Bound For Glory 2026
Date: October 11, 2026
Location: Yuengling Center, Tampa, Florida
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the biggest night of the year and that means it’s time for a match that is pretty important in its own right. The main event will see former X-Division Champion Leon Slater getting a World Title shot via Option C. That’s more than enough and we also have the annual Call Your Shot gauntlet. Let’s get to it.

National Anthem.

The opening video mainly focuses on Nic Nemeth vs. Leon Slater while talking about stretching to reach the highest of highs.

Ricky Sosa vs. Eddie Edwards

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie. Sosa kicks him in the face and hits an early dropkick, followed by a quick rollup for two. Eddie is sent outside for a ram into the steps but Alisha is up with a tornado DDT off the apron. Back in and Eddie chokes in the corner, setting up the chinlock. That’s broken up so Eddie hits a quick swinging neckbreaker for two more. Sosa gets fired up and makes a quick comeback but gets sent to the floor.

That’s fine too as Sosa snaps off a hurricanrana to bring Eddie off the apron. Back in and a springboard cutter gives Sosa two but Eddie’s tiger bomb gets the same. Eddie can’t believe the kickout but the Boston Knee Party is countered into a powerslam. Alisha tries an interruption and gets powerbombed, allowing the Boston Knee Party to give Eddie two. Sosa is fine enough to hit a quick Head Shot into the corner, followed by a second for the pin at 11:19.

Rating: B-. That’s exactly what it needed to be. Sosa has been trying to find his place around here and while this won’t be the big game changing moment of his career, it’s nice to see him getting a win to prove himself a bit. I’m curious to see what they can get out of Sosa, who has the fans interested in him and can do well enough in the ring to back up a lot of his hype. Good opener.

Post match respect is shown and Eddie leaves in peace.

We run down the card.

Leon Slater agrees that he doesn’t have the same experience as Nic Nemeth but Nemeth has also never been a generational star who wants to become the youngest TNA World Champion of all time.

X-Division Title: Fabian Aichner vs. Ryan Nemeth vs. BDE vs. Cedric Alexander vs. KC Navarro vs. Rich Swann vs. Amazing Red

For the vacant title and Red, who was inducted into the Hall Of Fame earlier tonight, was added to the match on the pre-show. No one likes Nemeth to start and the ring is quickly cleared save for Swann and Alexander. Swann is sent outside fast so Aichner is in to take over. A running Red is pulled out to the floor and BDE is back in with a springboard crossbody for two.

Swann takes out the team of Nemeth and Alexander and we’re off to Navarro vs. Red for a rather odd showdown. They strike it out until Nemeth and Alexander jump them from behind, with BDE getting caught in the wrong corner. Alexander gets the worst of the Tower Of Doom so it’s BDE’s Kliq Cutter to Nemeth.

That earns BDE and Lumbar Check, followed by a Michinoku Driver for two on Swann. Aichner reverses BDE’s suicide dive into a suplex on the floor Aichner is back up with a springboard tornado DDT to Alexander but Navarro plants him. A dive takes Nemeth out on the floor and Navarro escapes Red’s Code Red back inside. Red’s super Spanish Fly plants Navarro and now the Code Red gives Red the pin and the title at 10:39.

Rating: B. Sure why not. The title was vacant coming in so it’s not like Red beat the reigning champion. With so many people flying around, Red basically won on a fluke. He was more than holding his own in there and this is far from some kind of an embarrassment. It’s a rather surprising moment but it really doesn’t hurt anything and gave them a nostalgic title win.

Post match Frankie Kazarian, who inducted Red into the Hall Of Fame earlier, comes out to show Red some respect.

Nic Nemeth is ready for Leon Slater, who isn’t ready to be the best.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Shayna Baszler/Zoey Serrano vs. Allie/Kiera Hogan

Serrano and the debuting Baszler are challenging. Allie and Baszler (whose gear says she’s “choosing violence today”) start things off with Baszler not looking intimidated. Baszler easily wrestles her into the corner but Allie manage to avoid a stomp on the arm. Hogan comes in and gets decked from behind and it’s time to work on the leg. Serrano mocks Hogan’s tag attempt and the half crab goes on to stay on the leg a bit more.

Hogan fights out of the corner but the leg gives out again, allowing Baszler to cut her off again. A clothesline isn’t enough for Hogan to get out of trouble as Serrano runs in to knock Allie off the apron. Hogan finally sunset bombs her way to freedom and it’s Allie coming back in to clean house. A full nelson backbreaker drops Serrano, who is right back with a knee to the face for two. Baszler knees Allie down and the Kirifuda Clutch gives Baszler and Serrano the titles at 8:45.

Rating: C+. There was no reason for Allie and Hogan to hold onto the titles here so this was the right call. Allie and Hogan weren’t even a regular team or the original champions so why bother keeping the belts on them? Instead go with Baszler and Serrano, who work well together and have a history. If nothing else, it gives me a reason to mock the Pure Fusion Collective again, a joy in life that seemed to have passed me by.

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

This is basically a Royal Rumble (20 entrants, two minute interval to start then sixty seconds) with over the top eliminations until we’re down to two. Then those two have a regular singles match, with the winner getting a title shot anytime within the next year. Trey Miguel is in at #1 and Avery Styles (making his TNA in-ring debut) is in at #2 to get things going. They fight over wrist control to start and the technical off goes nowhere. Stereo missed dropkicks leave them in a standoff and they stare at each other a bit.

Bear Bronson is in at #3 and takes both of them down without much trouble. Frankie Kazarian is in at #4 and slugs away at Bronson, with Styles helping with the knockdown. Dutch is in at #5 as the rapid entrances are working for me thus far. Bronson and Dutch have the big slugout until the dancing LJ Cleary is in at #6. Cleary’s poisonrana drops Bronson and it’s Gabby Forza in at #7.

Forza spears Kazarian and goes after Bronson, who eliminates Cleary to clear out some space. Matthew Rehwoldt (billed from The Commentary Table) is in at #8 and takes so long getting ready that Heather By Elegance is in at #9 before he even gets in the ring. Rehwoldt gets in, mocks Heather’s height, and is eliminated by her in a bit that is still funny after being done so many times. Naturally Rehwoldt gets back on commentary like nothing happens as Heather slides outside and hides underneath the ring. Vincent is in at #10 and helps Dutch double team Miguel in the corner.

Harley Hudson is in at #11 and pulls Heather out, sending her face first between Bronson’s legs in the corner. AJ Francis is in at #12 and gets to clean house, with the fans rather approving. A bunch of people get together but can’t get rid of Francis as it’s Elijah in at #13. Francis counters Walk With Elijah but gets caught with a quick tornado DDT. M By Elegance is in at #14 and dives onto Elijah.

That earns Heather a Highwayman’s Farewell from Elijah, who gets in a staredown with the Righteous. With that not going anywhere, the Hometown Man is in at #15 and wins a slugout with Francis. Bronson gets rid of Dutch, who stays on the floor to save Hudson as Brian Myers is in at #16. The System gets together to clean house as it’s Mr. Elegance in at #17. We get a quick string of eliminations with Vincent, Hudson, Heather and M going out within a few seconds, almost as if they realized “dang there are a lot of people in there.”

Elayna Black is in at #18 and hurricanranas Francis into the corner. Forza tosses Bronson in quite the impressive feat and it’s Jada Stone in at #19. Well in theory at least as Ben Bishop debuts to jump her and take her spot. Bishop, who is described as standing 6’12, comes in and is hurricanranaed out by Stone just as fast. Well that was quite the moment. Myers tosses Stone and gets tossed by Man, who gets tossed by Francis, who is wearing a lot of orange. Francis gets rid of Forza and it’s the rather chatty Joe Alonzo in at #20 to complete the field.

That gives us a final field of Miguel, Styles, Francis, Elijah, Elegance, Black and Alonzo, which is quite the grouping. Alonzo runs his mouth a lot on the way to the ring and I think you know where this is going. Alonzo actually gets in some offense, including some superkicks, but Styles throws him out for the elimination. Styles Peles Elegance out and tosses Francis over the top, with Expressions popping up for the save.

Francis is back in to get rid of Black and Elijah tries to knock Francis out, only to get eliminated by Kazarian. We’re down to four and everyone not named Francis goes after Francis to limited success. Francis cuts of Styles’ springboard to get rid of him but Miguel catches Francis with a Canadian Destroyer. That’s enough for Francis to be tossed, leaving Miguel vs. Kazarian in a regular match.

They slug it out until Miguel takes over but misses a Lionsault. Kazarian’s springboard legdrop gets two but the chickenwing is broken up. Miguel’s sunset bomb is blocked so he settles for a 619 in the corner. Kazarian’s slingshot cutter gets two and they trade rollups for two each, with Kazarian stacking him up for the pin at 34:06 (and his third straight win in this thing).

Rating: C+. It wasn’t horrible, but dang this thing is long every year. You have these long stretches with people just staying in the ring and not much in the way of interest. Bishop stealing the spot from Stone kind of worked but when Stone is in there a few seconds later anyway, it didn’t mean much. The action was good enough, but this was way too long for the same result (or close enough) that we’ve seen for the last two years. Just make it a regular battle royal next time and cut the time way down already.

We recap the International Title match. Order 4 has imploded and now the former members are getting a shot against Mustafa Ali.

International Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Special Agent Zero vs. John Skyler vs. Jason Hotch

Ali is defending, Tasha Steelz and Mila Moore are here too and it’s one fall to a finish. After quite the over the top intro for Ali, we’re ready to go. Skyler and Hotch start fast with a Total Elimination to Ali, who misses a hard charge into the corner. Zero is sent outside, leaving Skyler to slingshot Hotch out to the apron. Hotch kicks him down and does the same to Ali, followed by a moonsault out to the floor.

Back in and Zero gets tornado DDTed for two with Ali making the save. Zero chokeslams Hotch onto the other two before knocking a springboarding Ali out of the air. A Downward Spiral drops Hotch and Zero is up with the big dive to the floor. Steelz tells Zero to get the table but Ali is up with a suicide dive into the barricade. Ali gets Hotch and Skyler together so a 450 can put Zero through the table. That’s the end of the alliance and the middle rope G9 plants Ali back inside.

Skyler and Hotch show some respect and slug it out until Ali is back in. That means a double Destroyer to Hotch and Ali so it’s time for the steps, and Zero, to come back inside. Hotch pops up to use the steps for a superplex to Ali (that looked good) and everyone is down. They slug it out from their knees until Zero is up with a chokebomb to Skyler. Hotch superkicks Zero and gives him the spinning torture rack bomb. Hotch’s top rope double stomp hits Zero as Ali 450s Hotch…who reverses into a crucifix for the pin and the title at 13:17.

Rating: B+. This was the match that interested me the most and I can go with the idea of Hotch getting the title back. He’s someone new who could become one of the younger stars around here and TNA could use all the help they could get there. The action was rather good and Ali can move on to something else, which I’ve been wanting to see him do for a long time now. Maybe it’ll actually happen for once.

We recap Indi Hartwell challenging Xia Brookside for the Knockouts Title. Hartwell has been close to winning the title before but kept coming up short. Santino Marella granted her the shot here, in spite of Daria Rae’s protests.

Knockouts Title: Indi Hartwell vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside is defending and Mickie James is guest referee. Hartwell backs her up against the ropes to start and we actually get a clean break. A corner clothesline and bulldog give Hartwell two so she knocks Brookside to the floor. Brookside is fine enough to send her into the post and it’s time to take the turnbuckle pad off back inside. Some running knees in the corner and a floatover Russian legsweep give Brookside two, setting up the chinlock.

Back up and more running knees miss in the corner, allowing Hartwell to fire off some corner clotheslines. The spinebuster gives Hartwell two, followed by a powerbomb for the same. Brookside rolls outside and grabs the belt to leave but Hartwell sends her back inside. The top rope elbow only hits belt so they’re back up for a slugout.

Brookside pokes her in the eye and gets yelled at by James (who has done nothing of note thus far). Brookside gives James a slap and is promptly slapped down for two. Back up and Darkside gives Brookside two but Hartwell breaks up Brookside’s MickieDT attempt and sends her into the exposed buckle. The top rope elbow and Hurts Donut give Hartwell the title at 10:28.

Rating: C+. Hartwell winning the title here in the big moment was hardly a secret as it’s been built up for a long time now. That’s kind of a shame as Brookside was starting to gel as champion and I could have gone for a much longer reign. At the same time, James didn’t add much of anything here but on the plus side, Hartwell didn’t use that horrible looking submission of hers.

Moose vs. Max Caster

Caster is answering an open challenge. Caster’s rap invokes glory holes and bombs dropping in Riyadh. Moose powers him around to start so Caster hammers away as we get a Voodoo Kin Mafia reference because of the Billy Gunn association. They head outside with Caster dropkicking him into the steps and a high crossbody gets two back inside. Moose whips him hard into some corners back inside and the chokebomb out of the corner gets two.

We’re off to the chinlock for a bit with Caster fighting up, setting off an exchange of shots to the face. Moose is knocked outside for a running elbow off the apron. Back in and Caster misses a charge out to the floor, where he backdrops a charging Moose onto the steps. Hold on though as Caster doesn’t want a countout so Moose sends him into the post back inside. A top rope superplex and a release Rock Bottom have Caster in trouble but he gets in a hurricanrana. Caster hits an AA but the Mic Drop elbow hits raised knees. Moose spears him for the pin at 11:00.

Rating: C. Huh? Caster is your big name showing up for the most important show of the year and Moose just beats him clean? The match was fine, the rap wasn’t great and the result is….that? I’m not saying you put Caster over clean here but why should I care about him after that kind of a result? Moose shrugged off everything Caster threw at him and then just won. This really did not work.

Frankie Kazarian, with Avery Styles, says he’s going to cash the trophy in for the Tag Team Titles, with Styles of course.

We recap Syx vs. the Hardys. There was a string of mystery attacks and the Syx (Joseph Sawyer/Samuel Shaw) were revealed as the attackers. Now the Hardys, who were attacked as well, are in for a falls count anywhere match.

Syx vs. Hardys

Falls Count Anywhere. The Hardys jump them to start fast and Poetry In Motion into the Side Effect gets two on Shaw. Jeff throws in some chairs and opens them up, with Syx being sent onto them. It’s time to brawl into the crowd and then out into the concourse, with Matt grabbing a Hardy foam finger to beat on Syx.

Matt and Shaw brawl back into the arena and a DDT plants Shaw on the floor. Jeff loads up some tables underneath a balcony (oh dear) and, sporting a pair of foam fingers, Swantons Shaw through the tables for two as Sawyer makes the save. That leaves Sawyer alone in the ring with the Hardys hitting a Plot Twist for two.

Sawyer is taken up to the stage and of course let’s grab some ladders. Shaw is back up and the Hardys grab stereo Twists Of Fate to take over again. Syx is laid on the tables but Erick Redbeard (Rowan) debuts to take the Hardys out. A suplex/powerbomb combination drops Jeff inside and Sawyer powerbombs Shaw onto him (that didn’t look good) for the pin at 12:42.

Rating: B-. It wasn’t bad, but my goodness I’m over seeing the Hardys in these hardcore matches. The good thing is that Syx already feels like a bigger deal than the Righteous and there’s always going to be a place for someone like Redbeard. Odds are Uncle Howdy is going to be here next and I’ve heard worse ideas. Good enough here, with Redbeard looking like the star.

Sidenote: are all of the other wrestlers that Syx took out (and there were a bunch of them) ever going to come for revenge? Or are they all just letting it slide?

Santino Marella says the Hardys are in charge of Impact this week. Oh that could be something and not necessarily in a good way.

We recap the World Title match, with Nic Nemeth defending against Leon Slater, who traded the X-Division Title for the shot. Nemeth is a legend and Slater is a young star who wants to be the youngest champion in the title’s history.

TNA World Title: Nic Nemeth vs. Leon Slater

Slater is challenging and after the Big Match Intros, we’re ready to go. The grappling doesn’t go very far to start so Slater takes him into the corner for the right hands. Nemeth goes to the eyes to cut that off but a running clothesline puts him on the floor. The big running flip dive over the corner is loaded up but Nemeth moves away, leaving Slater to hit a regular dive instead.

A running forearm off the steps drops Nemeth again but he’s right back with a Fameasser for two back inside. Nemeth starts in on the knee and we’re off to the chinlock. That’s broken up and Slater dropkicks him into the corner, followed by a running spinwheel kick. The high crossbody gives Slater two but Nemeth is right back with the sleeper. After doing something that looks a lot like tapping, Slater slams his way to freedom and goes up.

Nemeth cuts that off too but gets crotched on top, setting up a spinning torture rack slam. Slater tries what appears to be a powerbomb but it’s reversed into a pinfall reversal sequence. The big DDT gives Nemeth two and they fight over a suplex until Nemeth is dropped out to the floor. Slater is knocked down on the floor as well and has to dive back inside to beat the count.

Nemeth’s superkick gets two and a top rope elbow connects, only for Slater to reverse into a crucifix for two more. A Skull Crushing Finale gives Nemeth another near fall and they’re both down. Slater wins an exchange of superkicks and the Swanton 450 gets a rather near fall. Another one hits raised knees to give Nemeth two and the Danger Zone gets the same. Back up and Slater sends him to the floor for the big running flip dive and a top rope splash (three fourths of the way across the ring) connects back inside. Another Swanton 450 makes Slater champion at 18:21.

Rating: B. It was a good, back and forth match with the young star getting the chance to shine. That’s a great thing to see, but it really didn’t feel like a big moment. Slater winning is cool and it definitely shakes things up a bit while getting away from the idea of the former Dolph Ziggler being World Champion in 2026. It’s the right move, but only so interesting for the most part.

