Impact Wrestling – April 24, 2025: Because TNA Hates Us
Impact Wrestling
Date: April 24, 2025
Location: St. Joseph Civic Center, St. Joseph, Missouri
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt
We’re done with Unbreakable and that means it is time to get ready for Rebellion, which is taking place this weekend. That means we have quite the balancing act this week, with a mixture of fallout from Unbreakable, the final push to Rebellion and having a good show as well. Let’s get to it.
Here is Unbreakable if you need a recap.
In Memory Of Steve McMichael.
Unbreakable recap, including the Nemeth’s being invited to the Hardy Compound to be DELETED. Oh geez I was hoping that had been a bad dream.
Opening sequence.
Trey Miguel/Ace Austin vs. The System
JDC pulls Miguel into a very early chinlock but gets reversed into a quick hammerlock. Miguel dropkicks him into the corner and Austin comes in for a double hiptoss. Some stereo kicks drop JDC again but Alisha Edwards offers a distraction so Miguel can get posted as we take a break.
Back with JDC staying on the bad arm but Miguel gets out of Moose’s powerbomb attempt. The tag brings in Austin to pick up the pace, including a springboard kick to the face for two. Poetry In Motion is broken up though as Moose powerbombs Miguel onto Austin, setting up Down And Dirty for two. Alisha offers another distraction and cue Brian Myers for a cheap shot. An assisted Air Raid Crash finishes Miguel at 12:06.
Rating: C+. Simple, to the point match here with the big heel stable getting a win on the way to Moose’s title defense in the match where he could lose the title without taking a fall. The match is going to be such a huge mess and this is an interesting way to get there, along with the System getting involved and likely annoying Austin and Miguel. They might want some revenge on Myers, which is a fine way to go.
Video on Masha Slamovich vs. Tessa Blanchard, with Slamovich wondering if this is all worth it. Tommy Dreamer comes in to say that Slamovich needs to defend the title for herself and that he’s proud.
Mike Santana is at his Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and talks about how everyone woke up this morning to make choices. He sees Mustafa Ali as someone weak and the real addict. Ali is addicted to Santana and now it’s time to become a monster to fight the monster. Ali won’t have the choice because he can’t run and Santana is going to fight for everyone, including the people who haven’t made it to this room yet. This was good, emotional stuff from Santana.
Maggie Lee and Heather By Elegance call Ash By Elegance, who rants about the four way Knockouts Tag Team Title match (and explains the rules).
Jacy Jayne vs. Rosemary
The rest of Fatal Influence is here with Jayne, who jumps Rosemary in the corner. The threat of some mist has Jayne backing up in a hurry but the rest of Fatal Influence offers a distraction. That doesn’t work as Rosemary grabs the Upside Down, only to get kneed in the face by Jayne. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Rosemary is up with a bite to the face and an elbow out of the corner gets two. A reverse DDT gives Rosemary two so Jazmyn Nyx gets on the apron. That earns her a knockdown but Jayne hits a discus right hand for the win at 3:42.
Rating: C. It’s not a bad match but the NXT stars coming in are just kind of there these days. Having Jayne win is fine and you can guess on the idea of who Rosemary will get to help her fight Fatal Influence. Not much to the match, but it should set up something a bit bigger later on.
Post match Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside run in for the save. Fatal Influence goes to leave but Santino Marella comes out to make a six woman tag for Rebellion.
The Nemeth’s go to the Hardy Compound and see Willow (with umbrella) waiting for them. Back from a break (because this needs to go longer), the Nemeth’s are in the compound and Willow starts dancing. Then a light flashes and Willow disappears, leaving his umbrella behind. Jeff Hardy jumps Nic and sends him into a tree before beating on him with an umbrella.
They fight into the back of a truck and Jeff is backdropped off the top of said truck and through some well placed tables. Nic goes into the truck and finds a suitcase, with one of the title belts inside. In a case of what is likely breaking and entering, Nic goes into the house and we cut to Ryan getting jumped by Matt Hardy. As Nic wanders through the arcade, he finds a collection of titles and steals the other TNA tag team title, replacing it with a weight.
Matt has a pre-mo-neetion and spears Ryan into a pool. Then Ryan shows up in the arcade, where Senor Benjamin gives him a ticket. Ryan walks in, where Matt’s kids are sitting in chairs and eating popcorn. Benjamin sits down in one of the chairs next to Ryan and we see a silent movie about Maxel (Matt’s son) beating Ryan.
