intriguing.
Thanks, Jason. I’ve got several opinions on how I see things shaking out in the new year. I’m thinking that Moose loses the X-division title cleanly to Leon Slater at the very latest April 2025.
And I think that the heavyweight title is gonna revolve around Santana & Maclin. Nothing wrong with 2 faces going after the title, is there? Either one of those would be a great choice to lead TNA in 2025 as they head to bigger places.
If it was my call, I’d build to Mike Santana winning the title at UBS Arena. He’s a New York guy and that’s a really big venue. I like Maclin, but Santana is the guy I’d go with even if they didn’t have a big New York show scheduled.
I haven’t watched TNA much in a long time besides clips here and there. But I usually read the hit lists and live reviews and it seems the the Hardys have had quite the renaissance there this year, and that’s one of my favorite things in wrestling in 2024
Is number 23 a reference to the Jim Carrey horror film?