Slater celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. This was kind of a weird show as it had good enough action, a bunch of title changes, including the big World Title change, and a few debuts, but it still didn’t feel that special. It’s like this was just doing a checklist of things you see on a major show but it only got so far. The gauntlet match really just pulled the life out of the show as it went on so long, which is a running problem with the thing. Overall it’s a good enough show and definitely feels like it could be the start of something better, but it only felt so special on the way there.

Results
Ricky Sosa b. Eddie Edwards – Head Shot
Amazing Red b. Fabian Aichner, Ryan Nemeth, BDE, Cedric Alexander, KC Navarro and Rich Swann – Code Red to Navarro
Shayna Baszler/Zoey Serrano b. Allie/Kiera Hogan – Kirifuda Clutch to Allie
Frankie Kazarian won the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match last eliminating Trey Miguel
Jason Hotch b. John Skyler, Special Agent Zero and Mustafa Ali – Crucifix to Ali
Indi Hartwell b. Xia Brookside – Hurts Donut
Moose b. Max Caster – Spear
Syx b. Hardys – Powerbomb to Shaw onto Jeff
Leon Slater b. Nic Nemeth – Swanton 450

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Lockdown 2026
Date: August 23, 2026
Location: Credit Union 1 Arena, Chicago, Illinois
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

So this is back and…yeah I still don’t get it. The idea here is that every match is going to be inside a cage, albeit with various rules. The main event is some choice between the Hardys vs. the Nemeths for the Tag Team Titles and Lethal Lockdown, neither of which exactly screams top level match. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Righteous vs. BDE/Rich Swann

Not in a cage and Vincent stares at BDE (on the apron) before jumping Swann to start. Some double teaming has Vincent in trouble and BDE stays in to kick away at the chest. Dutch comes in to drop BDE on his face, allowing Vincent’s sliding Downward Spiral to get two. We’re already off to the chinlock, with BDE fighting up and earning himself a clothesline.

Dutch drops Swann in a smart move and Vincent cuts off another tag attempt, only to kick BDE over to Swann in quite the slip. Swann kicks away and gets two off the frog splash but Vincent is back with a Downward Spiral. BDE breaks it up and Swann’s middle rope cutter gets two, but Dutch sends him outside. Back in and Orange Sunshine finishes BDE at 7:54.

Rating: C+. For a match featuring what was supposed to be a new start for the Righteous, it was pretty much exactly what it’s always been from them. In other words, not very much to see here, with the Righteous only breaking something of a sweat against a team who didn’t pose a real threat. Then again, that’s kind of BDE’s whole thing.

Pre-Show: Trey Miguel vs. Special Agent Zero

Again not in a cage and Miguel is in Spider-Man inspired gear, though he’s no Arachnaman. Miguel rolls away to start and a hurricanrana out of the corner sends Zero outside. Back in and Zero cuts him off with a clothesline and a big right hand puts him down again. A swinging Downward Spiral gives Zero two but Miguel knocks him to the floor. That means the step up flip dive can connect and some kicks do the same to Zero back inside. Zero drops him throat first across the top and loads up a fireman’s carry, only to get cradled to give Miguel the pin at 5:11.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here but they told a quick story with the power vs. speed. I’m rather surprised that Zero lost so soon as you don’t want that to happen to a monster, though it helps that it was mainly a fluke rollup. At the same time, Miguel’s return push continuing is good to see, as he has the status to turn into a bigger deal around here.

National Anthem, minus any singing.

The opening video, set to a song by Chris Bey, looks at the bigger matches on the card.

Remember: every match is inside a cage.

AJ Francis vs. Elijah

These two have been feuding for a bit and this is the rubber match. Francis runs him over to start fast but it’s too early for the Down Payment. Elijah is right back with Old School (not as impressive when he can grab the cage) and a Stunner but Francis avoids a charge into the cage. Francis whips him into the cage again so Elijah has to climb the corner to escape another Down Payment attempt.

That leaves them both on top, with Elijah getting in a powerbomb. The top rope elbow gives Elijah two so he goes all the way to the top of the cage, which seems rather dimwitted. Francis is there to cut off a Walk With Elijah on top of the cage, where they both sit down and slug it out. Elijah gets the better of things and superplexes him down for two and a huge crash.

Cue Francis’ goon Expressions in a wheelchair and the distraction lets Francis hit the Cash Out for two more. For some reason Francis goes for the door (even though you can’t win by escape), allowing Elijah to give him an F5. Now it’s Elijah going for the door, with Expressions slamming it on his head. The TFL gives Francis two as Expressions is back on his feet. A Canadian Destroyer cuts Francis off but Expressions dives in for the save. Elijah gives him a Highwayman’s Farewell, allowing Francis to hit a (nice) moonsault. The Down Payment finishes Elijah at 13:24.

Rating: C. The action was ok and the superplex looked good, but Elijah came off like an utter moron here. I get the idea of getting caught up in the moment but this was so many different levels of dumb. Elijah had to do so many idiotic things so Expressions could get involved for the distraction and it didn’t feel natural in the slightest. Just have Expressions interfere and let Elijah look a bit brighter and it’s far better.

Post match the Home Town Man comes in with a guitar for Elijah, who goes to the middle rope (somehow without Francis noticing) for El Kabong, because this feud might be continuing.

Allie can’t find Rosemary but she has a replacement partner. To be announced.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Elegance Brand vs. Allie/???

The Brand (dressed as police officers for some reason) is challenging, with the rest of the Brand with them. Allie does have a partner and it’s…..the returning Kiera Hogan. Allie fires off right hands to M to start and gives her a running knee lift. Hogan and Heather come in (with Hogan being the taller of the two at 4’11) with Hogan grabbing a neckbreaker for a quick near fall. Allie comes back in but gets distracted by Mr. Elegance, allowing the Brand to take over.

M’s dropkick to the back and suplex get two each and we’re off to the chinlock. Heather gets in a chinlock of her own, which doesn’t last long as Allie gets up and brings in Hogan to clean house. Everything breaks down (which feels weird in a cage match) and the Personal Concierge whips out some handcuffs. As she’s the size of a pipe cleaner, Heather slips through the cage bars and cuffs Allie to the cage…and Hogan easily fisherman’s neckbreakers M to retain at 7:32.

Rating: C+. The ending made me think of the scene in Raiders Of The Lost Ark where one of the villains does a big display with a sword and Jones just casually shoots him. Hogan looking to be in trouble and then just mowing M down like she was nothing was rather hilarious, even if I doubt that was the idea. If Rosemary is going to be gone for a bit, Hogan is a fine enough choice for the replacement and adds another name to the roster at the same time. That’s as efficient as you’re going to get.

Hogan seems to be the official replacement champion.

Commentary shouts out Rebel, which is great to see. Well in a way.

We recap Moose vs. Frankie Kazarian. They’ve both been in TNA for years but have never had a match, so that’s being remedied.

Moose vs. Frankie Kazarian

Escape only and Moose sits on a throne while a string (I believe) quartet plays him to the ring. Naturally Kazarian yells at the musicians and lays on the throne like a true villain should. Naturally Kazarian goes for the climb to start and is cut off just as fast. Moose’s powerbomb is escaped so he sends Kazarian into the cage and then has the referee lock the door.

Some right hands in the corner have Kazarian in more trouble and the spear makes it worse. Moose hits it again but Kazarian flips him off and sends a charging Moose into the cage. Kazarian mocks the Moose pose (it’s so easy to do) and grabs Angel’s Wings to plant Moose again. The trash talk takes too long though and Moose starts bobbing his head and pumping his fist (as moose are known to do).

Moose plants him down and hits the backsplash, only for Kazarian to Backstab him off of the ropes. Back up and Moose can’t hit a powerbomb so they trade right hands and clotheslines. Moose’s toss powerbomb sends Kazarian into the cage for quite the crash and they’re both down.

Kazarian’s climb is cut off again and they both go up, with Moose busting out a super Spanish Fly of all things. The door is opened but Kazarian cuts off the escape (er, Xscape) attempt and they’re down again. With the door open behind him, Kazarian gets caught in the cage, where Moose makes an incredibly dumb decision to go for a spear, which sends Kazarian through the door for the win at 14:14.

Rating: B. Stupid ending aside, that was a huge spot with the Spanish Fly and it was certainly a fresh match. At the same time, I do kind of like the idea of mixing up the stipulations here, as it helps keep things fresh. Odds are this isn’t finished after Kazarian won that way, though it does bring up the issue of starting with the cage match.

We recap Xia Brookside defending the Knockouts Title against Elayna Black. Brookside is the newly evil champion and Black is the hometown star getting a title shot despite not exactly doing much of note.

Knockouts Title: Elayna Black vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside is challenging. They yell at each other a lot and Brookside mocks the Chicago crowd, earning a quick takedown. Black gives her a basement dropkick and running hurricanrana but misses a knee against the cage. Brookside finds a belt from somewhere and whips away as Black is already busted open.

The point of the belt is stabbed into the cut and a few of the fans aren’t impressed. Some fingernail stabbing feels a lot more painful and Brookside starts in on the arm. That’s broken up and Black misses a running elbow in the cage. The Broken Wings hit Black as well but she strikes away and catches her on top.

That means a belly to back superplex and the comeback is on, with Black getting in a Stomp. The Blackout is countered into Brookside’s Darkside for two so Black grabs the Blackout for the same. Back up and Brookside throws some powder into Black’s eyes and gets a rollup to retain at 12:55.

Rating: C+. Well on one hand, the heel run continues tonight and so do the less than thrilling finishes. On the other hand, thank goodness they didn’t do something ridiculous like give Black the title here. Brookside is doing well as champion and Black just has not clicked, so changing things over wouldn’t have been a good idea, hometown crowd or not.

We recap the International Title match. Jason Hotch broke away from Order 4 and stunned Mustafa Ali to win the title, sending Ali over the edge. Now it’s time for Ali to try and get the title back, naturally inside of a cage.

International Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Jason Hotch

Ali, with Order 4, is challenging and he’s the hometown heel. Hotch’s family is in the front row as he starts fast with a could of superkicks. Ali gets in a superkick of his own but gets caught on top with a belly to back superplex. A discus clothesline takes Ali down again and Hotch takes him up top for a piledriver onto the turnbuckle (sweet goodness). Ali is back up with a DDT for two and Special Agent Zero opens the door.

Tasha Steelz shuts it right back though, earning some yelling from Mila Moore. Steelz knocks her down but the cage door is kicked into Steelz’ head to drop her as well. Hotch goes out to check on Steelz and John Skyler takes her to the back, with Ali getting in a dive onto Hotch from behind. They brawl around ringside and Hotch goes up the cage for a high crossbody to knock Ali through a table (that thing exploded).

Hotch starts spitting up blood so the medics take him out, leaving Ali to steal a stuffed animal from Hotch’s daughter. Ali teases LIGHTING IT ON FIRE but Hotch charges in to give him a spear. Hotch is too banged up though and Ali ties him in the cage for a whipping with a belt. Ali takes him to the corner but Hotch kicks Ali back and hits a double stomp off of the cage to a standing Ali, who somehow doesn’t pop open. Instead Ali knocks him down and hits a 450 to Hotch (still holding the stuffed animal) to get the title back at 14:17.

Rating: B. As fun as it has been to see Hotch playing way above his league in recent weeks, they had to put the title back on Ali. He very well might be the best heel in the company at the moment and it would be a big hit to him if he lost to Hotch again here. Hotch has already gotten all kinds of a career boost out of the title win so this is hardly some devastating setback.

Post match Skyler comes back in to check on Hotch while Ali and company leave. And yes, the daughter gets her stuffed animal back.

Here is Avery Styles (AJ’s son) for a chat. He’s officially signed with TNA but here is Frankie Kazarian to interrupt. Kazarian talks about the history he has with AJ Styles and warns Avery about the snakes in the locker room. Avery can always trust him. I would make a chair joke but I wouldn’t want to contribute to continuing the most overblown story of the year.

We recap Leon Slater challenging Cedric Alexander for the X-Division Title. Slater lost the title to Alexander and wants it back, but Alexander wants Slater’s history as champion on the line. Because that’s a thing you can do now.

X-Division Title: Cedric Alexander vs. Leon Slater

Slater is challenging in a Last Man Standing match in a cage, because THAT’S a thing now too. Before they come to the ring, we get a look at what it means if Slater loses and my goodness this is dumb. They immediately slug it out to start until Slater gives him a Helluva Kick in the corner. A super hurricanrana brings Alexander back out and he gets caught with a running spinwheel kick.

Slater goes up the cage for a diving back elbow to put Alexander down for nowhere near ten. Alexander catches him on the ropes though and it’s a lawn dart to send Slater into the cage. That’s enough to draw some more blood so Alexander kicks him in the face, at least until Slater is back with a toss Blue Thunder Bomb. Slater chops away in the corner but gets caught with a super Michinoku Driver.

That’s not enough to keep Slater down and somehow wakes him up for a Destroyer and some rams into the cage. Alexander is busted open as well and Slater hammers away before going up. That’s cut off and it’s a swinging superplex to leave both of them laying (as they both took it about the same). Back up and Slater hits three straight Lumbar Checks to make it personal, followed by a Swanton 450 to get the title back at 13:15.

Rating: B. Given that the other option was trying to mess with the laws of time and space, this was the way to go. I’m still not sure how the erasing the title reign would have made sense and it’s nice to see TNA reaching the point where I don’t have to see them explain it. Slater getting the title back is a bit of a problem though, as he was such a dominant champion that he needs to move into the main event scene.

Daria Rae yells at someone on the phone but finds Santino Marella checking on Elijah, who has been attacked as well.

The System vs. Ricky Sosa/Fabian Aichner/KC Navarro/Jada Stone

Lethal Lockdown, meaning WarGames, with two minute intervals. Bear Bronson and Aichner start things off with Aichner hammering away but having to block a ram into the cage. They trade suplexes and clotheslines until a double clothesline gives us a double down. Aichner is back up with a moonsault and the time expires, so Brian Myers comes in (as the System won control on Impact) to give the System the advantage. The double teaming quickly has Aichner in trouble and a double suplex makes it worse.

Aichner is sent hard into the corner and it’s Navarro in to even things up. Navarro cleans house and Aichner is up to help send the two of them into the cage. Eddie Edwards is in to give the System control again but Navarro gets smart by diving through the door to take him out on the floor. Navarro gets back inside as it’s still even for a bit but the System takes over.

The bleeding Bronson knocks Aichner down and hammers away and Edwards is back in as Sosa is here to even it up again. House is quickly cleaned again, with Sosa hammering away in the corner. Alisha Edwards is in to complete the System and a lot of stomping takes place. Stone is in as well so Alisha goes out to meet her, with Stone climbing the cage to moonsault onto everyone else.

Now the weapons are lowered and they all get up for the staredown, continuing the tradition of basically resetting the match and rendering everything they’ve done to this point useless. The good guys grab weapons and start working them over until Navarro splashes Eddie for two. Stone gets to beat on everyone with a kendo stick and of course it’s time for the back of thumbtacks.

A superplex drops Alisha onto the tacks and Stone is banged up as well. Aichner gives Eddie a Coast To Coast but Bronson is up to take out Aichner and Navarro. Naturally Bronson is sent into a barbed wire board and Sosa gives Myers a Blue Thunder Bomb into the tacks. A running elbow with barbed wire hits Myers for two as Alisha makes the save. Eddie is back up with a package piledriver onto an open chair to pin Sosa at 17:42.

Rating: C+. These things only worked so well before and that was the case again here. The match is basically cut in two with a bunch of quick segments to get everyone in and then all of the weapons. It doesn’t help that we’ve seen the weapons so many times over the years, with the tacks in particular making me roll my eyes. This is the definition of a match that sounds fun on paper but really doesn’t work in execution.

Tag Team Titles: Nemeths vs. Hardys

The Hardys are defending and this is a Texas Tornado match, which sounds rather dumb in a cage. We get a table thrown in fast and Nic is sent into the cage, followed by a slightly modified Poetry In Motion. They all climb on the ropes but get rammed into the cage to bring them back down. Danger Zone gives Nic two on Jeff but Nic splashes Ryan by mistake.

The Twisting Stunner hits Nic, who bounces back with a superkick and everyone is down. Back up and a Side Effect into a middle rope splash gets two on Nic, as does a Plot Twist to Ryan. Nic is laid on the table but Ryan gets in a jumping DDT for two on Jeff. Matt Side Effects Nic and it’s a Twist Of Fate to Ryan, but Jeff takes too long going to the top of the cage. Nic and Jeff both get crotched so it’s another Twist Of Fate to Ryan, who lays down on the table. Matt’s legdrop off the cage connects…and it’s a quick Danger Zone to give Nic the pin and the titles at 11:58.

Rating: B-. They were feeling pretty rushed for time here, which makes sense as the show was getting close to the three hour mark. I do like the Nemeths getting the titles back, as it means a break from the Hardys. The division really needs that at this point, though hopefully it sticks for a bit this time. They did what they could here in the time they had, but it was only so good.

Post match the Nemeths celebrate but here is Leon Slater, who is exercising Option C at Bound For Glory. Yeah that makes sense, as it’s the best thing he can really do now.

Overall Rating: C+. The problem here is the same as it always is at Lockdown: the cage gets a bit annoying after a bit as we’ve seen it done so many times. It doesn’t help that some of the matches simply don’t belong in a cage (Knockouts Tag Team Titles, the main event and Brookside vs. Black fit that description) and it came off as more something they had to do rather than needing to do.

