Impact Wrestling
Date: July 30, 2026
Location: Liacourus Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

The countdown to Lockdown continues after the big title match last week. Nic Nemeth retained the World Title over KC Navarro and that means he’ll be needing a new challenger. As for this week, we have Jason Hotch challenging his Order 4 boss Mustafa Ali for the International Title. We’re live tonight too so let’s get to it.

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

The opening recap looks at last week’s World Title match and sets up the International Title match.

Opening sequence.

Ricky Sosa/Leon Slater vs. The System

The rest of the System is here with the System. Sosa and Edwards slug it out to start with Sosa grabbing a quick full nelson slam. Everything breaks down and Slater comes in for a splash to Alexander and a monkey flip to Edwards. A pair of dives take out the System and we take a break.

We come back with Sosa in trouble and Alisha Edwards even getting in some choking from the floor. Alexander’s reverse chinlock doesn’t work very well and a diving tag brings in Slater to start the comeback. Slater tosses Alexander into a powerslam for two and a running shot to the face drops Myers. The Swanton 450 finishes Alexander at 12:13.

Rating: B-. Good opener here and odds are that result lets Slater get set up for a rematch for the title. At the same time Sosa gets a nice win by association and the System will bounce back as always. In other words, it’s a win that helps the winners and a loss that doesn’t really hurt the losers. Not bad at all.

Post match Slater issues the challenge for the title match at Lockdown.

Mustafa Ali wants the rest of Order 4 here for a meeting right now. John Skyler tries to go find the other members but gets distracted by Mila Moore. Ali yells a lot.

The Elegance Brand is ready to win, though Heather isn’t sure what happens if she has to face M in the Knockouts TV Title tournament. The Personal Concierge isn’t worried.

We pause to wish Rebel well as she is fighting ALS.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Thea Hail vs. Indi Hartwell

Hail’s headlock doesn’t get her very far to start and Hartwell shoulders her out to the floor. A boot to the head gives Hartwell two back inside and she grabs the armbar. The Hurts Donut is blocked though and Hail is up to work on the arm as well. Hartwell actually can’t power out and gets taken back down.

Hail tries to switch to the Kimura but gets kicked out to the floor. Back in and Hartwell avoids the springboard backsplash but can’t get her up for the powerbomb (I’m not sure if that was legit or not but Hartwell grabbed her arm for a nice explanation). Instead it’s a Hurts Donut to give Hartwell the pin at 7:42.

Rating: C+. Hartwell moving on is hardly a surprise and it wouldn’t be shocking to see her winning the whole thing. It’s clear that TNA sees her as one of the bigger stars around so maybe she winds up getting some gold this way. The match was ok enough with the arm work, but Hail wasn’t going over one of the more popular stars in the division.

AJ Francis takes up a collection for his injured valet. Rich Swann and BDE aren’t impressed.

Here is KC Navarro for a chat. Last week he had the biggest chance of his life as he challenged for the TNA World Title but he came up short. He has tried for his entire career and wants to be an inspiration to people. After hearing that he’ll never be anything for years, he knows that he belongs and his career is just beginning.

Cue the System to interrupt, with Cedric Alexander turning down Leon Slater’s challenge for Lockdown. Ricky Sosa and Leon Slater don’t get another match either but Navarro interrupts, saying this is his time. The obvious beatdown ensues, with Sosa and Slater running in for the save.

Allie panics over not being able to find Rosemary but Daria Rae doesn’t want to hear it.

Xia Brookside attacked Wendy Choo and Elayna Black last week because she could. Choo comes in to call Brookside a coward so Santino Marella comes in to make a title match for next week. Black comes in to tell Choo to shut Brookside up next week.

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

Rosemary/Allie are defending, but there is no Rosemary to start. Allie slugs away at both of them to start but the numbers game catches up with her rather quickly. M tries to drop Heather onto Allie but hits raised knees. The Personal Concierge grabs a belt but gets pulled inside, with Allie raking his injured eyes (that’s mean). Mr. Elegance comes in so Allie hits him with the belt, followed by another shot to Heather for the DQ at 2:39.

