By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Thursday Night Impact (Episode 1,127)
Taped February 21, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, at The Pinnacle
Simulcast February 26, 2026, on AMC, AMC+, and TNA+
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. Frankie Kazarian joined the commentary team for the opening match…
1. TNA World Champion Mike Santana and TNA X Division Champion Leon Slater vs. Ryan Nemeth and Nic Nemeth. Slater and Nic started the match with Nic doing his usual amateur chain wrestling. Nic and Ryan used quick tags to get tandem music on Nic. Slater hit Nic with an enzuigiri and a leaping elbow. Mike clotheslined Ryan off the apron. Slater hit both Nemeths with a dive.[c]
During the break, the Nemeths were able to get the advantage on Slater after a superkick from Nic. Back from break, the Nemeths cut the ring in half on Santana. Santana caught Nic with a Rolling Buck 50. Slater tagged in, with Slater hitting Nic with a spin kick and dive for a two count. The Nemeths reversed a Buck 50 with a Back Suplex Neckbreaker combo for a two count.
Santana caught Nic with a Yakuza Kick. Slater tagged in. Nic dodged Slater’s kicks and hit him with a Fameasser for a two count. Slater used a headbutt to get Nic off the top rope. Eric Young ran out for a distraction. Santana chased Young away. Slater went for a 450, but Nic reversed it by getting knees up and going into a rollup for the win.
Nic Nemeth and Ryan Nemeth defeated Leon Slater and Mike Santana via pinfall in 10:57.
John’s Thoughts: A decent enough opener. Not a fan of the lame distraction finish, as that’s been overused in pro wrestling across all companies. That said, it makes sense to give Nic a credible win if he’s going to be taken seriously as a singles competitor again. Ryan looming as a tag partner always makes The Nemeths a vulnerable tag team, so it is a surprise when they win.
“The Righteous” Vincent and Dutch were sitting on a couch backstage. Gia Miller joined them for an interview about their upcoming match. Vincent talked about how they believe in brotherhood. Dutch said they are trying to earn the Hardys’ trust. Vincent said if you trust The Righteous, everything will be groovy…
Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c] Entrances for the next match took place…
2. “Doomsday” Dani Luna vs. Lei Ying Lee (w/Xia Brookside). Both women traded quick counters to start. Lee got the advantage after a few kicks and a dropkick. Dani came back with a deadlift catapult on the top rope. Luna put Lee in a Cravat. Dani hit Lee with a back suplex for a two count. Dani worked on Lee with methodical offense. Lee rallied back with rollup attempts.
Lee put Luna in a Guillotine. Luna reversed it with a suplex for a two count. Dani brought a steel chain into play and wrapped it around the top turnbuckle. The referee sorta just let it happen. Lee rallied with kick variations. Lee hit Dani with Ten Punches in the Corner. Lee hit Luna with a suplex for a two count.
Lee fended off Luna with kicks. Luna came back with a rebound Blue Thunder Bomb for a two count. Both women traded fighting spirit strikes. Una tripped Lee and put her in a Sleeper. Luna kicked Lee off into the chains in the corner, according to Hannifan (Lee actually missed the chains and went into the middle buckle). Luna hit Lee with a German Suplex and Luna Landing for the win.
Dani Luna defeated Lei Ying Lee via pinfall in 10:16.
John’s Thoughts: A good match with a bit of a botched finish using Checkov’s chains (Hannifan treated it like the Checkov’s gun). I actually prefer the botched finish as it gives the rising star Dani Luna a clean win (they were trying to go with the exposed turnbuckle finish, but Lee hit the middle buckle). I was confused as to why the ref just let those chains sit there, as she could have easily taken a little time to take them off. Anyways, what I really, really do like is how they’ve booked Dani Luna since the heel turn. She’s been my favorite new star that TNA has created in months (Took her a while since the NXT UK days and Spitfire days, but I love it when we finally see a star shatter their ceiling).
TNA President Carlos Silva and Tommy Dreamer were having a meeting with Alisha Edwards about renewing her TNA talent contract. Alisha said she appreciates the offer. She said Tommy is like a dad to her. She said she just feels lost, like she doesn’t belong, due to everything that’s happened with The System. Alisha said she’ll have to decline the contract.
Moose showed up and sat at the coffee table with the rest of them. Moose asked Alisha to think about this. Moose said Alisha isn’t just the “first lady of The System” she’s the “First lady of TNA” (what?). Moose said not to worry about The System drama, because he’ll take care of it. Moose said what he doesn’t want the drama to do is ruin their friendship.
