By John Moore, ProWrestling.net Staffer (@liljohnm)
TNA Impact (Episode 1,153)
Taped October 13-14, 2026, in Dothan, Alabama, at the Dothan Civic Center
Simulcast on October 29, 2026, on AMC, AMC+, and TNA+
[Hour One] 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. M by Elegance (w/Heather by Elegance, Mr. Elegance) vs. Jada Stone for the TNA Knockouts Television Championship. Jada dominated early with running strikes and a Slingshot Huracanrana. Stone got a two count after a standing Moonsault. Mr. Elegance went for a distraction, but Jada sidestepped M to send her foot into Elegance and knock him off the apron. Jada dropkicked M to ringside and followed up with a Suicide Dive.
Jada did a backflip that M reversed into a backdrop to dump Jada to ringside. M worked on Jada with methodical offense. Jada avoided M’s moonsault and gave her running strikes. Jada set up M with a huracanrana and hit M with a Tiger Feint Kick. Both women traded counters. M gave Jada a Superkick. Jada gave M a backflip into a Stunner. M went for a time-out with the Elegance Brand. M and Heather sidestepped, which led to Jada giving Mr. Elegance a Moonsault.
Jada gave M a Standing Spanish Fly from the steel steps. Jada went for a pin on M, but Heather stopped the count at two by arguing with the ref (Ugh, and that kinda kills the ref’s cred a bit). While the referee was distracted with Heather, M asked Mr. Elegance for the title belt to use as a weapon. Mr. Elegance refused and yelled, “I Quit!” Jada tried to roll up M, but M rolled through it and hit Jada with a Thrill of the Kill Pile Driver for the win.
M by Elegance defeated Jada Stone via pinfall in 6:41 to retain the TNA Knockouts TV Championship.
Hannifan wondered if Mr. Elegance has left the brand for good?…
John’s Thoughts: I wasn’t the biggest fan of the visual pinfall that was broken up by Heather “arguing” with the referee (Makes the referee look like a dope for not focusing on her count and instead deciding to do something else). Thankfully, they fixed that a bit by putting M on the handicap side, with Mr. Elegance ending up as a distraction to her, only for M to overcome the handicap. Mr. Elegance being “done” makes for an interesting hook. Personally, I wouldn’t dissolve the brand so quickly as to try to farm a story out of it. There was no explanation as to where The Concierge and Ash went aside from a vague throwaway sentence last week (they didn’t even say anything about The Concierge). It would be fun if they could drag out Heather’s pseudo-indentured servitude to M for a bit.
Backstage, Alisha asked, “Do you want to know something?” which means a System promo was starting. Cedric Alexander bragged about being the number one contender. Eddie Edwards called Cedric the best X Division Wrestler in the world and will single handedly beat Amazing Red for the title. Bear Bronson interrupted Eddie’s promo and took exception to Eddie using the words “Single-handedly”. Bear assumed that meant Eddie was implying that The System shouldn’t support Cedric in his title match.
Brian Myers played peacekeeper and said that it’s ultimately Cedric’s decision as to whether he needs help or not. Cedric said he’s the best X Division Wrestler in the world and will bring the title back to The System. Eddie assumed that meant Cedric was going to handle things on his own. Bear got in Eddie’s face and told him he’s making a big mistake…
Tom Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
John’s Thoughts: I really like Bear Bronson being the one taking exception to Eddie being noble week-to-week. Eddie’s clearly turning babyface, and I hope that it isn’t a bait and switch, if only because Eddie has run his course as a heel (and hopefully we don’t go back to the cartoony “Crazy Eddie” persona). As much as I think they should have killed “The System” faction a long time ago, I wouldn’t mind if they somehow continue with Bear Bronson as the protected leader of the group. I say this because they’ve done an odd job having Bear, who’s a good wrestler and talker, eat so many pins in the group. As a monster heel, he has eaten more pinfalls during his time in The System than the man who owns the WWE record for most losses in a row, Brian Myers. I hope this means they’re going to elevate Bear up the card and protect him more.
An ad aired for TNA’s upcoming TV tapings in Canada (Expect a Jeff Hardy injury angle any time soon)…
Hannifan plugged the iamals.org/rebel in honor of former TNA Knockout Tanea “Rebel” Brooks, who is suffering from terminal ALS. The charity is to help find a cure to end ALS…
“The SUIT” Daria Rae was getting off the phone in a hallway. A random guy who introduced himself as “Brian” approached Daria. Before he could get his last name out, she told him, “Shut up, I’m talking.” She then told the guy she knew him as the annoying person who keeps sending her emails every week, looking for a job in TNA.