The show is fine, but it really would have been better served as a regular PPV rather than the all cages thing. I do like Slater’s announcement at the end, as if nothing else it gave the fans something else to cheer for on a show that was rather dominated by the villains winning. That’s quite the choice and not exactly exciting, but I guess that’s what Bound For Glory is for.

Results
Righteous b. BDE/Rich Swann – Orange Sunshine to BDE
Trey Miguel b. Special Agent Zero – Victory roll
AJ Francis b. Elijah – Down Payment
Allie/Kiera Hogan b. Elegance Brand – Fisherman’s neckbreaker to M
Frankie Kazarian b. Moose – Kazarian escaped the cage
Xia Brookside b. Elayna Black – Rollup
Mustafa Ali b. Jason Hotch – 450
Leon Slater b. Cedric Alexander – Swanton 450
The System b. Jada Stone/Fabian Aichner/KC Navarro/Ricky Sosa – Package piledriver onto a chair to Sosa
Nemeths b. Hardys – Danger Zone to Matt

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

They need to work on their anniversarying.

https://411mania.com/wrestling/halls-tna-slammiversary-2012-review/

Slammiversary 2026
Date: June 28, 2026
Location: Agganis Arena, Boston, Massachusetts
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the annual anniversary show (because it would be weird for anniversaries to not be annual) and we have a pretty big main event this time. In this case it’s Mike Santana defending the World Title against Nic Nemeth. That’s in addition to Ultimate X and a four team ladder match so let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Indi Hartwell vs. Mara Sade vs. Elayna Black

Black’s early rollup gets two so she gets sent outside, leaving Hartwell to clothesline Sade for two. Sade’s spinning middle rope crossbody gets two but Black trips her up. Hartwell neckbreakers Sade but Black is back in with some running knees. Black is sent back outside with Hartwell following, leaving Sade to dive onto both of them. Sade goes up for a moonsault to Hartwell but Black runs back in for the Black Out to pin Sade at 5:00.

Rating: C. Black absolutely should have won here as she needs the slightest bit of momentum to do anything at all. She’s been around for months now and feels like she has done absolutely nothing. I’m not sure if this is the big upgrade for her but at least she got on the show (technically) and won.

Post match Black leaves and the other two wind up on the stage, where Hall Of Famer Traci Brooks comes out to announce a tournament, starting on Thursday, to crown the Inaugural Knockouts TV Champion.

Kickoff Show: Eric Young vs. Ricky Sosa

A Boston Celtics broadcaster is on commentary. Sosa sends him (Young, not the broadcaster) into the corner to start and knocks him outside for the big dive. Back in and Young slams him off the top and starts stomping away, only to have Sosa jump up to the top for a super hurricanrana. Sosa fires off some running uppercuts in the corner but Young is back with the wheelbarrow neckbreaker. The top rope elbow gets two so Sosa gets up for a northern lights suplex into a Falcon Arrow. A Blue Thunder Bomb finishes Young at 6:00.

Rating: C+. This was a perfectly fine match but the important thing here is that Sosa got a win, which he needed to get his time in TNA started. Beating Young only means so much but it’s better than nothing, as TNA can certainly use some fresh blood. Maybe Sosa can be that person, but it’s certainly worth a shot.

The roster comes out for a ten bell salute to Joe Doering. Cody Deaner gives a rather awesome speech about getting to be Doering’s partner and friend. The show is dedicated to him.

The opening video looks at the history of the company and focuses on how important tonight is, especially the World Title match. Makes sense.

X-Division Title: Amazing Red vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Giovanni Vinci vs. Mr. Elegance vs. KC Navarro vs. Leon Slater vs. Cedric Alexander

Alexander is defending in Ultimate X and this is Slater’s official rematch for the title, which feels like a stretch. It’s a brawl to start and Red is left alone but Kazarian has to be pulled down. Red hits a big dive to take out the pile but it’s too early for him to climb. It’s off to Slater vs. Navarro with the latter posing in the ropes to frustrate Slater a bit. Navarro goes for a climb but gets pulled down, only to be thrown at Aichner for a DDT on the floor.

Kazarian and Red go up and kick away over the ring until they come crashing down. Elegance goes up until Navarro makes a save and gets a showdown with Red. Some Code Reds put various non-Reds down, leaving Kazarian to go up. Aichner cuts that off with a big high crossbody and almost everyone goes to one corner. Slater hits a double Doomsday Blockbuster before going up, with Red going up as well. Slater pulls the belt down but Alexander grabs it and hits the floor, which is enough to retain at 10:24.

Rating: B. This was what you would have expected from this kind of a match as it was all about Red getting to show that he still has it and Alexander stealing the win to retain. It also gets Slater out of the X-Division Title picture without having him take another fall. This was a hot way to start the show and that’s why you have a match like this one. Nice job.

Post match Kazarian shows respect to Red and praises him for the influence he has had on the TNA locker room. Kazarian throws us to a video package announcing that Red is going into the Hall Of Fame. Yeah that’s fine.

We run down the rest of the card.

We recap Elijah vs. AJ Francis, which is over Francis basically stealing Elijah’s image, likeness and music catalog. Now Elijah is fighting for all of them.

Elijah vs. AJ Francis

A man with a rather nice hat introduces Francis. Elijah mocks the two as being No Skill Uncle Phil and a bad Jazzy Jeff. A jumping knee gives Elijah two at the bell but Francis knocks him outside for the tease of a dive, which of course doesn’t happen. Instead Francis mocks the crowd but gets taken down with a springboard clothesline. Francis’ Styles Clash is cut off so he settles for a big right hand to drop Elijah instead.

A Stunner of all things gets Elijah out of trouble but Francis is right back with the TFL. An Alabama Slam sets up Francis’ middle rope moonsault (and it looked nice) for two but Elijah catches him going up. The Highwayman’s Farewell connects for two so the man with the hat grabs the guitar. Elijah takes that away and knocks him silly but it’s a Styles Clash to give Francis two. The Down Payment is loaded up but Elijah walks the corner, then goes down the rope for a super Canadian Destroyer for the pin at 9:01.

Rating: C+. This was a match that went the right way but I was kind of hoping that the build had gone on longer. Francis only took everything from Elijah about two weeks ago so it only had so much time to build. Elijah had to win in the end but he could have suffered more than he did. Either way, perfectly fine match with the bully getting what was coming to him.

Post match Elijah gets his guitar back in a big moment.

Mike Santana is ready for Nic Nemeth and wants him to bring it.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Elegance Brand vs. Rosemary/Allie

The Brand, with the rest of their ilk, is defending. M grabs a quickly broken waistlock on Rosemary to start so Rosemary takes her down for the right hands. Allie comes in for some shoulders to Heather and the Brand gets caught in stereo Upside Downs. Ash offers a distraction though and the champs get out so M can Death Valley Driver Allie for two.

M’s basement dropkick to the back gets two but Allie snaps off a neckbreaker. A distraction allows the Personal Concierge to break up a tag attempt and Ash goes Coast To Coast. Er, apparently Toast To Toast, as in champagne. Allie gets up for a double clothesline though and it’s back to Rosemary to clean house.

A side slam gets two on Heather but M gets in a cheap shot, allowing Heather to hit a moonsault. Everything breaks down and Rosemary spears M, earning a distraction from Ash. Rosemary mists the Concierge and escapes Nip And Tuck. Allie gives Heather a Codebreaker and Rosemary’s reverse DDT connects for the titles at 9:42.

Rating: B-. This was what it should have been with the Brand not needing to be champions all the time. Rosemary and Allie don’t need to be champions forever but it’s good for them to win the titles here, as they need to show that they still have it after being gone for so long. Also they’re a bit more fun after the Brand has held the titles for such a long time.

Daria Rae and Santino Marella argue over Marella making the International Title match a triple threat.

International Title: Mustafa Ali vs. ??? vs. ???

Ali, with Tasha Steelz, is defending against two mystery challengers in the forms of….Rich Swann and Uhaa Nation, the latter of whom is better known as Apollo Crews. Nation gorilla presses Ali over the top to start and shakes hands with Swann before slugging it out. They go out to the apron with Nation knocking him to the floor, followed by a top rope splash for two back inside.

Ali tries to come back in but gets crotched on top, only to give Ali a super Styles Clash onto Nation’s back. Swann is back up with a hurricanrana to send Ali to the floor and a middle rope 450 gets two on Nation. Back up and Nation starts muscling them up for German suplexes but Ali and Swann knock him down.

Swann drops Ali and gives him a frog splash but Ali bridges up to shock Swann in a great visual. Nation is back up so Steelz offers a distraction, as does the incoming Agent Zero. That’s enough for Ali to hit a suicide dive, allowing Zero to bury Nation underneath the steps. Back in and Swann avoids the 450 and kicks Ali in the face, only to get caught in a bridging backslide for the pin to retain at 9:31.

Rating: B. This was a good way to bring in Nation without taking the title off of Ali. Having the match be a triple threat came out of nowhere but it’s the best way TNA had of having it both ways. At least Ali gets to keep the title, as it’s either this or having him move up to the main event and I don’t quite see that happening just yet. Nation can be put into pretty much any spot on the card and be fine, which is just what the company needs at this point.

We recap Moose vs. Eddie Edwards in a No Surrender match. Edwards and company threw Moose out of the System so he’s out for revenge, having gone through the team one by one. Now it’s just Edwards left and the match can only end when the corner person throws in the towel.

Moose vs. Eddie Edwards

Anything goes and you can only win once your opponent’s corner person (JDC for Moose and Alisha Edwards for Eddie) throws in the towel. In the back, Moose runs into Uhaa Nation and they’ll be talking later. Moose jumps Eddie to start fast and gives him a powerbomb onto the apron, followed by a powerbomb into the post. Another powerbomb onto the steps is escaped though and Eddie backdrops him onto the steps.

They get inside where Moose hits a release Rock Bottom into a backsplash and let’s get a table. The chop off goes to Moose but he walks into a clothesline. The Boston Knee Party drops Moose again, which isn’t enough for JDC to throw in the towel, so let’s get a chain. Eddie wraps it around his knee but charges into another powerbomb. That earns him a double middle finger from Alisha so Eddie hits a superkick.

With Moose down, Eddie zipties him to the rope and it’s time to beat on him with the kendo stick. That’s enough for Moose’s wife to jump the barricade and try to throw it in, only for JDC to cut her off. Moose’s son comes over the barricade and gets pulled inside by Eddie. Said son hits Eddie low and Moose’s wife beats up Alisha. Moose breaks free and hits some spears, including one with a chain, but Alisha throws in the towel to avoid the spear through the table at 13:00.

Rating: B-. It felt like they had a bunch packed into one match and they never got to some extreme moment for the towel. Moose’s family getting involved was fine but they haven’t exactly been around much before and it took away some of the impact. If nothing else, hopefully it wraps up the feud already, because it is beyond time to finish it off already.

Post match JDC gives Eddie a Stunner and Moose spears both Edwards’s through the table. Ok that has to end the feud right?

We recap Xia Brookside challenging Lei Ying Lee for the Knockouts Title. They were friends and partners until Brookside got jealous of Lee’s success and turned on her. That’s enough to set up the title match, as Lee wants to beat her up as well.

Knockouts Title: Xia Brookside vs. Lei Ying Lee

Lee is defending and takes her down to hammer away to start fast. Brookside is sent into the corner by the hair, followed by a hard knee to her face. Lee sends her outside for a dive from the apron but Brookside is back up to send the leg into the post. Said leg is wrapped around the post again and Brookside ties up the leg inside.

Some kicks to the chest have Lee in more trouble but she pulls Brookside into a half crab. With that broken up, Lee kicks her in the head and fires off even more kicks, only to bang up her own knee. They go into the corner where Brookside gets powerbombed down, bringing a turnbuckle pad with her. Back up and Lee is sent into the exposed buckle, setting up the Darkside to give Brookside the title at 11:55.

Rating: C+. This was another match that felt like it ended out of nowhere, but what mattered here was Brookside getting the title. After losing over and over, she needed to finally win something here and it was more than time for her to win the title. The match was kind of weird as Lee’s leg was worked on for so long but didn’t go anywhere, but the result was right.

Lockdown is coming to Chicago in August.

Destination X is coming in November.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Righteous vs. The System vs. Great Hands

The System is defending in a ladder match. The Hardys start with the ladder while their music is still playing but it’s way too early to go for the belts. That’s enough for the Righteous to fight back and clean house, with Dutch hitting a big dive to the floor. Skyler picks up Vincent for a Regal Roll off the top onto the pile, leaving Hotch to climb up. The ladder is tipped over though, with Hotch busting out a moonsault as he crashes down.

Back in and the Hardys load up a pair of ladders but are easily knocked down. Matt and Vincent go up again, with Matt ramming him into each rung on the way back down. Naturally it’s time for some tables but the Hands are up with the steps for the save. More tables are stacked onto the previously stacked tables (uh oh) but the System uses the ladders to beat up the Hands.

Cue the Righteous with the barbed wire ladder (of course), with Bronson being powerslammed into said ladder. Vincent’s Swanton crushes Bronson onto the ladder, which Bronson is then crushed inside of for a bonus. The Righteous set up the really big ladder but get it turned over just as fast. The Hands are back up to cut off the Hardys, including a G9 off the ladder to Matt.

Vincent cuts Skyler down and climbs up to slug it out with Myers. That earns Myers the poisonous flower and he falls down but Bronson is up to piledrive Vincent onto the barbed wire ladder. Bronson and Dutch go up at the same time and yes they do indeed go crashing through the four tables. The Hands pull the Hardys down, earning themselves a double beating. Jeff Swantons the Hands through a bridged ladder at ringside…and the Hardys win the titles back at 17:09.

Rating: B-. Yeah wow that’s fascinating: the Hardys winning the Tag Team Titles in a ladder match. This is one of the more annoying results I can imagine as the Hardys haven’t needed to win a title in years. Somehow they get to pad their resumes even more, but even worse, it means we’re likely STILL not done with the Hardys vs. the Righteous. How in the world is that their best idea? If nothing else, the System looks completely useless and the Hands were there…why?

Mike Santana gives a rather heartfelt message about all of the help Konnan gave him over the years by believing in him. Therefore, he’s thrilled to induct Konnan into the Hall Of Fame. I’m liking these multiple person classes as the company has more than enough history to cover them.

We recap the World Title match. Nic Nemeth is calling his shot for the title match and that’s fine with Mike Santana. Nemeth has attacked him a few times and brought up Santana’s daughter, which is the champ’s trigger.

TNA World Title: Mike Santana vs. Nic Nemeth

Nemeth is challenging. The fans get on the New York Yankees and declare that they suck (Santana mouths “they do”) and we’re ready to go. They start slowly and feel each other out a bit until Nemeth sends him outside. Back in and Nemeth gets two off a rollup but gets went outside for a breather. They switch places before Santana tosses him outside again for a die. The big chops have Nemeth knocked up against the barricade, with Santana appreciating the echo.

Santana throws him over the announcers’ table so Ryan Nemeth gets inside for a distraction. Said distraction earns Ryan an ejection but Nic gets in a trophy shot to take over. Santana is busted open and Nic rips at the cut, followed by a crossface to make it worse. Nic switches to a sleeper but Santana fights up to start the comeback. Santana hammers away and hits the rolling Buck Fifty for two but Spin The Block is cut off with a superkick.

The Danger Zone gives Nic two so he hits another superkick, only to walk into Spin The Block for another two. Nemeth kicks the knee out and hits a basement superkick for….one. Uh oh. Another Spin The Block doesn’t work though as the blood loss gets to Santana. The Danger Zone gives Nic the pin and the title at 14:45.

Rating: B. It was a good match with Santana getting to go out on his shield, but it seems like we are on the way to Santana moving over to WWE anyway. The good thing is that the promotions have a working relationship so Santana might not be entirely gone. If this is it for Santana though, he has come a VERY long way and deserves all kinds of credit for his rise. As for Nemeth, he doesn’t feel like a long term champion but he’s fine as a placeholder until TNA figures out who is next.

Nemeth celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. Hardys winning aside, this was a strong enough show, with the right moves being made for the most part. If Santana is indeed leaving, the only option was to take the title off of him and Nemeth is as good of a choice that the company has. I liked most of the matches, with some of them being better than others, but nothing was bad and the show felt logical enough throughout. Nice job, with the Hall Of Fame announcements being a rather appropriate bonus.

Results
Elayna Black b. Mara Sade and Indi Hartwell – Black Out to Sade
Ricky Sosa b. Eric Young – Blue Thunder Bomb
Cedric Alexander won Ultimate X
Elijah b. AJ Francis – Top rope Canadian Destroyer
Allie/Rosemary b. Elegance Brand – Reverse DDT to Heather
Mustafa Ali b. Uhaa Nation and Rich Swann – Bridging backslide to Swann
Moose b. Eddie Edwards when Alisha Edwards threw in the towel
Xia Brookside b. Lei Ying Lee – Darkside
Hardys b. Righteous, The System and Great Hands – Hardys pulled down the titles
Nic Nemeth b. Mike Santana – Danger Zone

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #28
Date: January 15, 2003
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

So last week was rather rough, with Vince Russo being the big focal point of the show and basically setting up his big NWO style us vs. them story. Naturally Russo is the big unstoppable star of the whole thing, with Jeff Jarrett leading the other side. Worry not though because Dusty Rhodes is here to even things out. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

The opening recap looks at Jeff Jarrett vs. Vince Russo.

Mike Tenay sits down with Russo (of course) and asks him what he does as a wrestling TV writer (here we go). Russo says it’s all about the ratings and getting attention no matter what you have to do. He insults Tenay’s lack of creative abilities and says that wrestling has to evolve. Tenay brings up what really matters, asking if Russo takes any responsibility for killing WCW. He goes into a bunch of things that WCW did and complains about Russo’s ideas. Tenay even brings up specific audience and ratings numbers, which Russo doesn’t believe.

