Impact Wrestling – January 23, 2025: Those Guys Are Good

Impact Wrestling
Date: January 23, 2025
Location: Boeing Center At Tech Point, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’ve got a pretty big show here as we are not only fresh off of Genesis but this show aired live for the first time in a good many years. The big story coming out of Genesis is Joe Hendry winning the World Title from Nic Nemeth in a moment that probably should have happened a few months back. Now it’s time to get ready for…whatever the next show is going to be. Let’s get to it.

Here is Genesis if you need a recap.

We open with a long Genesis recap.

Santino Marella is outside and promises history.

Opening sequence.

Here is Joe Hendry to get things going. He thanks the fans for always believing in him and now it is time for him to start a new era. That’s why he wants to be a fighting champion and is willing to defend the title against anyone from anywhere. Therefore the title is going to be on the line tonight with Hendry defending against….Matt Cardona. Ok nice start.

We look at Mike Santana making Josh Alexander quit at Genesis.

Eric Young isn’t sure what is going on with Alexander.

Later, Young is talking to Steve Maclin and thinks Alexander needs to be saved. Maclin isn’t convinced but Alexander comes in to say thank you for believing him. Young shakes Alexander’s hand but Maclin isn’t interested.

Nic Nemeth, with Ryan Nemeth, will talk about his loss later.

Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance/Rosemary vs. Spitfire/Masha Slamovich

Threat punches Ash into the corner to start and then out to the floor for a breather. Rosemary comes in to choke Threat and Ash adds a clothesline for two. Threat’s double knees gets her out of trouble and it’s off to Slamovich to clean house. Rosemary’s reverse DDT cuts her off though, only for Luna to snap off a German suplex. Cue NXT’s Cora Jade with an X’d out photo of Slamovich (her trademark), allowing Ash to get a rollup for the pin on Luna at 6:36.

Rating: C. This felt like a big way to set up the ending and little more than that. It worked out well enough and it was nice for Ash to get a win, though odds are it sets up a rematch for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Also, I get the idea of Jade coming in for the crossover, but I’m not exactly buying the idea of her as a threat to Slamovich.

Here is the Northern Armory for a chat. Josh Alexander reminds us that he quit TNA and thanks TNA for giving him the chance to explain this. After being the iron man for years, he broke at Genesis and now he wants to think of the good times as he is ready to leave. He was inspired watching the first TNA show in 2002 and now he’s ready to go. Sinner And Saint aren’t happy though and jump Alexander, with Eric Young making the save. Young offers a tag match for next week.

The System vs. Hardys

Non-title and the rest of the System is here with Moose/JDC. The System jumps them to start but the Hardys are back up with Poetry In Motion for a breather. Moose is back up with a beating to Matt though and JDC gets to take over. Matt breaks that up though and hands it off to Jeff to pick up the pace. Everything breaks down and the Twist Of Fate leaves JDC on the floor. That means Jeff can knock Moose down and hit the Swanton for the pin at 5:32.

Rating: C+. It was fast paced and the ending was a bit of a surprise as JDC feels like he is there for the loss and nothing more. I’m a bit surprised that the System lost that quickly but the Hardys got a nice win after another win on Sunday. That makes for a bit of an issue as the Hardys continue to be one of the most important stars in TNA and the company is going to need something fresh in the title picture. For now though, this was a way to get the Hardys on the live show and that’s fine enough.

Post match the number 23 appears on screen again and we go to a break.

Here is Sami Callihan who wants to know what this 23 is right now. Cue Steph de Lander, who is the new Digital Media Champion, having gotten the title in the divorce (ok points for a clever way around that). With her husband out the door, it’s time to meet her boyfriend: Mance Warner, who is 23. Warner hits Callihan in the face with the title and kisses de Lander. Warner feels like he is long, long overdue to be in a bigger promotion.

Arianna Grace is on commentary and rather pleased to be here.

NXT Tag Team Titles; Fraxiom vs. Rascalz

Fraxiom (Nathan Frazer/Axiom) is defending. Miguel works on Axiom’s arm to start and it’s quickly of to Frazer for a Dream Sequence from the challengers. Frazer is back up with a DDT to give Axiom two and he grabs the chinlock. A double basement superkick gets two on Miguel and a Sling Blade gets two.

Axiom’s superkick into a brainbuster gets two more but Miguel kicks Frazer to the floor. The Rascalz rapid fire kick Axiom and double superkick a moonsaulting Frazer out of the air for two. Cue Wes Lee for a distraction though and it’s Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont to take out the Rascalz. The super Spanish Fly into the phoenix splash pins Miguel to retain the titles at 9:15.

Rating: B-. So this is the big crossover match and that’s not a bad way to go. Fraxiom has been doing some great things as of late and this is getting another chance for them to showcase just how good they are. At the same time, the Rascalz issues continue and we could be in for something interesting. More Fraxiom is certainly a good thing though and it made for a nice match here.

Here is Mike Santana for a chat. His father taught him to be a man of his word and that is what he has done since he came back to TNA. On Sunday, he made Josh Alexander quit and now he wants to be the World Champion. Cue the returning Mustafa Ali of all people and he has officially signed with the company. Therefore, it is time to launch a new campaign to become the next World Heavyweight Champion. And Santana is just ok with this.

Here is Tessa Blanchard for a chat. She talks about her family being from San Antonio and her grandfather brought the first national wrestling show to television. Her father and grandfather knew there was something special in her and now it is time to step up. She is back and answers to no one. And that’s that. As usual, Blanchard feels like an absolute star every time.

TNA World Title: Joe Hendry vs. Matt Cardona

Hendry is defending and Frankie Kazarian is on commentary. Cardona gets knocked to the floor to start before coming back in to choke away. A jumping knee takes Cardona down though and a suplex does the same. They head outside with Hendry hitting an AA but a second is broken up with a rake to the eyes. We take a break and come back with Cardona dropping him again.

Some neckbreakers set up a front facelock to keep Hendry in trouble which is broken up rather quickly. Hendry gets taken own by a straitjacket choke and the Reboot connects in the corner. The referee gets bumped though, meaning the pop up powerbomb doesn’t get a count. A low blow drops Hendry and Cardona grabs the title but cue John Layfield to drop Cardona. Layfield leaves, only for Cardona to get up with a belt shot for two. Another belt shot is loaded up but Hendry reverses into the Standing Ovation to retain at 16:08.

Rating: B-. Not a bad debut for Hendry as champion and beating someone as prominent as Cardona is a good move. That being said, it would be nice to have anything involving Layfield actually being explained. He’s been at this for months now but for some reason we’re still doing the same stuff over and over. Other than that, it was a good match, though Hendry could have looked a bit stronger.

Overall Rating: B. While not a classic show or anything, it was a show that felt big and had some nice moments. That’s what they needed to do here as the company is actually on a nice roll. Hendry becoming the top star is a good thing and it feels like we could be in for quite the run from him if TNA handles it properly. Cardona showing up as a surprise and Ali being back made for some big moments and I want to see where this is going from here. Nice job here, as TNA delivered well enough when it needed to.

Results
Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance/Rosemary b. Spitfire/Masha Slamovich – Rollup to Luna
Hardys b. The System – Swanton to Moose
Fraxiom b. Rascalz – Phoenix splash to Miguel
Joe Hendry b. Matt Cardona – Standing Ovation

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