The guy noted that the TNA Board of Directors actually hired him to keep eyes on Daria. Brian said he’s just an “observer,” and the Board of Directors directed him to report to them just in case Daria commits HR violations again, like attacking talent. Daria said to “observe this” while she tries to get the Board of Directors to fire him…
Agent Zero made his entrance. He no longer wears a suit, which means he must have lost his agent license. He now goes by the name Zero (When I think of the mononym Zero, I always think of the better Mega Man, Mega Man Zero). His video wall still has Matrix graphics like he’s an agent. His opponent was BDE. Hannifan reminded viewers that BDE ended his year-long losing streak right before Bound for Glory…
2. Zero vs. BDE. BDE started the match catching Zero off guard with a Stinger Splash. Zero shrugged BDE away and then caught him off a springboard. BDE dumped Zero to ringside. BDE handed the referee a phone camera so he could record his successful Suicide Dive. Zero gave BDE a headbutt to swat him out of the air, followed by a clothesline. Zero gave BDE draping clubbing blows. Zero worked on BDE with power moves and methodical offense.
BDE kicked Zero’s knee, which allowed him to hit Zero with a springboard Cutter. Zero quickly recovered and hit BDE with a running elbow strike. Zero gave BDE a Chokebomb for the win.
Zero defeated BDE via pinfall in 3:02.
Zero picked BDE back up and gave him another Chokebomb. Rich Swann ran out for the save, but walked right into and was planted by Zero’s Chokebomb. Two security guards ran out and ate chokeslams from Zero. Another guard took a chokebomb. Two more guards ran out, but then backed down out of fear of getting slammed…
John’s Thoughts: With that haircut, I kinda wanna call Zero “Bearded Cass”. That aside, I like the quick reintroduction and repackaging of Agent Zero. He’s no longer a stooge, and is now a monster wrestler. I like all the simple but effective staples of putting him over strong and having him tear through cannon fodder. One of those cannon fodder guys was a former world champ, Rich Swann, too. It was a bit baffling why they had Zero lose so much when he first started wrestling under Ali’s employment. Like Bear Bronson earlier, maybe TNA’s youth movement should start moving some fresh big men up the card?
Ricky Sosa cut a promo backstage, saying he proved why he belongs in TNA and is an international talent. He said he wants to prove he can be one of the best in the world. He said he has entered into the Destination X World X Cup, where he will represent his home country of Belgium. Fabian Aichner approached Sosa and dapped up with him. Aichner said he’ll also be joining the World X Cup to represent Italy. Aichner said he respects Sosa after teaming up with him, but he’ll show no mercy if they cross paths. Aichner said he’ll be numero uno at the end of the cup. Sosa said he thinks people will be chanting “Bang Bang, Sosa Sosa” at the end of the cup…
Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
An ad aired for TNA Destination X…
A Shotzi Blackheart vignette aired. Shotzi said she’s been obsessed with the TNA Knockouts Division for a year and a half. She said she was watching it a lot at first, but then started thinking of all the pain she can cause to all the women in the locker room. She said she can finally find out if they are all as tough as they come off on TV. Shotzi said when she thinks of the Knockouts Division she thinks of things like last knockouts standing, Monster’s Ball, and The Undead Realm (Booooooo!)…
John’s Thoughts: Boooooooooo! Boooooooo! Dammit Shotzi!?! I’ve been hyping you up since Hoodslam, since All Pro Wrestling in Daly City, since NXT! You are a future Knockouts Champion with WWE WrestleMania upside! Ew… Stay away from that Undead Realm BS (To be fair to TNA under their current creative team, they’ve toned down the supernatural stuff and bad Adobe After Effects).
Entrances for the X Division Championship match aired. Hannifan noted that this was Amazing Red’s first singles match on TNA Impact in 15 years…
3. Amazing Red vs. Cedric Alexander for the TNA X Division Championship. Both men had an extended square off. Red and Alexander had basic chain wrestling to start the match. Red ran the ropes and gave Cedric a shoulder tackle and dumped him to ringside. Red then tightroped the ring post to give Cedric a Flip Dive.[c]
Back from break, Cedric was working on Red with methodical offense. Red ducked and weaved Cedric’s strikes and then followed up with strikes of his own. Red gave Cedric a few running strikes. Red gave Alexander a Satellite DDT for a nearfall. Alexander escaped a Code Red attempt and gave Red a Michinoku Driver for a nearfall. Both men traded Yay Boo right hands. After the exchange, Red rolled up Cedric for a nearfall.
Red gave Cedric a few counters into nearfalls. Red gave Cedric an enzuigiri and a diving DDT. Red hit Alexander with a Code Red for the victory.