Post match Allie takes out M as well.

Here are the Hardys, now in their GOAT masks, with Matt even confirming that he loves cheese steaks. They brag about their win over the Righteous last week and, after a shout out to Walking Dead spinoff star Aimee Garcia in the audience, say it’s time to start wrecking some people.

They invented the TLC match but here are Nic and Ryan Nemeth to interrupt. The Nemeths want a title shot at Lockdown and here is Santino Marella to make the match….and Nic is going to defend the World Title against Jeff. Well that’s kind of huge. Ryan gets to face Matt next week and goes to hit on Garcia, who throws a drink in his face. Garcia celebrates with the Hardys.

AJ Francis continues to try to collect money but runs into the Hometown Man. He’s not paying anything due to a case of hatred, so here is Elijah, who gets a cage match with Francis at Lockdown. That feud seemed pretty done but I guess they need to flesh out the card.

Daria Rae tells Santino Marella that it’s Rosemary/Allie vs. the Elegance Brand at Lockdown. They both think they need to find Rosemary, but they also need to trim some fat off the roster. Rae wants Harley Hudson gone but that gets shot down.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Jada Stone vs. Jody Threat

They fight over arm control to start and Threat takes her into the corner for some clotheslines. A World’s Strongest Slam onto the apron drops Stone hard but she’s right back up with a 619. Stone’s split legged moonsault gets two but Threat kicks her in the back. A German suplex looks to set up Pop Shove It, with Stone elbowing her way out. The Spark Stunner is blocked so Stone grabs a rollup for the pin out of nowhere at 5:28.

Rating: C. I’m not sure how much upside I see in either of these two but at some point the division is going to need some fresh blood. Stone might as well get a chance as she’s still new enough around here to not have anything tainted. She won’t win the tournament but she might get something out of a decent run to the semifinals.

International Title: Jason Hotch vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali, with the rest of Order 4, is defending and Hotch’s family is here too (interesting). Hotch’s early headlock just earns him a chop and Ali sends him outside for a suicide dive. Hotch is right back with a DDT on the floor and a high crossbody gets two back inside. Ali fights back but makes the mistake of mocking Hotch’s family though and gets taken down with a moonsault to the floor.

We take a break and come back with both of them on top and Hotch superplexing him to the floor and through a table in a crazy crash. They both have to dive back inside to beat the count and Hotch is fired up enough to grab a backbreaker for two. Hotch misses a frog splash and the referee gets bumped, allowing Ali to go low. Ali grabs a belt and starts whipping Hotch, with John Skyler coming in to take it away.

Hotch runs into Skyler by mistake (you schnook) so Ali grabs a rollup with feet on the ropes…which Tasha Steelz breaks up. Steelz and Mila Moore brawl to the back, leaving Ali to grab a piledriver. The 450 connects but Hotch rolls him up for a near fall of his own. Ali’s charge hits the buckle and it’s a top rope double stomp to a standing Ali, followed by a frog splash to make Hotch champion at 14:49. The shot of Hotch’s young daughter in the crowd being happy her dad won is great.

Rating: B+. I wasn’t expecting this to be much of anything but dang did they make this work. There is a very good chance that Hotch is a short term champion but this is the kind of win that he can point to for the rest of his career. There is also something great about the team rising up to get rid of Ali and the result worked far better than I was expecting. Heck of a main event here.

Hotch celebrates and his family gets in the ring to end the show.

Overall Rating: B. TNA has a bad reputation for some of its live Impacts but they made it work here. The main event was a cool moment, which is more than I would have expected from that match. They also set up some matches for Lockdown (some of the buildups were better than others) and it should be a good build over the next few weeks. Solid show here, with that main event being a great surprise.