We finally move back to this promotion and Jeff Jarrett winning the World Title, with Russo ruining the moment. This sends Russo into a rant about how wrestling needs to be saved or Vince McMahon will own everything. And with that, Russo walks off. This was all of the inside baseball stuff that only Russo cares about as we rehash stuff from other companies that have nothing to do with what we’re seeing here. In other words, it’s very Russo as the fans wonder why they’re not watching wrestling instead.

Opening sequence.

Here is SEX to get things going, with the camera panning up and down Desire in a way that would have Jerry Lawler thinking it was a bit too obvious. Russo actually stands on a soap box and says this whole thing is about himself and Jeff Jarrett. They’re not the NWO so either step up or join them (sounds rather NWOish to me). Instead here is Percy Pringle to interrupt, saying he has known Russo longer than anyone. He remembers Russo begging him for an interview back in the day and now Russo has snuck his way inside.

Pringle says he has been around for a long time…and Russo might be right. He wants on the team but Russo yells at him for “cutting promos about me behind my back”. SEX beats Pringle down, even breaking the soap box over his head. Jorge Estrada tries to make a save and gets put through a table. Jeff Jarrett runs in with a chair for the real save. So yes, Russo and Jarrett are the big stars all over again.

Commentary runs down the card.

Tag Team Titles: America’s Most Wanted vs. Divine Storm

For the sake of simplicity, James Storm is “James” and Quiet Storm is “Quiet”. Divine Storm, with Trinity, is challenging and jump the champs from behind to start fast. That doesn’t go well as AMW (with a belt still on) clears the ring and Storm is backdropped onto the challengers at ringside. We settle down to James being sent outside, where Trinity snaps off a hurricanrana from the apron.

Back in and Divine’s tornado DDT gets two but he misses a top rope backsplash. Harris gets the tag to run both of them over without much trouble but Divine hits a big dive to take out both champs on the floor. Trinity moonsaults onto the pile and a super cutter gets two on Harris back inside. Divine is sent outside though and the Death Sentence finishes Quiet to retain the titles at 7:07.

Rating: C+. Divine Storm is the definition of a midcard team and while they weren’t the biggest threat to win the titles, it was better than throwing together a pair of random guys. This was a relatively easy win for AMW, even with Trinity out there as TNA’s answer to Lita. It’s working well enough, as Trinity certainly looks like a star.

Video on AJ Styles, showcasing his talents and pointing out that he turned down Vince Russo last week.

Here is Styles for a chat. He’s not with anyone and he wants the World Title. Cue Ron Killings, who says he’s next in line for the title and Styles doesn’t get a shot until he goes through Killings. Ring the bell.

Ron Killings vs. AJ Styles

Killings strikes away to start and grabs some armdrags to put him on the floor. Back in and a sunset flip gives Killings two but Styles hits what might have been a low blow. Styles nips up for a hurricanrana but Killings snaps off a Downward Spiral. That’s shrugged off though and Styles kicks him in the head, setting up a chinlock. A rather delayed suplex gives Styles two and he hits some shots in the corner.

Styles misses a dropkick and gets rolled up for a fast two, only to come back with a Muta Lock. Killings gets out and drops a headbutt to the ribs to start the comeback. They both go up top with Styles loading up a top rope superplex, which is reversed into…some kind of a crash to leave them both down. Cue Mortimer Plumtree for a distraction though, allowing David Flair to run in and hit Killings with his mystery bag to give Styles the pin at 8:49.

Rating: B-. I am absolutely for Styles moving up to the main event scene as you can absolutely see the talent in him. The World Title picture absolutely needs some younger blood and Styles is the right man for that spot. Beating a former World Champion is a good way to go and hopefully we’re on the way to Styles getting into the title picture soon.

Jeff Jarrett, with the Road Warriors, tells AJ Styles to get in line. Jarrett: “Now, let’s talk about Vince Russo.” He wants the Warriors with him in a six man tag tonight against Triple X (Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper/Low Ki, as I don’t think they had officially debuted the name before). Naturally the Warriors are in.

Back in the arena, AJ Styles demands that Mike Tenay get him a World Title shot. Then he sits in the ring until he gets said shot, apparently thinking Tenay is that speedy. Instead he gets Larry Zbyszko of all people (the fans certainly like having him here) and calls Styles a fool. Zbyszko can’t stand Vince Russo and doesn’t want Styles to sell his soul to Russo. Styles tries to insist that he’s not with Russo but gets cut off over and over. Styles is ready to fight Zbyszko but it’s broken up in a hurry.

We look at Desire attacking Goldilocks and getting in a fight with Athena as a result.

Desire vs. April Hunter

Hunter jumps her to start and gets sent outside without much trouble. A side slam puts Desire down but she hits…I think a bulldog? Desire hits a dropkick but Hunter elbows her in the face. Sonny Siaki crotches Hunter on top though and Desire, eventually, jumps up for a hurricanrana and the pin at 2:49.

Post match Athena runs in for the brawl with Desire, who beats Athena down without much trouble.

A masked man, who is apparently Mr. Wrestling IV, arrives.

We look back at Mike Sanders’ debut last week. Yes we’re bragging about this one.

Here is Sanders for a chat. Apparently he’s SEX’s talent scout but he wants to talk about Vince Russo’s issues. Russo’s problems aren’t with wrestling, but rather with legends. It’s a difference of philosophy, which brings out Jerry Lynn. The challenge is on and we’re ready to go.

Jerry Lynn vs. Mike Sanders

Lynn starts fast and grabs a quick middle rope bulldog, followed by a baseball slide to send Sanders into the barricade. Back in and Lynn hammers away but here is Ron Harris for a distraction. Sanders gets in a cheap shot to take over and we hit the chinlock. Lynn avoids a Lionsault though and Lynn makes the rather quick comeback.

A high crossbody gets two but Harris pulls the referee out. Sanders’ swinging neckbreaker gets two from another referee but Lynn is back with a sunset bomb. Harris pulls the referee again but here is Dusty Rhodes to take Harris out (because the Harris Twins were invincible for months but Rhodes is different). A TKO finishes Sanders at 7:45.

Rating: C+. Ok there is at least a bit of sanity around here, as there was a grand total of no reason to have Sanders beat a star like Lynn. Sanders is not someone who is known for what he can do in the ring and Lynn is one of the more consistent stars around here. The good guys have to win something around here and this was a good choice.

Post match Rhodes says he’s glad that a man like Vince Russo is mad at him. Rhodes says we can’t lose tradition and talks about knowing wrestling was real when he was sitting in a cheap hotel room and seeing the NWA World Title sticking out of his bag. You do need change, but you need to respect the past as well. Do you want things like Ricky Steamboat wrestling for an hour seven nights a week or a midget doing things in a trashcan? Everyone has a choice so make your decision: professional wrestling or a midget with a trashcan.

Cue Russo, who says Rhodes never thanked him for inventing Goldust and making his son a star. Russo brags about getting to shave Ric Flair’s head bald and now he wants to slap the birthmark off of Rhodes’ gut. Rhodes invites him in to do it but Russo puts the two of them in tonight’s six man, making it an eight man instead. Oh but you know that’s not enough though, as Russo says that if his team wins, all of the titles are on the line next week. This was another case of “Russo writes himself to be on the level of legends”.

Jason Cross vs. David Young

They go to the mat to start and Cross grabs a hurricanrana as commentary ignores the match to talk about the main event (how WCW of them). They go outside with Young backdropping him against the ropes for two, which has commentary ignoring the match even further. Cross’ reverse DDT gets two and a flipping legdrop connects for the same. Young gets in a clothesline for two of his own but misses a charge in the corner. Cross gets crotched on top and here is Bob Armstrong to say the eight man tag is on. Crossfire misses though and a spinebuster gives Young the pin at 5:22.

Rating: C. Oh yeah this was straight out of Nitro’s NWO days, with almost no paying attention to the wrestling whatsoever. This was nothing more than a way to have something going on in the ring while commentary talked about what really mattered. It’s not a bad match, but it meant absolutely nothing and that was beyond obvious.

Post Bob Armstrong argues with his son Scott as Konnan gets in the ring to beat down both guys (further emphasizing how unimportant they were here). The NWA President (who was shown in the crowd during the match) orders him out and of course Konnan obeys. If nothing else, the President had a snazzy hat.

X-Division Title: Sonny Siaki vs. Kid Kash

Siaki, with Desire, is defending and Kash has Trinity with him. Kash clears him out to start and snaps off some armdrags back inside. Back up and Siaki knocks him to the floor, with Kash getting the better of a chop off. They head inside again with Kash getting suplexed into the corner for two. A sitout piledriver plants Kash for two but he runs the corner for a tornado DDT. Desire makes the save so Siaki is back up with the swinging neckbreaker to retain at 4:51.

Rating: C+. Well, at least commentary paid attention to them. It’s better than nothing but at the same time they only had so long to really do much. Siaki continues to work well as the villain you want to see get hit in the face, with Kash an acceptable enough challenger. At the same time, Trinity continues to look like a star, which hopefully goes anywhere.

Post match Trinity beats up Desire without much trouble.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Triple X/Vince Russo vs. Road Warriors/Jeff Jarrett/Dusty Rhodes

If Triple X and Russo win, SEX get title shots next week. Russo stays on the floor (He’s going to get the pin isn’t he?) as Jarrett clotheslines and backdrops Daniels to start. Animal comes in to shove Ki around without much trouble and counters Ki’s springboard into a sitout powerbomb. Skipper gets in a cheap shot but Animal suplexes Skipper and Ki at the same time. It’s back to Hawk for a dropkick to Skipper but Jarrett gets tripped down. Jarrett fights up again but gets taken to the floor for a lot of choking.

Back in and more choking ensues in the corner, followed by a front facelock from Ki. Animal gets the unseen tag so it’s off to Skipper for his own front facelock. Russo adds a slap from the apron and everything breaks down, meaning Jarrett’s small package doesn’t even get a count. Back up and a springboard kick Hart Attack sets up Daniels’ Boston crab on Jarrett. That’s broken up and they clothesline each other, allowing the tags to Rhodes and Skipper. Everything breaks down and Rhodes wants Russo (and his helmet). Cue Mr. Wrestling IV to hit Rhodes in the back with a chain though and Skipper gets the pin at 11:32.

Rating: C-. Well, Russo didn’t get the pin and I’m sure that’s good enough for everything. Russo barely did anything here so we’ll call that a plus, as it was basically a six man tag with Rhodes not doing much until the end. At least you had the other wrestlers doing ok, but dang Russo sucks the life out of everything he does.

And it’s…freaking Nikita Koloff of all people. Russo celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: D+. As usual, the wrestling isn’t awful but it’s also pretty much not the point whatsoever. SEX is as NWO as you can get without being in black and white and Russo is getting to do everything he wants. He’s the entire focal point of the show with everyone either talking about him or joining him. It wasn’t the worst show, but that might be about as good as it gets. Oh and Koloff is here now because….well I’m guessing he was available.

Results
America’s Most Wanted b. Divine Storm – Death Sentence to Storm
AJ Styles b. Ron Killings – Bag to the head
Desire b. April Hunter – Hurricanrana
Jerry Lynn b. Mike Sanders – TKO
David Young b. Jason Cross – Spinebuster
Sonny Siaki b. Kid Kash – Swinging neckbreaker
Vince Russo/Triple X b. Dusty Rhodes/Road Warriors/Jeff Jarrett – Chain shot to Rhodes

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #27
Date: January 8, 2003
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

They actually made it to another year. That’s hard to fathom after some of the insanity that has taken place around here, including last….well year now. In that case, that was because the Road Warriors of all people debuted, but that wasn’t how things wrapped up. No no, we’re also getting a David Flair Era around here, because of course we are. Let’s get to it.

Naturally the opening video is about Vince Russo, who most people hate, but he has his own set of followers. And yes, we have a stable war people. And and, to the shock of no one, the main star on the other side is Jeff Jarrett. There’s something about the Road Warriors and David Flair too, but the real story is that Russo got to use an ax to destroy the set. Because that’s what a real man would do.

Opening sequence.

Mike Tenay is in the ring to start, along with Jerry Lynn, Ron Killings and America’s Most Wanted. Apparently the NWA takes Vince Russo’s actions very seriously so we have the past, present and future here. The past includes longtime promoter Eddie Marlin (and Jeff Jarrett’s grandfather) Sara Lee and Corsica Joe. The future is in the form of Chris Santel and Chris Vaughn, who have worked their way up from the independents to being “staff” here (shockingly, neither ever did anything in wrestling).

Finally you have the present in the ring, including…well Tenay actually. Tenay talks about how Russo was around Tenay and Bobby Heenan, saying he could make anyone a wrestler. He wants the fans to write in and help win the war against Russo. Unless I’m forgetting it, have we ever gotten a reason WHY Russo is here? Or is he just showing up? Couldn’t like, the company do something to stop him?

Anyway here are Russo and company through the crowd, with Russo saying he has friends in high places, which is why he gets to come around every week. Russo insults Tenay and says he’s here to save this business because it is at an all time low (always a great thing to say about the promotion you’re in). He blames people like Tenay for screwing things up and says the ratings were at an all time high when he was on top.

Russo yells at the four wrestlers in the ring, including saying that “African American rappers are a dime a dozen pal and half of them suck anyway” and making what sounds like a gay joke about Chris Harris. He complains about the new people and legends at ringside but Lee gets in the ring to flip him off. The brawl is on, with Jeff Jarrett and the Road Warriors running in for the save. Sports Entertainment Xtreme retreats to their dressing room, which is absolutely a thing and there is absolutely a reason the TNA guys don’t go in there. I’m not sure what that reason is but oh well.

David Young/Tony Mamaluke vs. EZ Money/Kid Kash

Young and Mamaluke jump them from behind to start and that gets them absolutely nowhere. Kash gives Young the always good looking slingshot hurricanrana and it’s a double backdrop to Mamaluke. The old Rockers’ double leg flip doesn’t quite work so it’s a double gutbuster to put Mamaluke down again instead. A spinwheel kick gives Money two and a running Blockbuster gets the same.

It’s back to Kash for an assisted tornado DDT but Young comes back in for a nice spear. A Whisper In The Wind gives Kash a quick two but Mamaluke drops him with a clothesline. That means a bearhug from Young, who absolutely does not look like your traditional bearhugger. Mamaluke comes in for one of his own and that’s just sad looking. Kash easily powers over to Money for the tag and house is cleaned, leaving Kash and Mamaluke to…both miss missile dropkicks at the same time.

Money superkicks Young and hits a frog splash for two as Mamaluke makes the save. Mamaluke sends Money outside, only for Money to try a slingshot lariat. That’s countered into…well I think it was a spinebuster but it’s more like an awkward slam. Young picks him up and hits a regular spinebuster for the pin at 7:43.

Rating: C+. There wasn’t much to this but it felt like a way to have a bunch of people doing stuff to warm up the crowd. Well reheat the crowd after they had everything going on at the beginning to grind them down. Unfortunately this felt like it was just filler, as tends to be the case with the opening matches in recent weeks. Not bad at all, but just kind of there.

Post match Christopher Daniels, Low Ki and Elix Skipper run in for the big beatdown. Skipper praises the three of them as the best part of SEX but here is Jeff Jarrett to run in and clear the ring. Jarrett wants to face all of them one on one and tells them to get Vince Russo out here.

Bob Armstrong wants the locker room to stand up for the war against Russo. Jerry Lynn and Ron Killings are both in. Armstrong gets a phone call and tells someone that he needs them here now.

X-Division Title: Sonny Siaki vs. Jason Cross

Siaki, with Desire, is defending. They go with the grappling to start and trade some early rollups. The near falls lead us to a standoff and Cross offers a handshake, earning him a right hand into the corner. Cross leg lariats him out to the apron and then out to the floor, where a corkscrew dive connects. Desire offers a distraction though and gets kicked down, allowing Siaki to drop him throat first on the top rope.

An overhead belly to belly sends Cross crashing into the corner but he comes back with a spinning kick to the face. That’s enough for Siaki to crash outside again, where a big dive connects. Siaki is right back up with a swing into the steps and they head back inside. Cross swings into a DDT to put Siaki down but he’s right back up with a pumphandle sitout piledriver for two, as Cross grabs the rope. The referee gets bumped (of course) and Cross is back up with Crossfire. Desire crotches him against the post though and Siaki gets a small package to retain at 8:13.

Rating: C+. This was similar to the opener, in that they were doing some entertaining stuff and the Crossfire looked good, but of course they had to do something screwy. Cross is a pretty generic high flier so he’s fine as a choice to build up as a one off title challenger. Siaki was quite a good heel when he was getting all cocky and obsessed with himself, but why do that when you can have him be obsessed with being on Russo’s team?

Post match Bob Armstrong comes out to say not so fast but Vince Russo comes in to say the people are here to see SEX. Cross is in no condition to restart the match, as the SEX beats him down. Russo mocks Bob by pointing out that his son Brian works would rather be with Russo than his father (because we’re redoing the Ric/David Flair thing) but here are Ron Killings and Jerry Lynn. Ring the bell.

Ron Killings/Jerry Lynn vs. BG James/Don Harris

Killings hits a big dive onto Harris to start, leaving the other two to crash out to the floor. A chair shot leaves both of them down as Harris and Killings go into the crowd. Harris’ chair doesn’t do much to Killings as Lynn comes back with a spinning crossbody to James. The slightly busted open James is taken down again with a middle rope Stratusfaction.