Amazing Red defeated Cedric Alexander via pinfall in 11:15 to retain the TNA X Division Championship.
John’s Thoughts: Red isn’t doing 100 moves a minute as he did back in his early TNA days, but he’s working a modern match just as well as anybody. He didn’t look out of place in his first Television TV match in 15 years. This was a good match. I can see some fans seeing it as jarring since a good amount of Cedric’s recent matches have had a ton of finisher false finishes, but I find it refreshing that a finisher actually finished a high-stakes match in one shot. I also would like to think that the innovator of the Code Red would have a stronger Code Red than anyone else who does a Code Red.
Elayna Black met up with Heather by Elegance backstage to try to convince Heather that M is taking advantage of her. Heather assumed Black was stirring the pot. Black said she just assumes that, like her, Heather also wants a title shot at M’s title…
It was time for TNA’s sponsored injury report. BDE is “under evaluation” with back issues after the match earlier in the night. Mustafa Ali is “out” with a rib injury…
Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
Tom Hannifan hyped Destination X Ticket Sales…
An Indi Hartwell spotlight vignette aired. Indi talked about how the little girl who collected toy belts has finally earned the real thing. Indi said you can become like the women you watch on TV. She said you’ll slip, fall, and see doubt, but remember how wrestling makes you feel because one day even you can be a Knockouts Champion…
Hannifan and Rehwoldt tried to recap the prior vignette, but Zoey Serrano and Shayna Baszler appeared, with Serrano giving a stagehand at ringside a Big Boot. Baszler took the mic and said that Daria Rae booked her against Indi Hartwell at Destination X for the Knockouts Title. Shayna said Indi’s life will now be a nightmare that is haunted by Shayna Baszler.
[Hour Two] Security escorted Shayna and Zoey to the back…
John’s Thoughts: Well? I said I wanted them to go in that direction, but this seems WAY too soon, and on a B-level PPV at that. I think Indi vs. Shayna over a title deserves a full-blown program, especially with how well her full-blown programs have gone in NXT with Shayna terrorizing her opponents. I wonder if Shayna signed a short-term contract and maybe they’re just trying to get the most of her stay in the company?
Vincent and Dutch were standing behind Harley Hudson, hyping her up and waiting for her answer as to whether or not she’s joining their cult. Harley said, “I accept”…
Hannifan hyped upcoming segments…[c]
It was time for the TNA “Rock Solid Moment of the Night” sponsored by a well-known chewable boner medication. Highlights aired from the Amazing Red vs. Cedric Alexander match from earlier in the night…
Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz cut a promo backstage. Kiera talked about how Allie was holding her back for months. Tasha called Allie dead weight and noted that Shotzi tried to get in all of their business. Tasha told Shotzi and Allie they better swing it and bring it…
Expressions was on stage making fun of the locals before introducing AJ Francis. AJ Francis made his entrance, followed by John Skyler and Mila Moore making their entrance. Hannifan said that John Skyler has had a new vigor to him (Has he been taking the Rock Solid boner medication that Hannifan hyped up earlier?)…
4. AJ Francis (w/Expressions) vs. John Skyler (w/Mila Moore). Skyler managed to dump Francis to ringside. Skyler followed up with a Plancha. Francis shoved Skyler into the ring post after a cartoony distraction from Expressions. Francis hit Skyler with a Tennessee Whiskey knee strike. Expressions tried to hit on Mila Moore at ringside. Skyler rallied with strikes on Francis and hit him with a Slingshot Spear for a nearfall. Expressions went for a distraction on the apron. Mila got on the apron to try to bring Expressions down.
Francis shoved Skyler into Mila to knock her off the apron. The referee went to check on Mila’s ankle as she was wearing heels. This distracted Skyler, which allowed Francis to club him in the back. Skyler recovered and hit Francis with a Tornado DDT. The referee was late to the count due to checking on Mila, leading to a two count. A “ref you suck” chant ensued. Skyler went to yell at Expression to go away after he went to check on Mila’s ankle. Skyler then walked right into AJ’s spear. AJ then hit Skyler with the Down Payment Chokeslam for the victory.
AJ Francis defeated John Skyler via pinfall in 4:14.
John’s Thoughts: I like John Skyler as a wrestler, but I feel like out of all the Order 4 members from the dissolved faction, he has the least character development. I think they had bigger plans for his development, but for some reason they speed-ran and truncated his and Mila Moore’s story. Now he’s just a generic guy with a girlfriend. I heard Hannifan try to call him a “short king”, but I hope that we don’t get some lame Shorty G-like characterization that’s focused on his height. On the other side, I do like that TNA does a consistent job protecting AJ Francis and setting him up for future opponents. I feel like Expressions is holding him back because Expressions is over-the-top in a bad way where there’s no authenticity to his acting.
