Turning Point 2024: Thanks? I Guess?

Turning Point 2024
Date: November 29, 2024
Location: Benton Convention Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the Thanksgiving week special, though the card is only so good. They’re coming off the biggest show of the year with Bound for Glory so this is going to be something of a downgrade. The main event will see Nic Nemeth defending the World Title against Eddie Edwards, plus we have the annual turkey suit match because tradition. Let’s get to it.

This show is taking place as part of WrestleCade, a wrestling fan convention, though the venue is rather dim and doesn’t look very big.

Countdown Show: Rosemary vs. Savannah Evans vs. Xia Brookside

They circle each other to start until Rosemary hits Evans in the face. Rosemary’s quick rollup on Brookside annoys Evans but they get together to clothesline Brookside. The alliance is as short lived as you would imagine and Rosemary is sent outside, leaving Brookside to drop Evans. Brookside’s dive is pulled out of the air and Evans drops a leg, with Rosemary making the save.

Evans clotheslines Rosemary and grabs a fisherman’s suplex for two, with Brookside making the save. Back up and Rosemary slugs away at Evans but Brookside is back in to hit some running shots in the corners. Evans kicks Rosemary in the face and gets Codebreakered by Brookside. The Brooksey Bomb takes Evans down but Rosemary spears Brookside for the pin at 9:14.

Rating: C+. They were doing a nice job of keeping things moving here and Rosemary stealing the win is a good way to go. Rosemary needs to win a few matches to rebuild herself up and this was a fine start. Evans felt like a monster and Brookside was keeping things moving, making this a nice choice for an opener. If nothing else, they were in and out in less than ten minutes, which is as long as a pre-show match needs to go. Get in, let the fans have some fun, get out.

The opening video is a quick montage of what is coming on the show.

Mike Santana vs. Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian armdrags him down to start so Santana comes back with a wristlock. An exchange of armdrags sets up a springboard moonsault to drop Kazarian and they go to the floor for a breather. Santana scores with a superkick but Kazarian gets in the Fameasser over the middle rope.

Back in and Kazarian grabs a short armscissors but Santana grabs a belly to back suplex. They go to the apron, where Kazarian hits a slingshot DDT to knock him silly. Back in again and the springboard spinning legdrop gives Kazarian two but it’s too early for the chickenwing. Santana catches him on top though and grabs a belly to belly superplex to leave both of them down.

A rolling cutter gives Santana two and something like a Death Valley Driver gets the same. Santana grabs a hanging twisting neckbreaker for two more but Kazarian is back with a slingshot cutter for two more. Kazarian goes for the leg, only to walk into Spin The Block for the pin at 12:29.

Rating: B-. Nice opening match here with Santana continuing his rise up the company. At this rate it wouldn’t surprise me to see him in the World Title scene sooner than later, as there are only so many things left for him to do. That being said, Kazarian seems destined to try to steal the title sooner or later, and that could delay Santana that much more.

We run down the card.

The System promises a big night.

Joe Hendry vs. Eric Young vs. Hammerstone vs. Rhino vs. Brian Myers vs. John Skyler

This is the Turkey Bowl match, meaning whoever takes the fall has to wear a turkey suit, and yes this is the best they have for Hendry at the moment. The brawl starts fast until Skyler and Hendry are left alone in the ring. Hendry takes over without much effort and gets two off the delayed suplex.

Rhino and Myers take their place but it’s quickly off to Young to work on Hammerstone’s leg. Skyler and Myers take over on Young and Hammerstone joins in, only for Rhino to hit a Tower Of Doom to leave everyone down. Henry cleans house with clotheslines, followed by a fall away slam to Hammerstone. The parade of finishers is capped off by Myers charging into the Standing Ovation to give Hendry the pin at 8:20.

Rating: C+. I’m still trying to get my mind around the idea that there was nothing else for Hendry to do on this show. This was little more than a goofy match designed for the post match comedy spot and I was expecting a bit more for the most popular star in the company. But why push the popular star when you can, you know, not? Other than that, this was what you would expect from six people fighting for eight minutes with no tags, as no one really got to stand out.

Post match Myers doesn’t want to put on the suit so the good guys beat him up and half put it on him.

Rosemary is happy with her win but wants more. Like the Knockouts Title.

X-Division Title: Laredo Kid vs. Moose

Moose is defending and has Alisha Edwards with him. Kid strikes away to start but his springboard is shoved to the floor for a big crash. Moose sends him into the barricade and goes traditionally evil by going after the mask back inside. Kid gets tied in the Tree of Woe for some choking but it’s too early for the spear.