Harris is back to pull Lynn down from the apron and we’re back into a regular match. It’s off to Harris with a big boot and a double back elbow puts Lynn down again. Lynn manages to reverse a double suplex into a double DDT, allowing the tag off to Killings. House is quickly cleaned, with Killings trying a 450, but landing knees first on James’ ribs. Cue….freaking Mike Sanders of all people to jump Killings for the DQ at 6:30.

Rating: C. A good chunk of this match was spent in the brawl before we got into things, because why wrestle when you can not wrestle? Especially in a thrown together tag match like this one. The ending is hardly a surprise, as Sanders might have been only about two years removed from being in WCW…but it’s MIKE SANDERS. He wasn’t that interesting in the first place but here he is as we get anyone who was around in any fashion before.

Post match the big beatdown is on as Vince Russo looks on approvingly from the crowd.

Mike Tenay sat down with Percy Pringle, who talked about his history in wrestling and how he worked through the territories and managed a bunch of talented stars. Tenay asks if Pringle prefers professional wrestling or sports entertainment and he won’t really give an answer. As for managing someone here…yeah he’s not answering that either.

Tag Team Titles: America’s Most Wanted vs. Disciples Of The New Church

The Disciples, with James Mitchell and Belladonna, are defending. AMW jumps them to start fast and, naturally, the brawl heads outside. They’re all sent into various things, with the ring mat being peeled back and Harris being suplexed onto the concrete. Slash chokes him with a camera cable and hammers away before actually bothering to get back inside. A spinning Razor’s Edge toss gets two on Storm and it’s off to Lee for a big boot.

Harris’ throat is snapped across the top rope and a comeback bid is cut off with a DDT. A double clothesline gets two on Storm and we hit the chinlock. Storm fights up and hits an enziguri, which sends Lee into the referee. There’s no one to see the tag so the beating continues, with Storm managing to double DDT his way out of a double suplex (he must have been watching the previous match).

Harris gets the tag and cleans house, even with Slash accidentally throwing powder into Lee’s face. A spear gives Harris two and he grabs a Sharpshooter, with Mitchell coming in with a cheap shot to break it up. Storm cleans house but gets spinebustered for a quick two. Harris reverses Lee’s Tombstone into one of his own so Slash wedges a chair in the corner. Storm is catapulted into said chair for two but Harris is back up for the Death Sentence onto the chair to get the titles back at 14:17.

Rating: C+. Another wild match here, which kind of takes away the impact that this one had. AMW getting the titles back is a fine way to go as they’re clearly the top team in the promotion. The Disciples were fine as monsters to build up and then beat right back, as having them do this in a wild brawl is a good way to go. Just stop having all of the matches be like this or it doesn’t quite work as well.

Bob Armstrong is too busy to talk.

Curt Hennig vs. David Flair

This is an ax handle on a pole match, because of course it is. Hennig mocks Flair before the match and says he knows Flair doesn’t have what it takes. Flair charges at him and gets beaten up but manages to catch Hennig going for the handle. A Hennig necksnap drops Hennig and Flair stomps away. Flair’s attempt to get the handle is countered with an electric chair and Hennig shoves down one of the staff members and gets the handle to win at 2:38.

Post match Hennig beats up Flair, who comes back with something in a sack to knock Hennig silly. Hennig gets up and chases Flair off.

Goldilocks tries to interview Flair, who walks right past her. Desire comes out of the locker room and takes issue with Goldilocks talking to her boys. There’s a new woman in town (notice the camera panning to Desire’s chest) and she jumps Goldilocks to start the brawl. Cue Athena (I think) to brawl with Desire, which is broken up.

Commentary does their big preview of next week but Mike Sanders runs in to scream at Tenay about his disrespect of Vince Russo.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Christopher Daniels

Non-title and the first of three matches for Jarrett. Daniels is catapulted to the floor to start but comes back in with a leg lariat. Jarrett gets choked in the corner but tries a quick Figure Four, which is reversed in record time. That’s broken up with a rope break so Daniels goes with an enziguri for two instead. Some rams into the buckle wake Jarrett up and he slugs away before getting a boot up in the corner. The Stroke finishes Daniels at 4:38.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here and that made for kind of a rushed match. At the same time, it’s nice to have Daniels getting some ring time against a bigger name. Daniels hasn’t gotten much of a chance to showcase himself thus far and it’s a good sign to see him facing the World Champion, even in a losing effort.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Elix Skipper

Still non-title and Skipper jumps him from behind to start fast. Skipper takes it outside for a toss over the barricade, where Jarrett hits him in the head with a chair. Back in and Skipper grabs a sleeper for a good while until Jarrett fights up. The comeback is on but Daniels gets up on the apron, only to clothesline Skipper by mistake. Jarrett clears Daniels out and pins Skipper at 6:10 (10:59 total).

Rating: C. They had a bit more time but a good chunk of the match was spent brawling in the crowd and on a sleeper. Skipper was someone who could do some insanely athletic things in the ring but he wasn’t really getting the chance to showcase that here. At least he lost to an error though, so it certainly could have been worse.

Jeff Jarrett vs. Low Ki

Last match and last non-title. Ki screams into Jarrett’s face to start and gives him some facewashes. A triangle choke gives Ki two and he grabs the chinlock. Jarrett fights out and sends him outside for a toss over the announcers’ table. Ki fights back and slingshots into a dragon sleeper back inside to put Jarrett in trouble again.

Jarrett gets in the ropes for the break but Ki kicks the leg to to block the Figure Four. Daniels and Skipper come back out and get knocked to the floor so Ki fires off even more kicks. For some reason Daniels gets on the apron again, allowing Jarrett to hit Ki low and hit the Stroke but Skipper comes in for the DQ at 7:51 (18:58 total).

Rating: C+. Is it just me or did Daniels look like the biggest loser in this whole thing? He got pinned clean in the first match, he caused Skipper to get pinned and his mistake almost had Low Ki lose as well. That’s not the greatest presentation of one person and hopefully he gets to redeem himself. Ki looked like a killer here, but that only matters so much when Jarrett keeps popping up like a monster. You know, as usual.

Post match the big beatdown is on until the Road Warriors make the save. AJ Styles runs in to beat up the Warriors and SEX joins in for the beating. Styles leaves on his own though and seems to be more anti-Jarrett than pro-Russo. Jarrett is put on a table but Dusty Rhodes runs in for the save to end the show.

Overall Rating: D. The wrestling was ok for the most part with nothing that really stood out. What did stand out was how Russo is instantly the most important person on the show, along with Jarrett as a distant second. You have Russo as this big tough guy and everyone hates him but no one can touch him because he’s so awesome and manly. The show isn’t fun, mainly because everything is flying around for no particular reason other than making Russo look good. There’s an idea of getting heat, but you also run into the chances of ruining the show, which is pretty much what they’ve done with Russo.

Results
David Young/Tony Mamaluke b. EZ Money/Kid Kash – Spinebuster to Money
Sonny Siaki b. Jason Cross – Small package
Ron Killings/Jerry Lynn b. BG James/Don Harris via DQ when Mike Sanders interfered
America’s Most Wanted b. Disciples Of The New Church – Death Sentence to Slash
Curt Hennig b. David Flair – Hennig pulled down the ax handle
Jeff Jarrett b. Christopher Daniels – Stroke
Jeff Jarrett b. Elix Skipper – Flying clothesline
Jeff Jarrett b. Low Ki via DQ when Elix Skipper interfered

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

Rebellion 2026
Date: April 11, 2026
Location: Wolstein Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re already back with a full pay per view after Sacrifice a few weeks ago. Hopefully this show’s main event doesn’t end in about two minutes due to an injury. This time around, Mike Santana is defending against Eddie Edwards due to the Feast Or Fired contract, plus the Hardys defending the Tag Team Titles against the System. Let’s get to it.

Pre-Show: Ryan Nemeth vs. BDE

Before the match, Nemeth brings up being from Cleveland and then reveals Pittsburgh Steelers (Cleveland Browns’ big rivals) gear. BDE jumps him during his latest batch of insults and knocks him to the floor. A springboard high crossbody connects on the way back inside but Nemeth gets in a knockdown of his own.

Some right hands on the mat set up a neckbreaker for two and we hit the chinlock on BDE. That’s broken up and the springboard cutter gives BDE two of his own. A DDT gives Nemeth the same but BDE hits a jumping enziguri. The frog splash connects, only to send Nemeth outside. Nemeth Stunners him over the top rope though, setting up a jumping Downward Spiral to finish BDE at 5:00.

Rating: C. This was the right kind of opener as it gives the fans a reason to get annoyed, though BDE could have gotten his first singles win here, just to pop the fans. Either way, it wasn’t like they were out there very long and the match was a bunch of entertaining spots. For a quick pre-show outing, they did fine.

And now, the show proper.

Charity Evonna sings the National Anthem.

X-Division Title: Leon Slater vs. Cedric Alexander

Slater is defending. They start fast with neither being able to get very far. Slater misses a slingshot dive but Alexander can’t quite send him into the steps. Back in and a springboard high crossbody gives Slater two and he hammers away in the corner. Alexander is sent to the apron, where he grabs an STO to take over. Back in and a German suplex puts Slater down, followed by a basement dropkick for two.

Alexander goes outside but stops to yell at the crowd, allowing Slater to hit a dropkick through the ropes. They get back in where Alexander hits another German suplex and we hit the chinlock. That’s broken up so Alexander rakes the eyes to put him right back down. A leg lariat gives Slater a breather so Alexander rolls outside, with Slater hitting the big running flip dive.

Alexander probably should have known that was coming as it’s kind of Slater’s thing but oh well. Back in and a standing Sliced bread Gives Slater two more but he misses the 450. Slater charges into a Michinoku Driver for two and Alexander crotches him on the top. A clothesline brings Slater back down and Alexander gives him a brainbuster onto the turnbuckle. The Lumbar Check gets two so the frustrated Alexander goes outside to grab the title. That takes too long though and Slater grabs a Styles Clash, setting up the Swanton 450 to retain at 14:23.

Rating: B. This was in the “of course it’s going to be good” category as Alexander can work well with anyone and Slater is on an absolute tear at the moment (ok several moments). At the same time, we’re at the point where it’s hard to imagine Slater actually losing the title, which is going to become an issue down the line. That being said, opening with the X-Division has worked for years and that’s still the case, so continuing the tradition worked well.

We run down the card.

Mike Santana, with his face painted, is ready to defend the World Title again tonight. Alisha Edwards comes in to offer him some tips on facing Eddie Edwards tonight.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Elijah

Elijah chases him to the floor to start and hits a big boot back inside. A jumping clothesline lets Elijah send him chest first onto the apron and Old School connects. Back up and Kazarian German suplexes him into the corner and a slingshot hurricanrana on the floor drops Elijah again.

The slingshot legdrop gets two back inside so Kazarian grabs the strap from Elijah’s guitar. That’s enough to swat Elijah out of the air and a clothesline gives has down again. Kazarian’s Old School is broken up with a slam though and an electric chair powerbomb gets two more.

The jumping knee knocks Kazarian out of the air for another near fall and Elijah straps him down for a change. The guitar is brought in but Kazarian catches him on the apron with a slingshot cutter onto said guitar. An annoyed Elijah pops up and grabs the broken guitar but the referee takes it away, allowing Kazarian to get in a low blow and rollup for the pin at 12:26.

Rating: C+. This wasn’t the most thrilling feud when it started and their match here wasn’t much better. It’s not that it’s bad, but it’s just kind of…there. Kazarian winning is good enough and the ending likely keeps things going for a more violent rematch. I would think a recent World Champion would get something better than this, but Elijah goes from a bit less than serious to a featured player rather quickly so it’s hard to say if this was a big step down for Kazarian or not.

Stacks says he’ll help Arianna Grace retain the Knockouts Title.

We recap Moose vs. Agent Zero. Moose has been going after Order 4 and Zero is their enforcer. Hoss fight time.

Moose vs. Agent Zero

Alisha Edwards is here with Moose, who gets jumped by Zero to start fast. Moose gets sent into the steps for the opening bell but he’s able to send Zero outside. The dive connects and it’s already time for the table. They fight on the apron with neither getting the better of things so it’s time to go back inside. Moose kicks him to the floor but makes the mistake of following, where Zero hits a powerbomb into the post.

Back in and they trade forearms until Moose knocks him into the corner for a top rope superplex. Moose nips up…and Zero does the same, only to get clotheslined to the apron. The spear through the table crushes Zero and they both have to beat the count. Back in and Zero wins a slugout, setting up a swinging Downward Spiral for two. Moose fist pumps his way back up and hits a release Rock Bottom into a backsplash.

Zero is able to send him outside though, only for Moose to catch his dive. That means a powerbomb onto the steps so cue the Good Hands, with Moose having to save Edwards. The pump kick sends Skyler to the floor but Edwards crashes down too and hurts her ankle. Moose carries her off and gets kicked in the face by Zero, making her drop Edwards in a crash. The chokebomb sends Moose onto the apron and a chokebomb gives Zero the pin at 10:47.

Rating: B. This was about two big strong men hitting each other until one of them made the mistake of showing some humanity and it cost him. Zero is starting to look more and more like a monster and beating one of the most decorated stars in TNA history is only going to help him. I could go for seeing what they have with Zero, as he’s doing rather well around here thus far.

We recap the Elegance Brand vs. ODB/Mickie James/Taryn Terrell. Basically Ash By Elegance has been running her mouth about various legends so the legends are here to go after her. The biggest issue here: Ash being called a MARK. It’s just going to be in a weapons based match to hide some limitations.

Elegance Brand vs. ODB/Mickie James/Taryn Terrell

Hardcore Country rules. James brings out the Mark Bucket, much to Ash’s annoyance. This doesn’t sit well with Ash, who rants a lot as the Brand’s shirts all say I AM NOT A MARK. It’s a brawl to start with the Brand’s anti-mark signs being destroyed. That lets all six throw in weapons and the legends all hit Thesz presses.

The Brand goes after…I think a celebrity in the first row so they get buckets put on their heads for a ramming together. Back in and Terrell suplexes Heather onto a pile of lollipops for two because that’s a thing here. The suckers are thrown into the crowd and the legends hit a bunch of baseball slides. James and Terrell are knocked down on the floor, leaving ODB to get beaten up with kendo sticks.

Back up and Ash is sent into a wheelbarrow full of hay and Terrell beats on her with a big lollipop. Mr. Elegance is sent face first into a cooler of pickle juice (because Mr. Elegance’s loins are pickle-esque) as I try to figure out what in the world I’m watching. The Personal Concierge is put in a pickle suit and Terrell hits a big dive onto the floor. Back in and Mr. Elegance clotheslines ODB, who uses a pair of tongs to grab him low. Ash is up with a DDT to ODB and a triple cover gives the Brand the pin at 10:55.

Rating: D-. What in the world was this? Hay, pickles, a pickle costume, tongs and whatever Mr. Elegance is supposed to be, all in one. I get the idea of having the goofy villains tick off the legends and then cheat to beat them, but this was a bunch of comedy stuff going on for way too long and nothing resembling a match for the most part. They had what could have been a somewhat serious story here but instead went all over the place and it was pretty much a disaster.

Post match the winners celebrate by imitating ODB’s signature taunt but Tommy Dreamer and Carlos Silva interrupt. The reason? ODB is going into the Hall Of Fame. AND THEY PICK THE MOMENT AFTER SHE LOST IN A PICKLE MATCH TO TELL HER! ODB thanks the fans and she’ll see us at Bound For Glory, maybe even with the food truck.

Elayna Black wants the Knockouts Title.

AJ Francis vs. Nic Nemeth

Francis took Nemeth out at Sacrifice and Nemeth, the hometown star, is back for revenge. As a bonus, Nemeth has former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar in his corner. Francis actually hits a superkick for two at the bell but misses a splash in the corner, allowing Nemeth to hammer away. The running DDT is blocked though and Nemeth crashes down to the floor.

A right hand knocks Nemeth out of the air for six and Francis hits a running knee in the corner. Nemeth elbows hits way up but collapses on a fireman’s carry attempt. Back up and Nemeth hits the running DDT, followed by the ten elbows. Now the fireman’s carry works, with Nemeth hitting an AA for two more. The superkick is countered with a spear to give Francis two but the chokeslam is countered into a Fameasser (that looked good) to give Nemeth the same.

Francis is back up and puts him on top, where Nemeth grabs a super Danger Zone…for two. Dang that should have been the pin. Francis grabs a chair but the referee takes it away, only for Francis to hit the referee. Kosar gets in the ring for the standoff but KC Navarro (Francis’ former partner) interrupts for a distraction. That means a chair shot from Kosar to set up the Danger Zone to give Nemeth the pin at 14:30.

Rating: B-. I’ve seen far worse than this, with Nemeth doing well as the hometown star and Kosar being there for the football pop. Nemeth knows how to wrestle this style rather well, while Francis has gotten a lot better in recent months. He’s still not exactly good, but he knows how to wrestle like a big man. I liked this more than I was expecting, though I’ve always liked Nemeth better as a good guy.

We recap Lei Ying Lee challenging Arianna Grace for the Knockouts Title. Grace is the undeserving champion and Lee wants the title back. Pretty simple indeed.

Knockouts Title: Lei Ying Lee vs. Arianna Grace

Grace is defending and Xia Brookside and Stacks are the seconds. Lee dropkicks her down to start and hammers away in the corner so Grace bails outside. Stacks’ distraction lets Grace take over, with a swinging neckbreaker getting two back inside. Brookside calls Stacks out on the cheating and he’s quickly ejected, leaving Grace all alone.