Moose said if he were her, he’d sign the contract. Moose said TNA needs her, and she can be his manager. Alisha said that’s not a bad idea. Silva said TNA needs you! Alisha said, “Do you want to know something?” Alisha signed the contract…
Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Alisha is one of my favorite Knockouts in TNA due to her talking ability, but “first lady of TNA” is a bit much. That aside, I do have some intrigue in this story. The predictable route is that this sets up Alisha betraying Moose sooner or later to join her husband Eddie in the New System (and that would be great because Alisha is a better talker than all the current System members). The soap opera drama part of me wouldn’t mind seeing them recreate the storyline from a few years ago where Moose was teaming with Brandi Rhodes, leading to Cody Rhodes becoming a jealous heel accusing Brandi of cheating on him with Moose (unfortunately that feud was cut short and all Moose was left with was getting his nuts kicked every week by Cody before Cody left for New Japan).
AJ Francis made his entrance. Hannifan noted that he’s wearing African colors in honor of Black History Month. He also has the words “Say it loud” on his back in honor of James Brown’s “I’m Black, and I’m proud” (So he’s a babyface now? Maybe?). Mance Warner and Steph De Lander made their entrance. Hannifan noted that Mance was from Nashville, and he was dressed up in Nashville Predators face paint in honor of his hometown team..
John’s Thoughts: Already, this is confusing. So I still lean AJ being the babyface, but then Hannifan tells us Mance is coming out dressed as the hometown hero? Hey, Mance needs to turn babyface NOW! So I’d prefer that, though I think AJ can also be a really great babyface due to what we’ve seen from his real-life personality.
2. AJ Francis vs. Mance Warner (w/Steph De Lander). Mance dumped AJ to ringside and hit him with a diving knee. Mance then slapped hands with the fans. AJ tossed Mance off the steel steps. AJ stretched around AJ against the ropes. AJ hit Mance with a Stinger Splash. AJ hit Mance with his Flop Dolla Tennessee Whiskey. Mance hit AJ with a knee. Mance hit AJ with a Bionic Elbow.
Mance hit AJ with a facebuster. Francis hit Mance with a Spear for a two count. De Lander prevented AJ from using a chair. The chair got in Mance’s hands, and he jabbed AJ in the gut for the DQ.
AJ Francis defeated Mance Warner via DQ in 4:06.
Mance beat up AJ with a chair and chucked the chair with him, sending AJ to ringside. McKenzie announced AJ as the winner via DQ…
John’s Thoughts: Ok, so Mance is the babyface, I assume (I’m still thrown off because anyone who wears gear that screams “I’m black and I’m proud” is a babyface to me based on how my dad raised me). Maybe it was a double turn? Who knows, maybe we’ll get clarification soon. I hope that Mance turned babyface! Good ol’ Mancer was really strong as a babyface talker, and he’s a hidden diamond in the rough that a lot of people don’t know about.
It was time for this week’s sponsored TNA injury report. Mustafa Ali is out due to multiple injuries from the casket match. Jody Threat is out due to a rib injury. Leon Slater is “In Evaluation” from the match earlier.
“Hardcore Country” Mickie James made her entrance…[c]
Mickie fired up the Nashville Crowd. She then called out Ash by Elegance. She talked about driving 20 minutes from home to get here. The Concierge tried to introduce the Elegance Brand, but Mickie cut him off and told him to get his tiny little behind out of here. Ash walked out to confront Mickie. Ash said how dare Mickie, and the people came to see Ash and her entrance.
Ash said they didn’t come to see an irrelevant and washed-up legend in Mickie. Mickie said she wanted Ash out by herself to chat as a friend, or someone she thought was a friend. Mickie talked about Ash getting released from WWE and calling Mickie, saying, “What am I going to do?” Mickie said she then called Tommy Dreamer and asked him to give her friend a chance.
Ash said TNA was already scouting her, and she was the hottest free agent at the time. Mickie said we all know that wasn’t true. Mickie then called Ash a “mark” for having Twitter feuds with former Knockouts Champions (I mean, I call that being a heel). Ash said she’s not a mark. A “mark” chant ensued. Ash said she’s trendy, and TNA came to her.
Mickie said that without the people, Ash won’t have the ability to stay in the ring. Mickie said Ash deceived the crowd, and that is crap. Ash said she doesn’t care about them, but she cares about the title she didn’t lose. Mickie noted she didn’t lose the title either, and she confided in Ash when she had to walk away.