A hurricanrana just annoys Moose, who plants him with a release Rock Bottom. Moose charges into a boot in the corner though and a missile dropkick sends him outside. There’s the big dive, setting up the super Spanish Fly for two back inside. The 450 hits knees though and a pair of spears retains Moose’s title at 8:23.

Rating: C+. There were a few nice spots here but for the most part, this was Moose shrugging off anything Kid threw at him and winning with raw power. There is a good chance that we’ll be seeing that in Moose’s title defenses for a long time to come and it’s not a bad idea. Moose mauling the division until someone is built up to take the title isn’t a bad idea, though it might take some time to really get going.

We recap Josh Alexander vs. Steve Maclin. Alexander has driven Maclin crazy for over a year now and has since turned evil, even zip tying Maclin during their match at Bound For Glory. Tonight it’s No DQ, with Maclin going a bit nuts in his quest for revenge.

Steve Maclin vs. Josh Alexander

They slug it out to start with Maclin clotheslining him to the floor, setting up the Scud to drop him again. Alexander gets sent into various things on the floor and it’s already time for a table. They fight on the apron but neither can go through the table so Alexander rolls the German suplexes back inside. Maclin grabs one of his own, only to be sent hard into the post.

The fight heads back to the floor, where Maclin grabs a quick Death Valley Driver through a table leaned against the apron. More weapons are thrown in, with some trashcan lid shots staggering Alexander. Back in and Alexander grabs the ankle lock but Maclin breaks it up with more trashcan lid shots.

Alexander hits him with the rest of the trashcan but takes too long loading up a door. Maclin dropkicks the door into his face and hits a Cactus Elbow off the apron to crush the door onto Alexander. Alexander is right back up and goes after the leg before grabbing some chairs. The piledriver through the chairs is blocked and Maclin hits an Alabama Slam through the chairs instead. The KIA is blocked so Maclin settles for a running knee into a chair into Alexander’s head.

Back up and Alexander torture rack bombs him over the top and through the table at ringside for a huge crash. Maclin rolls out of the ankle lock and puts Alexander in the Tree of Woe for three straight spears. The KIA connects…but Maclin pulls him up at two. Instead Maclin throws in a bag of shell cases, earning himself a low blow to cut him off. A super C4 Spike is broken up and Maclin hits a super KIA onto the casings for the win at 23:44.

Rating: B+. These guys beat each other up pretty badly and if Alexander had sold some of the big shots a bit more, this would have been even better. What mattered here was the match feeling like a battle between two people who couldn’t stand each other. Maclin was obsessed with winning and pushed his way forward until Alexander couldn’t survive any longer. Best match on the show by a good while so far.

Video on Chris Bey.

Ace Austin/Hardys vs. Zachary Wentz/Kushida/???

Wentz and Kushida were supposed to team with Trey Miguel, who isn’t here due to travel issues. Therefore the replacement is….Matt Riddle, making his TNA debut. For the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to Matt Hardy as “Matt” and Matt Riddle as “Riddle”. Wentz and Austin start things off and go to the mat to limited success, meaning it’s an exchange of armdrags.

Jeff comes in but Matt follows him off a blind tag to take over on Wentz. That’s broken up as Wentz goes after the arm, allowing Kushida to come in for a surfboard. Matt gets out and hands it off to Austin to work on Kushida’s arm for a change. Riddle comes in to roll some gutwrench suplexes before it’s quickly back to Wentz, who gets dropkicked in the back.

Everything breaks down and Riddle gets to clean house, with a knee to the face getting two on Austin. Back up and Austin hands it off to Jeff to pick up the pace, including the Whisper In The Wind. Everything breaks down again and we get the Jeff vs. Riddle slugout. A Canadian Destroyer drops Riddle and it’s the Plot Twist into the Swanton to finish Kushida at 16:00.

Rating: B-. The match was fast paced and entertaining, though this was mainly about getting Riddle in a TNA ring. I’m guessing he was there as part of WrestleCade and was brought in as a result, though if TNA can get him around more often, the star power would help. For now though, it was a nice one off match, with the action keeping the interest going.

Knockouts Title: Jordynne Grace vs. Masha Slamovich

Slamovich is defending in a 2/3 falls match after they’ve traded wins. Feeling out process to start with some armdrags not getting either of them anywhere. Grace’s spinebuster gets two but Slamovich drops her throat first onto the ropes. Some hair mares send Grace outside and they go to the apron to slug it out. Grace is right back with a package piledriver on the apron and Slamovich needs a breather on the floor.