An exploder suplex gives Lee two and a Blockbuster connects for the same, meaning it’s time for the Warrior’s Way. Grace rakes the eyes to break that up but Lee tries it again, this time planting Grace down. The cover…is broken up though as Brookside puts the foot on the rope. Brookside pulls Lee outside and lays her out, allowing Grace to hit a running knee for the pin at 8:50.

Rating: C+. This was about the turn and really, that has been an obvious twist for weeks. That’s not a bad thing though, as Lee and Brookside were only an ok team in the first place. It also lets Grace escape with the title again, which should set up a big title change down the line. This didn’t feel like the biggest match but they went in the right direction with the result.

Here is Eric Young for a chat. He’s tired of being here but he’s heard that EC3 is here and wants him out here for an explanation of why he isn’t a nepo baby. Cue EC3 (first time in nine years) to clothesline Young outside and challenge him for Impact. Do they really want to bring up that era of the company’s history?

Slammiversary is coming to Boston.

We recap Mustafa Ali challenging Trey Miguel for the International Title. Ali wants the title and had his goons attack Miguel’s friend Jada Stone. Now Miguel is out to defend her honor and the title.

International Title: Trey Miguel vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali, with Order 4 and in something like robot gear, is challenging. They slug it out and run the ropes to start until Ali grabs a hurricanrana. Back up and Ali’s chops just tick Miguel off so he knocks Ali outside. That means a running step up flip dive, followed by a twisting Destroyer for two back inside. That’s enough to draw the Great Hands to the apron, with Miguel being sent into a cutter from Tasha Steelz.

Ali’s rolling cutter gets two but so does a small package from Miguel. They go outside and Ali loads up the steps, only to take too long and get caught with the running Meteora from the apron onto said steps. Back in and Miguel grabs a German suplex, only to get caught with a DDT. Miguel gives him a spinning DDT for two and a basement dropkick but Ali tries the rolling neckbreaker.

That’s countered with a Stomp for two so Miguel goes up top, only to get caught with a super Spanish Fly. Ali tries the 450 but dives into a cutter to send him outside. Miguel’s suicide tornado DDT sets up the top rope Meteora for two back inside but Steelz offers a distractions. The Great Hands use the helmets from their entrance to knock Miguel silly and the 450 makes Ali champion at 12:36.

Rating: B. Some of those dives were excellent as these two are able to turn up the dial with the best of them. It’s great to see Ali get some more gold, which is vastly overdue and hopefully moves him closer to the main event scene. Granted that feels like something that should have happened a long time ago, but at least it’s a step. I’m curious to see what happens to Miguel, who is far too talented to just get lost in the shuffle.

Lei Ying Lee is rather emotional over Xia Brookside’s betrayal.

It’s back to the Undead Realm for the Abyss/James Mitchell reunion. Rosemary leaves them alone but we cut to Tessa Blanchard wandering around. Back to Mitchell, who apologizes to Abyss for everything. Abyss thanks him for being there for all those years and we hear about some of the times they were unstoppable together. Mitchell talks about wanting to be a mad scientist when he grew up and thanks Abyss for making it possible. They love each other and Abyss disappears. To Be Continued.

We recap the Hardys vs. the System. Well not really as there isn’t much to recap but we do talk about it, as the System won a title shot and….now they have it!

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. The System

The banged up Hardys are challenging but elbow Myers down to start. Matt sends him face first into all three buckles, followed by the Side Effect for an early two. Myers rolls outside though and Bronson gets in a cheap shot to take over. Bronson drops an elbow back inside before sitting on Matt’s chest for two. Matt loses his shirt to reveal some taped up ribs, only to counter a spear into the Twist Of Fate.

The tag brings in Jeff to start the comeback but a Boss Man Slam cuts him down. That means Myers’ top rope elbow gets two as everything breaks down. Matt and Myers clothesline each other on the floor and Jeff actually wins a slugout with Bronson. Spinal Destination goes on and Matt is back in for the Plot Twist. The Twist Of Fate sets up the Swanton but Myers pulls Jeff’s bad arm onto the top rope. Matt is sent outside and a superkick/fire thunder driver combination finishes Jeff to give us new champions at 10:24.

Rating: B-. Another good enough match here as the Hardys FINALLY lose the titles. That’s been overdue for a long time but it’s nice to see a fresh team get the belts. At some point you need new blood in the division and this version of the System is new enough. If nothing else, Bronson has looked good in his brief time in TNA so it’s nice to see him getting a title like this.

Moose and Alisha Edwards argue about his loss.

TNA World Title: Eddie Edwards vs. Mike Santana

Edwards, challenging and with the System, is sang/screamed to the ring. The lockup doesn’t go anywhere to start and an exchange of armdrags goes nowhere. The Boston Knee Party misses so Santana hits an elbow to send Edwards outside. Back in and a running shoulder puts him on the floor again but Edwards comes back in with some chops. A clothesline and the tiger bomb give Edwards two and it’s time for both of them to go outside this time.

Santana is fine enough to grab a belly to back drop onto the apron, but Spin The Block hits the post. Edwards starts in on the bad arm, which is sent crashing into the post. An arm crank goes on but Santana is up for a clothesline, only to bang up the arm again. Another knockdown sets up a frog splash to give Santana two so they head out to the apron. Edwards grabs a fisherman’s buster to send Santana outside and it’s time to peel back the mats. Another tiger bomb is loaded up but Santana reverses into a Death Valley Driver. Edwards comes up holding the knee so they get back inside for an exchange of clotheslines

Cue Alisha Edwards on crutches….with Moose following. Moose points to the screen, where we see their argument from earlier, plus some bonus footage of Alisha revealing that she’s faking her injury and is still great with Eddie. Cue the rest of the System to go after Moose but Santana hits a big flip dive. The Boston Knee Party hits Santana for two so Moose gets in for a spear to Eddie for two more. Another Boston Knee Party connects but Santana snaps off Spin The Block to retain at 19:17.

Rating: B-. As much as I love Moose being smart enough to see the most obvious turn in the world coming, there was something missing to keep this match from getting great. That something isn’t exactly a surprise either, as there wasn’t much of a reason for them to be fighting. As usual, there’s something so weak about a guaranteed title match ala the Feast Or Fired stipulation and that was the case (Get it?) again here. It’s not a terrible or even bad match, but it didn’t have a ton of fire because there was no real personal issue between them. Good angle with the Moose stuff, but it didn’t get them over the hump.

Post match Santana nods in appreciation to Moose and celebrates to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. I liked this for the most part, but WOW that six woman tag was another kind of a disaster. The good thing is that’s the only real negative on the show, as most of the matches were more than strong enough. It didn’t have some big must see match, but it did feel like a big time event with multiple title changes. I’m happy enough with the show, as it’s a step up after the mess that was Sacrifice.

Results
Ryan Nemeth b. BDE – Jumping Downward Spiral
Leon Slater b. Cedric Alexander – Swanton 450
Frankie Kazarian b. Elijah – Low blow
Agent Zero b. Moose – Chokebomb
Elegance Brand b. ODB/Mickie James/Taryn Terrell – DDT to ODB
Nic Nemeth b. AJ Francis – Danger Zone
Arianna Grace b. Lei Ying Lee – Running knee to the back of the head
Mustafa Ali b. Trey Miguel – 450
The System b. Hardys – Superkick/fire thunder driver to Jeff
Mike Santana b. Eddie Edwards – Spin The Block

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

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Sacrifice 2026
Date: March 27, 2026
Location: Alario Center, Westwego, Louisiana
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re back with another big show that isn’t quite a pay per view but it’s close enough. The main event certainly feels like it belongs on one of the bigger shows as Mike Santana is defending the World Title against Steve Maclin. That should be enough to carry things but we also have Moose finally getting his hands on Eddie Edwards. Let’s get to it.

Kickoff Show: Ryan Nemeth vs. BDE

Before the match, Nemeth says he wants BDE to play a real game. Like Duck Hunt. Nemeth wrestles him down to start but BDE is up with a springboard crossbody. BDE grabs his phone and records himself doing a dive before sending Nemeth outside. Nemeth gets in a running forearm to the head and sends him into the post, followed by a chinlock. BDE fights up so Nemeth takes him down for the chinlock sequel, only for BDE to fight up again. A reverse layout DDT gives BDE two, followed by the springboard cutter. The frog splash hits raised knees though and Nemeth grabs the tights for the pin at 6:26.

Rating: C. Pretty run of the mill match for BDE here, meaning it was a nice enough collection of spots before he lost to a better star. That’s just kind of what you expect here and it’s not a bad idea. Nemeth is little more than a goof and that’s a good spot for him, even if he isn’t going anywhere else.

Kickoff Show: Jody Threat vs. Tessa Blanchard

Harley Hudson, Myla Grace, Mila Moore and Victoria Crawford are here too. Threat starts fast but a suplex is broken up, allowing Blanchard to start in on her knee. Some elbows to the knee set up some cranking but Threat is back up with some running knees. The running kick to the head sets up a German suplex but the knee is banged up.

A Backstabber out of the corner gives Blanchard two but Threat is back up with a toss powerbomb. Moore puts the foot on the rope though and the seconds get in a fight on the floor. The distraction lets Moore come in with….I believe a shoe to Threat, allowing Blanchard to hit the Buzzsaw DDT for the pin at 6:20.

Rating: C. Another quick and to the point match with the villains cheating to win. That’s kind of the point, though the ending would suggest that the feud isn’t over. At the same time though, Blanchard should be on her way up the card, as she’s more than enough of a star to not be around a title.

Post match the beatdown stays on, with Threat getting choked with some cables.

And now, the show proper.

The opening video is a pretty standard look at the bigger matches on the card.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

X-Division Title: Eric Young vs. Leon Slater

Slater is defending. Young jumps Slater during the entrance and beats him down as the fight heads to ringside. Young pulls Slater’s hood off…and that’s not Slater. Instead here is Slater in the ring for a running flip and they keep brawling on the floor with Slater in control. Back in and the bell rings, with Slater’s Swanton (not the 450 version) connecting for two.

Slater knocks him into the corner and shrugs off a comeback attempt, setting up the handspring elbow for two. They go outside with Slater being sent into the steps but he comes back in with a Styles Clash attempt. That’s broken up with a bite to the leg of all things, leaving Young to hit his own Styles Clash for a near fall. What looks like it was supposed to be a wheelbarrow neckbreaker from the top winds up being more of a belly to back slam for two as Slater is in trouble.

Slater fights up with some forearms but gets dropped with a hard clothesline for two. A neckbreaker gives Young two but he can’t hit the piledriver. Slater is back up with a twisting neckbreaker for two but the Swanton 450 takes too long. Young catches him out of the corner with a Death Valley Driver for two before knocking Slater off the top.

The top rope elbow gives Young two so Slater strikes away, setting up a release Blue Thunder Bomb. Young bails out to the apron so Slater kicks him back inside. A rake to the eyes cuts Slater off though and Young piledrives him on the apron. That’s good for a very close two back inside and (the bleeding) Young can’t believe the kickout. A super piledriver is broken up though and it’s a Styles Clash into the Swanton 450 to retain the title at 15:16.

Rating: B+. Oh that was a sigh of relief as I was worried that they would try something crazy like pushing Young again. Slater continues to look like an absolute star and I can’t imagine him staying out of the World Title scene for the rest of the year. The good thing is they had a heck of a match, with Slater surviving to beat yet another former World Champion. Awesome opener.

The One Man Gang of all people is here.

We run down the rest of the card.

Mike Santana is ready to defend the World Title against Steve Maclin face to face. The title represents the sacrifices that he has made over the years, like missing with his baby girl, to get here as the World Champion. Yes he got Maclin his job back, and as payment, he’s eating Santana’s heart. Santana was fired up here and that worked, as usual.

Home Town Man/Elijah vs. Frankie Kazarian/AJ Francis

Man has quite the entrance, complete with people handing out beads. Elijah works on Kazarian’s arm to start and it’s off to Man for a string of right hands. A middle rope ax handle to the ribs has Kazarian in more trouble and everything breaks down, with the good guys hitting stereo Old Schools. Elijah hits a big running dive to the floor but Francis trips Man down, setting up the Flux Capacitor from Kazarian.

A stomp to the hand has Man down again but he fights out of the corner, allowing the tag back to Elijah to clean house. Kazarian is kicked out of the corner and Francis is sent into it, setting up a spinning electric chair powerbomb to give Elijah two. The rope walk Canadian Destroyer is blocked though and Francis plants Elijah for two more. Francis goes to get the guitar but Elijah takes it away, with Kazarian taking it away from him. Kazarian breaks the guitar on the floor and it’s Down Payment to the Man. Francis is cut off and Fade To Black finishes Man at 11:18.

Rating: C+. Perfectly fine midcard tag match here, with Francis getting to do something different than be his usual bullying self. It was a nice way to mix a pair of feuds into one match and the results were good enough. None of them have a hot feud going at the moment so this is as good of an idea as they had.

The System is ready for Jeff Hardy and Vincent.

Here are Tommy Dreamer and Carlos Silva for a chat. Dreamer talks about his history in this city and everything that it means to him to be here. He wants to bring out someone who is an inspiration to this company, which brings out Chris Bey. That’s quite the nice moment, with Bey talking about the success he has had and the future of this place. With that, he brings out the newest signee: Ricky Sosa, who debuted a few weeks ago. Sosa is happy to be here tonight and this is the moment he’s been working towards for five years. He hits his catchphrases and signs.

We look back at Tessa Blanchard cheating to win on the Kickoff show.

After the match, Mila Moore followed the white rabbit when Havok popped up behind her. Screaming ensued and this is To Be Continued.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

Women’s Title: Arianna Grace vs. Lei Ying Lee vs. Dani Luna

Grace, with Stacks, is defending, Lee (with Xia Brookside) is the former champion and Luna never got a title shot she earned. Luna jumps Lee during the Big Match Intros and Grace tries a quick rollup, which has Luna even angrier. Grace is sent to the floor so Lee dropkicks Luna into the corner. Stacks’ interference doesn’t work and Luna is knocked down on the floor.

Back in and Lee kicks away at Grace but Luna suplexes both of them. Stacks low bridges Luna out to the floor though, with Grace getting two on Lee as Luna dives in for the save. A big boot gives Luna two on Lee but she catches another boot, only for Grace to come back in with a cravate. Grace fisherman’s neckbreakers Luna for two but Lee is back with the Warrior’s Way. Luna makes another save though and everyone is down. Lee Thunderstrucks Grace to the floor but gets caught with a Blue Thunder Bomb for two.

Luna loads Grace up with a super Samoan drop, drawing Stacks up for a distraction. Lee comes back in and German superplexes both of them for two each. Stacks saves Grace from the Warrior’s Way so Brookside cuts him off. Lee dives onto Stacks and Grace before heading back inside for the showdown with Luna. They slug it out until Lee kicks her in the head. Warrior’s Way connects but Stacks breaks it up, allowing Grace to steal the retaining pin at 13:43.

Rating: B-. That’s about the ending I was expecting and that’s not a terrible thing. Ultimately, Grace stealing the pin against what felt like insurmountable odds was a good way to go as there is a long line of people coming after the title. I’m curious to see who comes after the title next, but Grace as the annoying, beatable champion isn’t a bad way to go for her.

Allie gets Mara Sade to follow the White Rabbit until she meets Rosemary. Sade wants her to make Michael B. Jordan appear but is told to let the man have his privacy. Rosemary isn’t about to stab her or send her to something like Wrestle House is she? Rosemary: “RD Evans is rolling over in his grave.” They’ll have a talk after Sade’s match. Again, To Be Continued.

Order 4 vs. Trey Miguel/Jada Stone

Mustafa Ali/Tasha Steelz for Order 4 here. Miguel and Ali start things off with Ali working on the arm. They trade some flips for an early standoff and it’s off to the women. Stone snaps off a quick headscissors to take Steelz down but the men have to break up a brawl. Ali seems impressed with Steelz and we settle down to Ali vs. Stone. This has Ali laughing as he grabs a lockup and swings her around with ease.

Stone is back up with a heck of a DDT to plant Ali, followed by a super hurricanrana to send a bewildered Ali outside. The Great Hands break up a dive so Miguel takes them down with a step up flip dive. Steelz is back up to feed Stone into a hanging DDT onto the floor and the villains take Stone into the corner. Stone fights out though and brings Miguel back in to clean house. Miguel rolls the dice on Ali so it’s back to Steelz to slap him in the face.

Ali kicks Stone down by mistake but Miguel avoids a charge into the corner. Dance With The Devil drops Miguel again so Steelz drops a frog splash for two. Back up and Ali pulls Miguel into a cutter off the top, only for Miguel to come back with a top rope Meteora. Stone comes back in to pick up the pace with a split legged moonsault getting two on Steelz.

Stone’s tornado DDT plants Ali and a Canadian Destroyer sends Ali crashing out to the floor. Ali gets planted again and a corkscrew moonsault gives Stone two. With nothing else working, the Great Hands zip tie Miguel to the ropes so Dancing With The Devil can plant Stone. Ali pulls her up at two and the 450 finishes for Ali at 15:15.

Rating: B-. The idea here was to push Stone as a star but I was having a bit of an issue suspending my disbelief that she was regularly beating up someone of Ali’s size and success. It might work every once in awhile but it was going too long here. That’s especially the case with Ali getting a title shot at Miguel in just over two weeks. It wasn’t a bad match at all and the action was good, but it went too long and that hurt things.

Arianna Grace and Stacks laugh at Lei Ying Lee, with Xia Brookside defending her friend. They argue over their fathers so Santino Marella comes in to make a title match for Impact. Stacks calls Marella a terrible father.