Then Ryan wakes up on a psychiatrist’s couch, with Maxel taking notes. Ryan talks about the issues that came with Nic’s suspension and all of the pressure on him. Then Ryan walks up to Reby playing the piano with her daughter by her side. Ryan and the daughter argue over the Nemeth’s wanting the Tag Team Titles. Then a bird appears and Ryan is now a goth and doing standup with one of Matt’s other sons.
The son asks if Ryan wants to hear a joke. Ryan: “Sure.” Matt’s son: “Your career.” Then Matt pulls Ryan out of the pool but stops to chase Nic, with the Tag Team Titles. One of Matt’s sons grabs Nic and gets shoved down, triggering a fight with Matt. Broken Jeff appears as the Nemeth’s escape with the titles. Counting a commercial, this was about twenty minutes. Because TNA hates us.
Ace Austin and Trey Miguel are annoyed at their loss. They want to face the System and call Sean Waltman for help.
Tessa Blanchard vs. Missa Kate
Blanchard wrestles her down to start but gets chopped hard. That doesn’t work for Blanchard, who hits some clotheslines into a Saito suplex. Blanchard hits a cutter into Magnum into the buzzsaw DDT for the pin at 4:18.
Rating: C. What are you expecting here? This was Blanchard squashing someone on the way to her major showdown with the seemingly unstoppable Knockouts Champion. It’s a simple story and Blanchard looked like a killer out there. Blanchard vs. Masha Slamovich should be a heck of a fight and one of the biggest matches at Rebellion and the build has been pretty good.
Post match Masha Slamovich runs in to take out Blanchard and goes after her arm.
We look at Steve Maclin becoming the International Champion at Unbreakable.
Eric Young interrupts Maclin’s journaling and they drink a toast. Maclin leaves and Young burns the journal.
We look at Joe Hendry appearing at Wrestlemania and losing to Randy Orton. Then Hendry showed up on NXT and got in a staredown with NXT Champion Oba Femi.
Rebellion rundown.
Elijah/Joe Hendry vs. Ethan Page/Frankie Kazarian
Elijah and Kazarian start things off with Elijah working on a wristlock. A rollup gives Kazarian a fast two but Old School drops Kazarian and a clothesline puts him on the floor. We take a break and come back with Kazarian getting elbowed down. It’s off to Page vs. Hendry (still with a banged up shoulder) with Hendry scoring off a running shoulder and hiptoss.
Elijah comes back in with a running shot to the face but gets caught with one of his own. Kazarian comes in to hammer away, only to walk into a jumping knee to the face. Page gets knocked down as well and it’s Hendry coming in to clean house. A sunset flip gets two on Kazarian but he goes after the shoulder.
Page comes in off a blind tag and gets two off a powerslam. A double superplex puts Hendry down with Elijah making a save. Hendry’s shoulder gives out on the Standing Ovation attempt so it’s back to Elijah. Page drops to the floor, leaving Kazarian to walk into the Highwayman’s Farewell for the pin at 17:51.
Rating: C+. They had a nice enough match here and it gives us a bit of drama for the World Title match on Sunday. Hendry’s shoulder could be a problem at Rebellion and Page walking out on Kazarian is completely on point for him. While it’s hard to imagine a title change, there is always the chance of a curve ball and Hendry’s shoulder could play a big role in getting us there.
Overall Rating: C. This show was trying to do a very tricky thing with all of the stuff they had to do, but then there’s this huge side trip into the wacky minds of the Hardys. That didn’t help much of anything but it let the Hardys do whatever they wanted and that’s what seems to matter the most. I’m over the Hardys’ weird stuff and it was on full display here, which didn’t help the rest of the Rebellion build. The rest of the show wasn’t bad, but there wasn’t much in the way of good action and I’m only interested in some of the Rebellion card. Just stop with the Hardys stuff already and let the rest of the show be better.
Results
The System b. Trey Miguel/Ace Austin – Assisted Air Raid Crash to Miguel
Jacy Jayne b. Rosemary – Discus punch
Tessa Blanchard b. Missa Kate – Buzzsaw DDT
Elijah/Joe Hendry b. Frankie Kazarian/Ethan Page – Highwayman’s Farewell to Kazarian
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