Mickie said Ash is disrespecting the legacy of the title, which is disgusting and embarrassing. Ash said it’s none of Mickie’s business what happened to her. Ash said that she put in hard work, which is why she’s standing in the ring. Ash said she’s better than the fans, knockouts, legends, and better than Mickie. Mickie said Ash forgets Mickie is “Hardcore Country”.
Mickie then took off her hat and jacket, saying, “If you don’t want to talk like ladies, let’s talk like broads”. The big screen showed The Elegance Brand approaching and threatening Mickie and Nick Aldis’s son, Donovan, backstage as he was watching the segment on a couch. Mickie ran to the back, but was cut off and knocked down by M by Elegance on the ramp.
M and Heather beat down Mickie. Ash kicked Mickie. Ash then gave Mickie a MickDT on the stage. The Elegance Brand stood tall and posed on the stage. The crowd showered Ash with “mark” chants to end the segment…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Mixed thoughts on the segment. Both women did good mic work! What has me conflicted was a bit of the “mark” and inside baseball stuff. That part kinda felt unnecessary, and almost made Mickie unlikable at points (what saved it, in my opinion, for Mickie was her being in her hometown). I hope they pull back on the inside baseball stuff, because it’s fine making things personal and staying within the confines of pro wrestling storytelling.
Jody Threat was shown laid out on the floor. Holly Hudson told Santino Marella that Jody was attacked by Tessa Blanchard and her crew. “The Suit” Daria Rae showed up and said that she always sees chaos when Santino is around. Rae berated Santino for the nepotism he showed Arianna Grace. Before Santino could defend himself, Daria said, “Shut up, I’m talking.”
Daria said Grace will make a great champion because she’s athletic, poised, and beautiful. Rae said Santino’s delusion will not rub off on Daria, though…
The Great Hands and Tasha Steelz made their entrance. Jada Stone made her entrance. The ref rang the bell after Tasha hit Jada with a clothesline…
3. Jada Stone vs. Tasha Steelz (w/John Skyler, Jason Hotch). Steelz stomped a mud hole into Jada and worked on her with methodical strikes. Stone came back with a springboard kick and dropkick to dump Steelz to ringside. Hotch and Skyler caught Jada off a Suicide Dive. Steelz accidentally hit Hotch and Skyler with a Suicide Dive.
Jada hit Order 4 with a moonsault from the apron. Steelz hit Jada with a suplex at ringside. Steelz hit Jada with a snapmare into a PK for a two count. Both women traded rapid rollups. Stone rallied with clotheslines and Sling Blade for a two count. Tasha reversed Stone into a German Suplex. Stone blocked a cutter with a handstand (similar to Mustafa Ali reversing Randy Orton’s RKO). Stone rolled up Steelz for the victory.
Jada Stone defeated Tasha Steelz via pinfall in 5:49.
Hotch and Skyler tossed Stone back in the ring. Steelz gave Stone a cutter and put the boots to her. Order 4 stood tall to end the segment…
Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
Tom Hannifan was in the ring to conduct an interview with the fired Steve Maclin. Hannifan reminded the crowd that Maclin was fired, yet he attacked the world champion Mike Santana. Hannifan welcomed Maclin to the ring. Maclin made his entrance without music while he was escorted by security. A “you don’t work here” chant ensued.
Hannifan said he and Steve have been best friends for over a decade, and they always tell each other the truth. Hannifan said he stuck out his neck for Steve to get this airtime, so why did Maclin attack Mike Santana? Maclin said the truth is this is not about Mike Santana. This is about Steve Maclin. Maclin said everyone in the back thanked him for what he did. A “we don’t care” chant ensued.
Maclin pointed out that the fans cared when they kissed his ass after he got the pink slip. Maclin said Santana thanked him for being selfless. Maclin said he was selfless when he joined the Marines to fight for this country. A “USA” chant ensued. Maclin told the fans to just shut the hell up. Maclin said Mike broke their brotherhood long before that.
Hannifan asked Maclin if he feels accountable. Maclin then talked about Mike Santana no-showing a tag team match due to having a “meeting”. Maclin said he could give two damns about the people in Nashville. Maclin said he can talk about his alcohol problems in WWE, his PTSD, his survivor’s guilt, but he doesn’t, and he moves forward. Maclin said Hannifan sounds just like the fans, and they are supposed to be friends.