We recap Moose vs. Eddie Edwards. Moose started the System but then got thrown out, prompting him to go after each member of the team. Edwards is the final one to go.

Moose vs. Eddie Edwards

Alisha Edwards is here too and Eddie yells at her before we get started. Alisha takes the kendo stick away from him before the bell so Moose kicks Eddie down. Cue Order 4’s Special Agent Zero to jump Moose for the DQ at 30 seconds. Apparently this is a result of a meeting between Order 4 and the System on the Kickoff Show.

Post match the big beatdown is on, with Alisha yelling at Eddie and Zero.

Mara Sade vs. Elayna Black

No DQ. Sade brings a bedazzled bat with her but Black takes it away to jump start things. They fight to the floor with Sade taking over but Black gets in a kendo stick shot. Black grabs a stop sign, which is kicked into her face. Black winds up crawling underneath the ring but comes back with a chair shot to take over. A stomp gives Black two and it’s already time for a table.

And never mind as Black sends it back underneath the table rather than let the fans be happy. Sade gets up and grabs the bat to swing away but Black enziguris her back down. Black gets a bag of thumbtacks but the Blackout is countered, with Sade sending her into the tacks instead. A slam plants Black onto the tacks and Sade’s moonsault finishes at 9:28.

Rating: C. This didn’t do much for me, as not only was the thumbtacks spot not something I needed to see, but the whole thing didn’t feel like it needed the No DQ at thing. At the same time, I’m not seeing much of the upside in Black. She’s not the worst, but she doesn’t feel like the most natural in the ring. Maybe this just wasn’t their stipulation, as it really didn’t click.

We talk about the World Title match.

We recap Jeff Hardy/Vincent vs. the System. The System are the #1 contenders and took out Matt Hardy so Jeff is out for revenge, with the Righteous’ Vincent stepping up as a replacement partner.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

The System vs. Vincent/Jeff Hardy

It’s Cedric Alexander/Brian Myers for the System here. Hardy and Myers start things off and everything breaks down in a hurry, with the System being cleared out. Back in and Myers takes Vincent into the corner, with the villains getting to take over. Alexander comes in and knocks Vincent into another corner for the chops and it’s back to Myers. A Russian legsweep gets Vincent out of trouble though and it’s back to Hardy to clean house.

An elbow gives Hardy two but Alexander is back up with a Michinoku Driver for two. Everything breaks down and Alexander gets Twisting Stunnered into a spinning DDT to give Vincent two. Another Twisting Stunner connects and Hardy goes up but we see a rather bloody Matt Hardy on the Titantron. Dutch is standing over him and seems rather pleased, leaving the distracted Jeff to get hit by the Roster Cut. The Lumbar Check gives Alexander the pin at 8:42.

Rating: B-. This was a means to an end more than anything else, as I don’t think it was any secret that the Righteous were going to turn on the Hardys at some point. The question was much more “when” than anything else and the answer was apparently here, which isn’t a bad thing. This sets up their big showdown, though the System is likely to get a title shot first.

We run down some upcoming cards.

Here is the Elegance Brand (minus Ash, who is still recovering after being called a mark) to threaten ODB to not show up again, as she needs to stay in her dirty food truck. Cue ODB, who thinks a little two on one sounds fun tonight, but she’s a married woman now. She has a lot of friends wherever she goes though, like New Orleans’ own Taryn Terrell, who doesn’t like all the garbage these b****** have been saying. So let’s have them say it to her face.

Mr. Elegance threatens to beat up ODB so ODB brings out Mickie James to even things up. Mr. Elegance tries to cut her off but James calls him “Pickle Dick”, which apparently isn’t kosher. The brawl is on and Mr. Elegance gets beaten up rather painfully. This went on for a long time and we’ve covered the “Knockouts legends beat up the Elegance Brand” deal.

Santino Marella and Daria Rae argue over the main event, with Rae not liking Marella picking sides.

We recap Steve Maclin vs. Mike Santana for the latter’s World Title. Maclin lost his job via Feast Or Fired but he attacked Santana, which got him his job back as Santana wanted revenge.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

TNA World Title: Mike Santana vs. Steve Maclin

Santana is defending. They take their time to start and Santana works on a headlock. That’s broken up so Santana kicks him down with the fans rather approving of the champion. Hold on though as something happens and we need the medical staff to check on Maclin. Santana plays to the crowd a bit as Maclin stands up but then drops back down to a knee. Cue Eddie Edwards in street clothes to go after Santana as Maclin is taken out. I think we can call the Maclin match off, as they only had about a minute and a half of action before the injury.

Santana fights back and loads up a table before dropping Edwards with Spin The Block. A top rope splash puts Edwards through the table on the floor and Santana is declared the winner by no contest. I don’t believe Edwards’ portion was him cashing in his title shot as that was little more than a brawl. There was no bell for them either. I’m guessing that was a legitimate injury from Maclin as the show ends with Santana celebrating. Dang I hope it’s not serious.

Overall Rating: C. The show was just decent enough to get by, but DANG that was some horrible luck at the end. I won’t hold it against them as they took care of someone who was hurt, but it could not have come at a worse time. The opener was very good, though unfortunately that was about it. The Moose vs. Edwards match was an angle advancer and the Elegance Brand stuff was just long.

It’s not a bad show, but it’s pretty much totally uneventful and felt designed to set up Rebellion more than anything else. Hopefully Maclin is ok though, as that was a nasty looking superkick that took him out. It’s a terrible ending, but that part isn’t TNA’s fault. The rest of the show not being very interesting certainly was though and that’s a rough way to go.

Results
Ryan Nemeth b. BDE – Rollup with tights
Tessa Blanchard b. Jody Threat – Buzzsaw DDT
Leon Slater b. Eric Young – Swanton 450
Frankie Kazarian/AJ Francis b. Home Town Man/Elijah – Fade To Black to Man
Arianna Grace b. Lei Ying Lee and Dani Luna – Warrior’s Way to Luna
Order 4 b. Trey Miguel and Jada Stone – 450 to Stone
Moose b. Eddie Edwards via DQ when Agent Zero interfered
Mara Sade b. Elayna Black – Moonsault
The System b. Jeff Hardy/Vincent – Lumbar Check to Hardy
Mike Santana b. Steve Maclin via injury stoppage

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

No Surrender 2026
Date: February 13, 2026
Location: The Pinnacle, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

I’m really not sure what to expect from this one as TNA hasn’t exactly gone out of their way to make it feel important. It comes off like a show that happens to be taking place with a few important matches being set up and not much more. The main event is Leon Slater/Mike Santana vs. Nic Nemeth/Eddie Edwards so let’s get to it.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

Pre-Show: Brad Attitude/TW3 vs. Sinner And Saint

Sinner And Saint say they haven’t been here in a long time and it’s a shame that the people are sleeping on the team they should be dreaming about. Williams shoulders Attitude over to start and it’s off to TW3 for some kicks to the arm. Icarus comes in to take TW3 down but it’s back to Williams, who gets kicked down off a distraction.

Williams gets kicked down some more and his chops don’t do much good. A suplex gets Williams out of trouble and a handspring clothesline allows the tag off to Icarus. Everything breaks down and a middle rope dropkick sends TW3 outside. Williams’ dive drops TW3 again and a frog splash gives Icarus two, with Attitude making the save. A running kick to the face/belly to back fisherman’s suplex combination finishes TW3 at 6:48.

Rating: C+. It wasn’t much of a match, but this was all about giving the fans some wrestling to get warmed up with before the important matches. As a result, this was fine enough, though I still don’t get the appeal of Sinner And Saint. They’re just kind of a generic team who does well enough in the ring and while they’re far from bad, I’m not sure how interesting they are.

Mike Jackson (76 years old) is happy to be here but Mance Warner and Steph de Lander come in to complain about how much time he’s getting. Jackson says he’s stood across the ring from the biggest names in wrestling and Warner isn’t one of them. A match is made for later, with Jackson not knowing de Lander’s name either (on purpose).

Pre-Show: Alan Angels vs. Ryan Nemeth,

Hold on though as before the bell, here is Frankie Kazarian to say we’re going to have an impromptu King’s Speech instead of this match. Nemeth says he gets paid just because he got in the ring so he’s leaving (with Kazarian leaving him hanging). Kazarian talks about signing a new contract and getting a big raise, which he has of course earned. He’ll be back in the World Title picture, because he just lost the World Title while wrestling with a broken hand.

As for tonight, Kazarian will be watching the main event very closely. He explains Option C….and has to pause to address the WRAP IT UP chants. Angels is still in the ring though and grabs the mic, saying he doesn’t remember Kazarian being so horrible. Kazarian says get out of his ring but Angels isn’t leaving. Kazarian threatens to punch Albert Angle in the face but Angels punches him out first. Angels wants a match and we’re doing this now.

Pre-Show: Alan Angels vs. Frankie Kazarian

Kazarian is in street clothes. Angels pulls him inside for two off a rollup and snaps off a hurricanrana to the floor. A high crossbody gives Angels two and he grabs the Rings Of Saturn. That’s broken up and Kazarian gets the chickenwing for the tap at 2:26.

And now, the show proper.

The opening video looks at TNA’s recent hot streak, plus the show’s bigger matches.

Knockouts Battle Royal

Mara Sade, Rosemary, Tessa Blanchard, Victoria Crawford, Mila Moore, Myla Grace, Harley Hudson, Jada Stone, Jody Threat, Tasha Steelz, Elayna Black

For a future Knockouts Title shot. Rosemary yells a lot and even scares Blanchard early on. Rosemary sends Hudson to the apron but gets tossed out by Threat. Rosemary is so ticked off that she comes up swinging a chair. Stone is out, followed by Steelz, with the two of them fighting on the floor.

Riggins is gone as well as the eliminations pick up in pace. Crawford eliminates Grace and poses a bit but Blanchard accidentally knocks out Moore and Crawford at the same time. Threat holds on by her feet, leaving Black and Sade to fight on the apron. The two of them slug it out with Black being eliminated but Blanchard shoves Sade out, leaving us with Blanchard and Threat. Back up and the Pop Shove It sends Blanchard to the floor so Threat can win at 8:01.

Rating: C. This wasn’t great but they kept it short enough to not be too bad. Threat winning is a surprise as Sade has been getting some TV time as of late and her getting the spot would have made sense. The rest of this just kind of showed that the division needs to develop some more stars, as they only have so much depth right now. Granted that’s what giving someone like Threat a chance can do.

Leon Slater and Mike Santana are ready for the main event, with Santana wanting to keep the grass mowed so he can take them down. Slater is glad to be back and he’s not thinking about Option C tonight. Santana threatens to eat Nic Nemeth and Eddie Edwards alive tonight.

Jelly Roll is here. Fair points on having a big name.

International Title: Stacks vs. Trey Miguel

Stacks, with Arianna Grace, is defending and Miguel has a singer named Teddy Swims in his corner. Miguel rushes at him to start and hits a dropkick to the floor. Grace pulls Stacks away from the running flip dive though and Miguel gets tied up in the ring skirt. Back in and Stacks slams him down, setting up a mockery of Santino Marella’s trombone pose. The chinlock goes on for a bit, followed by a legdrop for two on Miguel.

Back up and Miguel springboards off the bottom rope and grabs a German suplex to leave them both down. They go up top and either fall off or do a weird rolling to the side superplex to give Stacks two. A fisherman’s neckbreaker gives Stacks two more but Miguel is back with a not good looking Roll Of The Dice for two of his own.

Stacks is able to dropkick Miguel to the floor but Grace gets caught slapping him, meaning it’s an ejection. Miguel is back up with a sliding tornado DDT to drop Stacks on the floor, followed by a spinning Downward Spiral back inside. The Lightning Spiral gives Miguel the pin and the title at 11:00.

Rating: C+. They had a series of not great looking spots in there as they were going a bit too fast and it hurt things a lot. At the same time though, anytime my eyebrows actually pop up in surprise over a result, it’s probably a good sign. Miguel winning is a big surprise and I’m not opposed to it, as Stacks wasn’t going to be a long term champion anyway.

Here is AJ Francis for an unscheduled appearance. Francis talks about the Seattle Seahawks winning the Super Bowl and compares himself to Bad Bunny. They’re both rappers, they’re both wrestlers, and they’re both stars. As for Jelly Roll, if he ever wants to cross the line, he’ll see why this is TNAJ Francis’ place. He’ll be on commentary for the rest of the night. Hannifan: “What did I do to deserve this pain?”

Mance Warner vs. Mike Jackson

Jackson (76 years old) goes after the arm to start and does an Old School around all four ropes (Warner does nothing) before knocking Warner down. The dive is cut off and Jackson reverses a suplex into one of his own. A suicide dive connects and even Francis has to show him some respect. Back in and Warner’s chops don’t get him very far as Jackson strikes away as well. A neckbreaker gives Jackson two but Warner drops him with a running clothesline. The Pay Window finishes Jackson at 5:19.

Rating: C. The match wasn’t exactly great, but Jackson more than held his own in there. That’s the point of a match with Jackson, who is in pretty good shape all things considered and didn’t do anything that would embarrass him. I’m not sure how much it needed to be on a special, but there are worse ways to go.

Post match Warner tells Jackson that he still has it and they shake hands, with de Lander doing the same. Francis: “This is pathetic.” Francis yells at de Lander and blames her for ruining Warner. That gets Warner in Francis’ face and Francis storms off. That seems like a face turn for Warner, though I liked Warner better as a good guy so maybe it works.

Arianna Grace yells at Stacks for screwing up and threatens to break up with him if anything else goes wrong. Then he can eat candy all by himself. Quite the threat.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Indi Hartwell/Xia Brookside vs. Elegance Brand

The Brand is defending. Brookside takes over on Heather to start and it’s off to Hartwell for a headlock takeover. M comes in to take Hartwell down and chokes with the cloth on her arm. That doesn’t last long and it’s back to Brookside for a Russian legsweep to Heather. Mr. Elegance offers a distraction though and the champs knock Brookside down into the corner.

The chinlock goes on for a bit so Brookside grabs a small package for a breather. That doesn’t last long either as Heather sends her into the ropes, where M gets in a running boot on the apron. The champs spend too long posing though and it’s a double shove from Hartwell to put them on the floor. Hartwell comes in off the tag for some big boots and a top rope elbow hits Heather for two. A Michinoku Driver cuts Hartwell off though and she gets sent into the post, setting up Nip And Tuck. Hartwell’s foot is on the rope but Ash shoves it off to retain the titles at 11:07.

Rating: C+. The match picked up a bit at the end and that’s a good thing as it wasn’t much to see for the first part. Hartwell and Brookside are pretty much a makeshift team and that doesn’t make for the best challengers. At the same time, you’re only going to get so far with the options you have for challengers so throwing teams together is often the best you can do.

Post match Mickie James of all people comes out (Ash LOSES IT) and beats up Ash (all the more impressive since James is in massive heels).

We recap Eric Young vs. BDE. Young wanted BDE to join him but BDE refused, earning himself a beating last night on Impact. Now it’s time to fight.

Eric Young vs. BDE

It’s a brawl before the bell with BDE getting hit low and then the match officially starting. Young hammers away to start but BDE manages a middle rope Blockbuster. The running hurricanrana gets two but Young is back with a sitout powerbomb for two of his own. BDE fights back but gets powerslammed down for two more. The slow pace continues until BDE manages to get in a springboard cutter for another near fall.

Young is put up top, where he bites BDE’s face to put him down. There’s the top rope elbow for two and the Death Valley Driver connects to give Young two more. BDE bites him right back off the top and a Canadian Destroyer gets a rather near fall. BDE goes up again but the referee is shoved into the ropes, setting up the piledriver to give Young the pin at 10:23.

Rating: C+. As usual, here’s the thing: if Young is supposed to be this next big bad with whatever he’s doing with the Cleanse, he shouldn’t be needing ten minutes and cheating to beat a glorified celebrity wrestler. Young is far from the worst wrestler, but him as this tough crazy guy is horrible miscasting and has been for years. Unfortunately that seems to be continuing, and possibly in a much bigger way soon.

Jody Threat is happy with her win and gets some applause from other Knockouts. Tessa Blanchard and company come in, with Blanchard saying she should have won. A match is made for Impact.

We recap Arianna Grace challenging Lei Ying Lee for the Knockouts Title. Grace is Santino Marella’s daughter and has teased wanting to make up for him, including by getting this shot. Shenanigans may be afoot though and Lee happens to be here too.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

Knockouts Title: Arianna Grace vs. Lei Ying Lee

Grace, with Stacks, is challenging and commentary points out that Grace isn’t very good, even citing her win/loss record. They start slowly with Grace taking over and sending Lee to the apron. Lee flips over her to come back inside and sweeps the leg…as Dani Luna (who had a title match set up but was held off due to visa issues) returns.

Security cuts her off and gets rid of her, leaving Grace to hit a neckbreaker for a quick two. Lee is sent into the apron and we’re off to a neck crank inside. That’s broken up and Lee hammers away with right hands in the corner but gets facebustered. A fisherman’s neckbreaker gets two but Lee snaps off a German suplex.

They forearm it out from their knees until Lee loads up Warrior’s Way. Grace goes to the eyes so Stacks sends in the belt, which doesn’t work well. Instead Lee kicks Stacks down so Grace pulls out the Cobra (which she stole from Santino Marella last night). That and a fireman’s carry facebuster give Grace the title at 13:21.

Rating: C. Grace is hardly a polished star in the ring, but that’s kind of the point. The idea here is that she manipulated her way into a title shot and then cheated to win (even though IT’S JUST A SOCK). That’s at least a story and it feels like someone stole a title rather than just holding it until a member of the regular roster can pick it off.