They fight over a piledriver on the floor, with Grace getting dropped on her head…but Slamovich breaks up the count. Back in and Slamovich gets two (yeah still way too soon after being dropped on padless concrete) so Grace slugs away but can’t get the MuscleBuster. Instead they trade rollups, with Grace getting the first fall at 11:14.

Slamovich is right back up to strike away before cranking on both arms to put Grace in trouble. That’s reversed into a full nelson and they fight over a Vertebreaker. Slamovich gets a rear naked choke, which is reversed into the Vertebreaker for two. A springboard DDT into a guillotine choke has Grace in trouble but she World’s Strongest Slams her way to freedom.

The Vader Bomb connects but Slamovich grabs a small package to tie it up at 17:40 total. The brawl is on as Rosemary comes out to watch. Slamovich gets the better of the strike off and hits a running knee into a piledriver into a package piledriver to finally retain the title at 19:41.

Rating: B. Much like the No DQ match, this was rather good but could have been better without some of the fairly ridiculous selling issues. Again, if someone is piledriven on the exposed concrete, they shouldn’t be up and winning a fall just a few minutes later. That kind of stuff drives me nuts but thankfully it didn’t ruin the match, which felt like a major struggle between two of the biggest stars in the division. Rosemary is waiting on Slamovich and that takes things into a different direction, but it’s going to be difficult to top this.

We recap Nic Nemeth defending the World Title against Eddie Edwards, who pinned him in a tag match to set this up.

TNA World Title: Nic Nemeth vs. Eddie Edwards

Edwards, with Alisha Edwards, is challenging. They lock up against the ropes to start and that’s an early standoff. Nemeth’s rollup sends Edwards out to the floor as things reset a bit. Back in and Nemeth grabs a headlock but gets sent face first into the buckle. Alisha gets in some choking from the floor, with Edwards adding a chop that has Nemeth slapping the mat.

Nemeth kicks him down and drops the rapid fire elbows but Alisha offers a distraction, allowing Edwards to send things outside. That’s broken up as well and Nemeth drops a top rope elbow for two back inside. A backbreaker cuts Nemeth down and Edwards starts in on the back, with the near fall offering some frustration.

They run the ropes and a double clothesline leaves both of them down for a breather. Nemeth slugs away so Alisha grabs the boot, only to get caught and ejected. Back up and Nemeth gets in a Thesz press and hammers away but Edwards’ Blue Thunder Bomb gets two. The Backpack Stunner connects for two more but Nemeth is back with a Fameasser. Alisha is back (total disrespect for the referee) and Edwards gets in a belt shot for two.

The Boston Knee Party gets two more but the Diehard Driver is countered into the Danger Zone for another near fall. Back up and a Cactus Clothesline sends both of them outside, so here is Brian Myers, in turkey suit, and loads up a ring on his finger (with the referee watching all of this). Cue John Layfield for the Clothesline From JBL to Myers, leaving Nemeth to hit a superkick into the Danger Zone to retain at 22:03.

Rating: B. I’m not sure this was designed to feel like a major threat to Nemeth as Edwards isn’t someone who is going to give him much of a run for his money. The interference helped a bit but the JBL stuff is weird. It doesn’t feel so much like any kind of a turn as he was evening the odds, but at the same time, you don’t bring in JBL as some kind of a guardian angel. Anyway, good enough main event, though Nemeth is going to need a top challenger sooner than later.

Overall Rating: B. The show was entertaining and had a nice string of matches, which makes up for it feeling like a pretty low level show. The Hendry stuff continues to be annoying, as he almost has to be getting back into the World Title picture around Genesis at the latest. Other than that, Maclin vs. Alexander was good and the Knockouts Title match was very hard hitting, which was enough to make this worth a look. It might not be an instant classic, but it’s a nice addition to a holiday weekend.

Results
Rosemary b. Xia Brookside and Savannah Evans – Spear to Brookside
Mike Santana b. Frankie Kazarian – Spin The Block
Joe Hendry b. Eric Young, Hammerstone, Rhino, Brian Myers and John Skyler – Standing Ovation to Myers
Moose b. Brian Myers – Spear
Steve Maclin b. Josh Alexander – Super KIA
Hardys/Ace Austin b. Matt Riddle/Zachary Wentz/Kushida – Swanton to Kushida
Masha Slamovich b. Jordynne Grace 2-1
Nic Nemeth b. Eddie Edwards – Danger Zone

 

 

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