The System members were consoling Cedric Alexander for his loss backstage. Bear Bronson turned around and got in Eddie’s face, yelling and blaming him for Cedric’s loss. Bear said he wondered if Eddie had gone soft. Bear challenged Eddie to a match where, if he wins, he’ll call the shots in The System. Eddie said he’ll agree if Bear agrees that if Eddie wins, Bear will shut up, fall in line, and everything moves forward like it always did. Bear yelled, “You’re on, Eddie”…
Hannifan ran through upcoming segments…[c] Hannifan hyped upcoming TNA live events…
Daria Rae met up with her new handler “Brian” backstage, disappointed that the Board of Directors won’t fire him. She said since he has to follow her like a puppy dog, he’ll get a chance to see how things “really” work around here. Brian said that will be great. Daria said that Brian looks desperate, bugging TNA for over a year for a job. Brian said he’ll do anything to keep a job in TNA because he’s a “company man”. Daria said that sounds “interesting”. Hannifan noted that the man’s name is Brian Johnson…
TNA World Champion Leon Slater made his entrance for a promo segment. Slater said his life since Bound for Glory has been a dream, a dream he doesn’t want to wake up from. He said he remembers when his life was a nightmare. Slater said it wasn’t easy having an absent father in his life. He said it would have been easy for him to stray down a bad path, doing the wrong thing to get to the right place.
He said he didn’t go down that path because his mom and sister always believed in him. He said they always sacrificed for that. Slater said he’s still trying to pay back their sacrifice. Slater talked about how they drove all over the place, forward and back, just to get him the training to get to where he is today. Slater paused to allow the crowd to chant his name.
Slater said feeling that way made him promise to pay off that debt. He said he’s proud to stand as TNA Champion, paying that debt off. Slater said he also became the youngest X Division Champion in TNA history. He said he had matches that will always be remembered and has faced all challengers. Slater then said he has all the respect for his next opponent, Leon Slater. Slater asked Trey to come out.
Trey Miguel made his entrance. Slater said he wanted to look Trey in the eyes when he said they are both similar. Slater said they both have a lot in their personal life and in TNA, but they both keep on fighting. He said the similarities end there because the difference between Trey and him is that Trey never held the world title. Slater said he appreciates the challenge and won’t look past Trey.
Slater said he knows Trey will give it his all and can even shoot one of those little spider webs. Slater said, “I’m prepared, bruddah!” Slater said he believes the world can be Trey’s and there’s no shame in losing in a match that will last forever. Slater said the world can’t be Trey’s until Slater is done with it. Slater held his hand out for a handshake. Trey said before he shakes his hand, he’ll have to listen.
Trey said he agreed about their similarities. Trey said Leon saying he fought his entire life doesn’t mean the same thing as Trey saying it. Trey pointed out how young Leon is and that he was 14 years old when Trey first started in TNA. Trey said it’s been six years since he got an opportunity at the world championship. He said he doesn’t know when or if he’ll be world champion.
Trey said 2026 has been tough for him. He said he was abandoned by The Rascalz and has had to stand on his own two feet with no one to support him. Leon yelled, “Tell me!” Trey said he respects Leon and there is no need to get hot. Trey said he wants the same thing Leon got – being able to stand proudly as champion in front of his people. Trey said he won’t stop until every fiber of his being is dried up.
Trey said even then he’ll keep going, scratching, and clawing. He said at the end of the tunnel he’ll finally, finally, finally be TNA World Champion. Trey and Leon shook hands…
John’s Thoughts: I continue to praise Leon Slater for being an underrated promo, but it was Trey Miguel here who sold me on a feud that I was personally overlooking. Destination X feels like a B-Level PPV coming off Bound for Glory, as most PPVs would feel coming off the biggest show of the year. Awesome exchange here. I liked Slater drawing from their age gap. Trey really killed it in the end by bringing up his adversities and showing great passion. I’m sold, Trey sold me!
A trailer aired for some straight-to-digital Christmas movie that has Seth Green in it. They’re sponsoring this set of TNA tapings. Tom Hannifan noted in the following segment that Ryan Nemeth is also in this movie…
Ryan Nemeth made his entrance…[c]
Elijah made his entrance singing his theme on the way to the ring. Ryan took a mic and said he’s a big Hollywood superstar. He said you need to be good-looking and have good teeth. He said the fans here can’t be a star because they are ugly and have no teeth. Both men stalled for cheers until the show came back from break…
5. “The Drifter” Elijah vs. TNA Tag Team Champion “The Hollywood Hunk” Ryan Nemeth. Ryan started choking Elijah with T-shirts from his movie. Elijah then took down Ryan with a chop and clothesline. Elijah slammed Ryan’s face on the mat several times. Elijah gave Ryan an Undertaker’s Old School. Ryan came back with a front kick and neckbreaker.