Rich Swann throws BDE a video game controller but says BDE has been playing a bit too long. Now Swann is ready to give him a tutorial in wrestling but it’s time to game first.

We recap the tag team main event. Apparently if Nic Nemeth (Call Your Shot), Eddie Edwards (Feast Or Fired) or Leon Slater (Option C) cash in their title shot, the tag match is thrown out and the World Title is on the line. Because THAT is a good idea. If you have three people with instant World Title matches available, you really need to rein things, because that’s ridiculous.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

Order 4 vs. Righteous/Hardys

The question here is whether the Hardys can, or should, trust the Righteous. Matt takes over on Skyler to start and neckbreakers him down. Jeff comes in for a quick splash but gets into it with Ali, meaning everything breaks down in a hurry. We settle down to Dutch whipping Hotch upside down in the corner and it’s off to Vincent. Hotch is beaten down again and it’s off to Zero, who powers Vincent up rather quickly.

Ali comes in and tries a superplex, only to get shoved down, allowing Vincent to hit a tornado DDT. That’s enough for the tag off to Matt so the pace can be picked up. Hotch breaks up the Twist Of Fate to Skyler though and it’s back to Jeff instead. A basement dropkick and elbow get two on Hotch and the Whisper In The Wind does it again. Everything breaks down and Zero cleans house, followed by a heck of a suicide dive.

Dutch is right there with a big flip dive of his own but Zero powerslams him back inside. The good guys get together to beat up Zero in the corner and the quadruple teaming actually puts him down. Matt and Dutch hit stereo Twists Of Fate, setting up stereo Swantons from Jeff and Vincent but a double save breaks up the covers. They brawl onto the ramp and a big crash sends a bunch of people to the floor. Tasha Steelz throws powder in Dutch’s eyes and he takes Matt out by mistake. The 450 gives Ali the pin on Matt at 15:31.

Rating: B. They did a good job here with building up the question of whether or not the Righteous would turn on the Hardys. The ending leaves you wondering even more and that’s a good feeling. It’s better than just having the turn take place and if Order 4 gets thrown into the title picture as well, so be it.

Post match the lights go out and it’s a big guitar case casket. Elijah pops up throws Ali inside but Ali bails before their casket match on Impact.

Santino Marella tries to talk to Arianna Grace but gets Daria Rae instead. Daria threatens him if anything happens, and don’t bother looking for the sock. Do anything to anyone, and he’ll be fired.

We recap the main event of Mike Santana/Leon Slater vs. Nic Nemeth/Eddie Edwards. The idea is that all three challengers have guaranteed World Title matches and could cash in anytime.

IMG Credit: TNA Wrestling

Mike Santana/Leon Slater vs. Nic Nemeth/Eddie Edwards

Santana and Edwards start things off with a feeling out process until Edwards grabs a headlock. That doesn’t get either very far so it’s off to Nemeth to work on the arm. Slater comes in for a nice dropkick and nine right hands in the corner, setting up a monkey flip right back out of it. It’s back to Santana, who sends Nemeth outside…for the tease of a cash in.

That’s enough of a distraction for the villains to take over on Santana back inside, with Santana getting caught in the corner. The comeback doesn’t take long as Santana gets over for the tag off to Slater, who fights off a double team attempt. The handspring elbow drops Nemeth and Edwards and Slater takes Edwards out with a big dive to the floor. Everything breaks down and Santana hits his own dive onto the System.

Back in and Slater misses the Swanton 450 to Edwards and walks into a superkick to give Nemeth two. It’s back to Slater, who is caught in the wrong corner again but he heads outside to run around the ring. That’s not quite enough for the tag off to Santana, so Slater kicks the villains into each other. NOW it’s back to Santana to clean house, including a heck of a chop to Nemeth.

An assisted standing moonsault gets two on Nemeth and everything breaks down, with Slater hitting the big running flip dive over the corner. Cue the fired Steve Maclin to go after Santana (why this isn’t a DQ isn’t clear) and they brawl into the crowd. So that leaves Slater in a handicap match, with the System still on the floor. Nemeth mocks Slater having no partners but Slater is back with a running knee to drop Edwards.

It’s back to Nemeth, whose running DDT is countered. Slater’s high crossbody takes both of them down for two but the referee gets bumped. The System runs in to go after Slater but here is Moose to interrupt. Moose cleans house of the non-in this match members of the System, including brawling to the back with Edwards. That leaves Nemeth to Fameasser Slater for two but he kicks Nemeth down, setting up the Swanton 450 for the pin at 23:12.

Rating: B. Well, it certainly wasn’t boring. This was more a “Slater is back and he’s really good”. They managed to hide the fact that in the end, nothing was actually on the line here. That’s a hard place to go, especially with Moose wanting revenge on the team which doesn’t really have a leader. They tried something different here and while it wasn’t a smash hit, it worked well enough, especially for Slater.

Overall Rating: B-. I came into this show with pretty much no expectations and the stakes feeling pretty low (including in the main event, with the three teased cash-ins not really being a thing until tonight) and wound up getting a good show. It’s not a classic or close to it, but I can always go for a show where the worst part was perfectly fine. They’ll need to raise the stakes next time, but this worked for a nice surprise.

Results
Sinner And Saint b. Brad Attitude/TW3 – Reverse fisherman’s suplex to TW3
Frankie Kazarian b. Alan Angels – Chickenwing
Jody Threat won a Knockouts Battle Royal last eliminating Tessa Blanchard
Trey Miguel b. Stacks – Lightning Spiral
Mance Warner b. Mike Jackson – Pay Window
Elegance Brand b. Indi Hartwell/Xia Brookside – Nip And Tuck to Hartwell
Eric Young b. BDE – Piledriver
Arianna Grace b. Lei Ying Lee – Fireman’s carry facebuster
Order 4 b. Hardys/Righteous – 450 to Matt

Remember to follow me on Twitter and Bluesky @kbreviews and head over to my Amazon author page with 30 different cheap wrestling books at:

http://www.amazon.com/Thomas-Hall/e/B00E6282W6

NWA-TNA Weekly PPV #26
Date: December 18, 2002
Location: Tennessee State Fairgrounds, Nashville, Tennessee
Commentators: Mike Tenay, Don West

Believe it or not, the big story is about Jeff Jarrett and Vince Russo, who may or may not be on the same page. That’s in addition to Russo having his Sports Entertainment Xtreme stable, which may or may not have AJ Styles on his side. That could make for an interesting story but, you know, Jarrett and Russo. Let’s get to it.

Here are last week’s results if you need a recap.

Opening sequence.

We look at Jeff Jarrett going to Europe and Japan to defend the NWA World Title. Believe it or not, this makes him look like a hero.

Here is a ticked off Curt Hennig storming in from the parking lot and coming into the arena. He is here to deal with Vince Russo and since he isn’t Roddy Piper, he’ll be tying Russo in knots or punching him in the face. Cue Russo (with Don Harris) and the chase is on, only for Low Ki, Christopher Daniels and Elix Skipper to run in and jump Hennig. Apparently they’re part of Sports Entertainment Xtreme, so here is BG James to brag on commentary, followed by Russo yelling at Tenay.

Bob Armstrong stops AJ Styles in the back and asks why Styles is with Russo. Styles says he’s proven his greatness in the ring, including last week (when he lost clean) and now it’s time to be the heavyweight champion.

Gauntlet Match

Ten entrants with ninety second intervals and pin/submission for eliminations. Jason Cross is in at #1 and Amazing Red is in at #2…and we cut to the back where Jeff Jarrett jumps AJ Styles. They trade leapfrogs to start and go to a standoff, with Cross missing a running flipping legdrop. Red sends him outside for a jumping kick off the apron as Tony Mamaluke is in at #3. The same seated Brock Lock that made Cross give up last week doesn’t work this week so Mamaluke switches to a jawbreaker.

Jimmy Rave is in at #4 and goes after Mamaluke as the other two brawl on the floor. Mamaluke and Rave go up top and it’s Shark Boy in at #5 to powerbomb the two of them down. Everyone pairs off and thankfully we go split screen as Kid Kash is in at #6. Red charges into a boot to the face as AJ Styles and Boy slingshot dives onto Kash on the floor. Ace Steel is in at #7 and hits a springboard dropkick to Rave. Almost everyone is back inside as Rave rolls up Mamaluke for the first elimination at 8:40.

Rave’s spinning crossface to Boy is broken up so Boy grabs the Dead Sea Drop (Diamond Dust) to pin Rave at 9:21. Kash gets a quick pin on Shark Boy for another elimination at 9:35 for back to back…uh wrestler ejections. Jose Maximo is in at #8 and dives onto Kash, who cuts him off with a powerbomb. Joel Maximo is in at #9 and goes to the floor, where Steel gives him a suplex. Steel and Cross go inside as David Young is in at #10 to complete the field.

Young grabs a sitout powerbomb, followed by a double belly to back suplex tot he Maximos. Steel is sent into the corner, followed by a big flip dive from Young to take out a pile. Steel, Cross, Red and Kash all hit dives of their own, followed by Kash grabbing a rope walk hurricanrana to Young. The running tornado DDT plants Young again for two, leaving almost everyone else to brawl on the floor. A Doomsday DDT plants Young and Red’s Infrared is good for the elimination at 17:36.

Steel catches Jose up top with a super tornado DDT and the pin at 18:13. Joel Rolls Steel up for the elimination 18:36. A hurricanrana gets rid of Joel and we’re down to Kash, Cross and Red. Cross gets double teamed down, leaving Red to kick Kash in the head for two. Kash catches Red on top for a super gorilla press but Cross cuts Kash off. Red goes up for a diving cutter to pin Kash at 21:39. Cross brainbusters Red and hits the shooting star legdrop for the final pin at 22:11.

Rating: C+. It was fun and there were some good spots, but they were flying through the eliminations at the end and that wasn’t the best way to go. No one really had a chance to stand out, with the one on one portion barely breaking thirty seconds. I had a nice enough time, but they just needed a better structure.

Commentary runs down the card.

Here is Sports Entertainment Xtreme for a chat. Vince Russo talks about how people laugh at these fans for being so stupid looking. He introduces the fans to the three newest members of the team. Low Ki wasn’t being booked because he wouldn’t agree to a 52 week schedule. Christopher Daniels wasn’t here because a plane ticket from California was too much. And Elix Skipper wanted more money, which Russo promises him, along with various physical accompaniment. As for BG James, he needs to stop worrying about his dad and take care of him.

Russo is tired of Jeff Jarrett and wants an answer right now. Cue Jarrett to say it is time for Russo to shut up and listen. Russo is still a magazine writer who has no respect for anyone in this business. Jarrett was the first wrestler that Vince McMahon told him to interview. He has protected Russo time after time from people like Shawn Michaels and Bill Goldberg in the WWF and WCW. They have been successful together under the name of sports entertainment (oh good grief). And yes, Russo came up with the idea for the Good Housekeeping match with Chyna.

Then a few weeks ago, Russo crossed the line by spitting in Jerry Jarrett’s face. If not for wrestling, Russo would be selling TVs in New York. Russo says Jarrett has lost his respect and the boys laugh at him, so whose side is he on. Jarrett makes it clear that he has never been with Russo and never will be (….that’s not what he said just a few minutes ago but whatever). The brawl is on and Jarrett grabs a chair but the numbers game gets to him. Security breaks it up and Russo leaves through the crowd.

Disciples Of The New Church vs. America’s Most Wanted vs. Harris Twins

Non-title and for the sake of simplicity, I’ll refer to all three of the Harris’s by their first names. Storm Whispers In The Wind onto Slash to start, followed by a Russian legsweep for two. Chris comes in and gets booted down by Lee for one before a snap suplex gets two. A crossbody gets Chris out of trouble and Storm’s high version gets two.

Everything breaks down, as you probably knew was coming, and the brawl heads outside, as you probably also expected. Lee gets sent into the barricade and it’s AMW and the Twins brawling back inside. The H Bomb drops Chris but here is I believe Belladonna with a low blow…and never mind as the ROAD WARRIORS of all people run in to lay out the Twins. Hawk’s top rope splash lets Storm get the pin on Ron at 7:36.

Rating: C. Well, if the Twins are going to sell for anyone, you might as well make it the most dominant tag team ever. It was certainly a big reaction to have them show up, and if it gets the Twins away from the title picture, I’d certainly call it an upgrade. This was another “we’re not really wrestling for the most part” match and that’s happening too often around here lately. But, you know, Russo.

The Road Warriors say they still have it.

Bob Armstrong gives the X-Division a pep talk about going after Sports Entertainment Xtreme.

Video on the triple threat match for the X-Division Title, with champion Sonny Siaki ready to prove his greatness again.

X-Division Title: Sonny Siaki vs. Jerry Lynn vs. EZ Money

Siaki is defending and Lynn is in because he did well last week. The champ gets punched down to start and Money’s neckbreaker gets two. Siaki superkicks Money into a sunset flip to give Lynn two but Money fights up and takes over on both of them. Lynn uses Siaki as a launchpad for a tornado DDT to Money, followed by a flip dive to both of them on the floor. Back in and Money gives Siaki a Buckshot Lariat and a 3D drops him for two. Cue the woman from last week to open her jacket to Lynn, followed by a slap (she’s sending mixed messages). Lynn gets sent outside and Siaki’s swinging neckbreaker retains the title at 7:46.

Rating: C+. This was a good way to help get Siaki over as the champion, as he is still brand new in the title picture. Having the still unnamed woman with him should help as it’s a classic formula that works every time. Lynn being in there made this feel more important, but Siaki is going to have to beat him again at some point or his reign is only going to go so far.

Post match the woman hugs Vince Russo, who says he has had his eye on Siaki since the beginning. The woman (still no name) is a gift to him for every desire he has (because that’s all women are for in Russo’s world). Lynn comes back in to jump Siaki but the woman kicks him low and the villains leave.

BG James vs. Ron Killings

Street fight, which might be an improvement. James jumps the rapping Killings from behind to start fast and they brawl up to the stage. Killings’ ax kick gets two, as apparently this is falls count anywhere. They go over near the cage dancers (who are still a thing for some reason), with James getting in a trashcan shot. A powerbomb puts Killings through a table for two and James hits him with whatever he can find. Naturally Killings comes back with a shovel to the head but here are Christopher Daniels, Low Ki and Elix Skipper to take Killings out for the pin at 4:37.

Rating: D+. It was just a messy brawl which was barely a match, with the interference making it worse. That being said, it’s better to have James doing a brawl than a match, even with all of the screwiness. Then again I’m not sure I’m supposed to know the story in the first place, because the promotion probably didn’t either.

Post match here is Bob Armstrong, who has three men to face Russo’s three men.

Low Ki/Christopher Daniels/Elix Skipper vs. SATs/Amazing Red

Sure, send three people out there for their second match tonight. That’s the ticket. The villains clear the ring to start until Ki is left alone with Joel. Ki misses a charge and gets knocked out to the floor, leaving Daniels to come in. Red chases him out and it’s Ki coming back in to get caught in the corner for the running clotheslines. A doomsday dropkick sets up something like a wheelbarrow cutter for…nothing, as there’s too much time for that to be the pin.

It’s back to Daniels, who gets knocked down for two and Red kicks him in the face for two more. A backdrop sends Daniels outside and apparently we’re in Mexico as Skipper immediately comes in. The SATs tie up Skipper and Ki in a camel clutch/Boston crab combination, with Red adding in a running dropkick. Daniels comes back in for a clothesline to take over, with Skipper sending Red into the corner.

Another clothesline and a standing moonsault drop Red for two and Skipper grabs the chinlock. Red manages to counter the Ki Krusher into the corner and the Code Red puts Ki down again. Both Maximos come in (of course) off the tag and everything breaks down again. Skipper’s brainbuster gets two and he sends Jose outside for a slingshot dive. Red comes back in but misses the Code Red, only to avoid Ki’s phoenix splash but then miss Infrared.

Don West gets onto the announcers’ table to cheer for Red, whose hurricanrana gets two on Daniels. Ki comes in but kicks Daniels down by mistake, leaving Red to grab a springboard spinning Downward Spiral for two. Skipper’s gutwrench powerbomb gives Ki two on Red and everyone goes into the same corner. That results in everyone crashing down, leaving Ki to hit the super Ki Crusher to pin Red at 21:07.

Rating: B+. As usual, the X-Division guys do what they can to save the show with an awesome match. They beat each other up for over twenty minutes with pretty much nonstop action (hey that’s catchy) throughout. The villains winning is of course the correct call as they have to build some momentum now that they’re on the new team. Really good match here and it brought the show up a lot.

Post match Russo and company get in the ring to answer the greatest question in wrestling: why are there tables under the ring? BG James says it’s because he put them there, so some tables are set up. Curt Hennig tries to make the save but David Flair of all people comes in to take him out. Jeff Jarrett makes the save with a chair but AJ Styles saves Flair from the Figure Four. Skipper and Ki put Jarrett through a table and Russo destroys the set with an ax (because he’s manly like that) to end the show. And yes, while I know there were reasons, the show ended with David Flair as the big surprise rather than the ROAD WARRIORS.

Overall Rating: C-. The wrestling is good, but my goodness the huge overarching story is dragging everything else down. The Russo stuff is just people talking about old stuff and loyalty and bringing in random people for shock value. You have the awesome main event and a few other decent things, but having the Harris Twins and BG James in the ring so often is bringing it right back down. That’s in addition to Jeff Jarrett being one of the least interesting top stars you can find, yet here he is in the big featured spot. Oh but Russo got to use an ax so it’s cool. Not as bad as the previous show, but that’s not much of an improvement.

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