Maclin said the only reason Hannifan is in the ring and is announcing is that Maclin got him this job. Hannifan said Steve is right. Hannifan said it killed him that Steve got fired. He said he didn’t want to air this out in public, but rather over beers in the back. Hannifan said he’s tried everything to help Steve in this company, but he’s not the only one.
Hannifan said people like Mike Santana go to bat for Steve. Hannifan said it’s people in the back who bust their asses nonstop. He said you can’t help someone who won’t listen. Hannifan said to be real, how many times has Maclin been fined by TNA for the same thing? Hannifan said Maclin never takes accountability and blames everyone else.
Hannifan asked Maclin why he can’t be like everyone else and accept accountability? Maclin put his hand on Hannifan’s shoulder and gave Hannifan a gut punch, causing him to crumple to the mat. Mike Santana stormed the ring. Maclin went to ringside and shoved Matthew Rehwoldt. Security got between Maclin and Santana. Maclin headed to the back…[c]
John’s Thoughts: Now that was a pretty compelling promo exchange. Who knew that announcer Tom Hannifan would be good in a pro wrestling face-to-face segment? He does tend to excel in backstage interviews, so I shouldn’t be surprised. This got me a bit hooked on what Maclin would do next. Maclin was really good at manipulating the crowd, and I loved how he drew heat and then called out the crowd for chanting “USA” out of nowhere.
The following segments were advertised for next week: Sinner and Saint vs. The Righteous vs. Rich Swann and BDE vs. The New System, Arianna Grace vs. Jody Threat for the TNA Knockouts Title, and Leon Slater vs. Nic Nemeth for the X Division Championship…
Gia Miller and Matthew Rehwoldt checked in on commentary, with Gia sitting in for Hannifan. Gia Miller said she could relate to Hannifan when Tessa Blanchard attacked her last year…
Entrances for the next match took place…
4. “The System” Eddie Edwards, Bear Bronson, Brian Myers, and Cedric Alexander vs. Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Vincent, and Dutch. Eddie and Jeff started the match. Jeff hit Eddie with his signature double leg drop combo. Jeff tried to put Eddie in a Spinal Verdict, but it was broken up by the System members. All eight men brawled in the ring. Dutch posed heading into the break.[c]
The babyface team was dominating after the break. Bear and Dutch tagged in, trading hands. Dutch hit Bear with a suplex. Vincent hit Bear with Poetry in Motion. Bear recovered and slammed Vincent to the mat for a two count. The System used quick tags to cut the ring in half on Vincent.
Vincent got a window of opportunity after a Sidewalk Slam. Matt caught the hot tag and cleaned house. Matt hit Bear with a Side Effect for a two count. The wrestlers took turns trading signature moves. Matt hit Bear with a Scorpion Death Drop. Vincent blind tagged in. Eddie hit Matt with a Blue Thunder Bomb. Vincent shoved Matt out of the way and took the bullet for Matt by eating a Boston Knee Party from Eddie, giving Eddie the win.
“The System” Eddie Edwards, Bear Bronson, Brian Myers, and Cedric Alexander defeated Vincent, Dutch, Matt Hardy, and Jeff Hardy via pinfall in 11:29.
The System put the boots to The Hardys and Righteous. Moose’s theme played as he slowly walked to the ring for the save (some urgency, Moose?). Moose tried to clear The System from the ring, but the numbers game wasn’t in his favor as he was taken down with a Roster Cut from Myers. Alisha Edwards ran to the ring and yelled at The System to back down. The show closed with Alisha yelling at The System to get out of there…
John’s Thoughts: Did Moose go to the Jeff Hardy school of saving Matt Hardy? I’m reminded of Matt getting beaten up by Andrade and Private Party, only to have Jeff run out and do his Jeff Hardy dance before saving his brother. Anyways, I did like the television main event. We’re getting a lot of eight-man tags involving The New System, but the positive I like is that they’re giving The New System clean wins and setting them up as kings of the mountain, needing to be taken down, a la The Shield.
This was a bit of a better show compared to the last few weeks. No real blockbuster matches, but I did like the balance of the show. We got some long promos for character development, and the matches served their job of forwarding storylines. What’s missing is having that guaranteed strong weekly in-ring match. WWE has those with their open-challenge titles, like the U.S. Title. TNA used to have them when Josh Alexander, Mike Bailey, and The Rascalz were in the company. Maybe they just need to sign that talent to be that weekly workhorse.
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