Ryan gave Elijah a bit of methodical offense. Elijah blocked being choked by a bandana and then slammed Ryan to the mat. Elijah choked Ryan with the bandana until the ref took it from him. Ryan Nemeth started pumping his pelvis while on the top rope. Elijah gave Ryan a Gamengiri and Highwayman’s Farewell (Tombstone Piledriver) for the victory.
Elijah defeated Ryan Nemeth via pinfall in 3:58.
Nic Nemeth ran out and attacked Elijah from behind. After Nic dumped Elijah from the ring, he went to check on his brother Ryan. Elijah recovered and tried to hit Nic in the head with a guitar. Nic sidestepped, and Ryan took the Guitar to the head…
Frankie Kazarian was about to start a promo, but was quickly cut off by Mustafa Ali, who randomly told Kazarian that Avery Styles is going to stab him in the back. Ali claimed that the next generation is just trying to use guys like him and Kazarian to get to the top. Ali said you can look at Order 4 as an example. Kazarian told Ali to get out of his face…
A teaser aired for the Hardys vs. Syx in a “Slaughterhouse Syx Match”…[c]
The show went into cinematic mode for the next match, with music playing in the background. There was also random, multi-colored club lighting. Matt and Jeff Hardy approached Samuel Shaw with shovels. Joseph Sawyer tried to hit them from behind with a sledgehammer, but they saw it coming and dodged…
6. Cinematic Match: Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy vs. “syX” Samuel Shaw and Joseph Sawyer in a “Slaughterhouse Syx Match”. Matt and Jeff beat up Sawyer with shovels. Shaw dragged Jeff away and choked him with a chain. Shaw then beat up Jeff with a ladder. Jeff recovered and punched around Shaw. Jeff slowly climbed up some stairs once he got Shaw staggered. Jeff tried to slide down the rail of the stairs for a strike, but Shaw recovered and sent Jeff into the wall.
Shaw then walked away when Jeff was writhing in pain, saying he’d be back. The show cut to Matt and Sawyer brawling around backstage. This brawl lasted a bit, with both men being even. Matt went for his Ice Pick submission, but it was broken up by Sam Shaw. Shaw and Sawyer beat down Matt with the numbers advantage. Sawyer and Shaw then trapped Matt in a random storage room, using a desk to keep the door from opening.
Jeff jumped from above the door to dive on Sam and Joseph, but Syx still had the numbers advantage. Syx got Jeff on his knees with a trash can covering his body. Shaw and Sawyer picked up fire axes and hit the trash can with Jeff in it on both sides. “Amazing Grace” randomly started playing.
I’m not sure who won, but I assume Syx win via the apparent murdering of Jeff Hardy in 11:20?
Jeff crumpled to the ground. Syx walked off as the producer credits aired to close the show…
John’s Thoughts: Welp, there you go, guys! Jeff Hardy is dead! Well, he’s dead until TNA finishes up its tapings in Canada. Anyways, well? I like cinematics as cutscenes. I’m mixed on cinematics as matches. I didn’t like this at all. TNA doesn’t know the meaning of “sensory overload”? “Less is more”? They have a great cinematic producer on hand in Mustafa Ali! Ask him for tips! This felt overproduced and low-budget. The biggest negatives for me were the excessive lighting work and egregious royalty-free OST. Ironically enough, I’ve liked several of Sam Shaw’s cinematic matches in NXT, which were well produced and fun with Shaw’s deadpan acting.
For some reason here, we’re doing a cinematic, something that’s carried by narrative. Are we doing a cinematic with bad writing? So next week on the TNA Injury Report, Jeff Hardy is out via “death”? Shouldn’t we call the police? Jeff just got chopped by two axes? Ugh. I actually was enjoying this show too, and this convoluted piece of BS drags me down. Can we define Syx somehow? They have a chance to break away from the Bray Wyatt tribute band thing. I proposed Indi Hartwell somehow turning dark and forming a heel version of In-Dex, given how great chemistry they had. If you watch this show, don’t watch this match. I’m not going to crap on it completely, too, because maybe with a few tweaks and trimmings, maybe this style of match will grow on me. I’m always willing to have an open mind.