Results
Ricky Sosa/Leon Slater b. The System – Swanton 450 to Alexander
Indi Hartwell b. Thea Hail – Hurts Donut
Elegance Brand b. Allie via DQ when Allie hit Heather with the title
Jada Stone b. Jody Threat – Rollup
Jason Hotch b. Mustafa Ali – Frog splash

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

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

After a pretty lengthy time away, we’re back to the pay per view days for TNA and that might not be a bad thing. The build for this show has gotten more a lot more interested than I expected to be and now I want to see if they can pay that build up off. That’s the tricky part though as you never know how the whole thing is going to work. The main event is Nic Nemeth challenging Mike Santana for the World Title so let’s get to it.

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

I’m still trying to figure out why Black is treated as such a big deal, as I really do not see the success there to warrant it. She’s far from bad, but she has made no impact since her arrival in TNA and I often forget that she’s part of the roster. Maybe that changes here, but I really can’t imagine that being the case after such a long time of pretty much nothing from her thus far.

That leaves Sade and Hartwell as your realistic options here and I’ll take the former for the win. Sade has gotten somewhere with her charisma and general appeal and it’s working well for her. Given that she was little more than Lash Legend’s lackey in NXT, this is quite the step up for her and I’m curious to see what she can do on her own. Give her a win here and see what’s next around here.

Ricky Sosa vs. Eric Young

Oh dear it’s this match. For the life of me I do not get Eric Young and I haven’t for a long time. He’ll pop up, pick a new target, say the same things, lose, and then move on like nothing has changed. Sosa is his latest target and it’s hard to fathom that he’s going to be any different for Young. The whole idea of Young as this evil force is quite the miscast and I do not get the appeal but we’re here anyway.

I’ll go with Sosa to win here, as there is no point in having him lose to someone like Young, who loses all of the time. I’m not sure what Sosa is going to be but TNA is really in need of some new stars, so put him out there and see what he can do. It’s worth a shot and beating a former multiple time World Champion is a good start, especially if it gets Young off the show for a few weeks.

AJ Francis vs. Elijah

This is a battle for Elijah’s name, likeness and music catalog, because that’s a thing we’re doing in wrestling. As ridiculous as it might sound, I do appreciate the idea of having a less than normal reason for a feud in wrestling. This is Francis taking away the thing that defines Elijah the most and that is going to make Elijah mad as a result. Francis has been doing well as a big man too so it’s certainly worth a try.

As much as I would like to see Francis win here and see where he can go with things, it doesn’t make sense for Elijah to lose. I’ll take Elijah to win, as what in the world is he without his music deal? We tried that with the whole Ezekiel thing in WWE and we’ve seen how that worked out, so I’ll go with Elijah here, if nothing else for the sake of keeping his career going.

Knockouts Title: Lei Ying Lee(c) vs. Xia Brookside

Every so often you get a pretty much perfect setup for a big moment and that’s what we have here. Brookside turned on her friend out of jealousy over not being able to win the title and now gets a title shot. It helps that Brookside has turned into quite a nice heel in the process, which is impressive for someone who is fairly small in stature and easy to cheer in the first place.

There is a grand total of zero reason for Brookside to lose here so I’ll go with the logical result and say she wins the title. Lee is already a two time champion and hardly the biggest star in the world, so go with Brookside getting her big moment and see what she can do as champion. It’s kind of overdue at this point and if she loses, she’s basically dead in the water anyway. So yeah, new champion here.

X-Division Title: Ultimate X

Here we have the signature match of TNA and it makes sense to bring it out of mothballs for the anniversary show. They’re also bringing Amazing Red back, which should quite the nice thing to see. Red had a heck of a match with Bandido over Wrestlemania Weekend and he can still more than go. Seeing him back in the ring is an interesting idea, even if he has pretty much no chance of winning.

Red is one of a few wrestlers you can probably write off, along with Mr. Elegance. That leaves a host of people to win and I’m going to go with an underdog in KC Navarro. He’s come a long way lately and this is the kind of match where they can make him into something without having him get a big pin. I’m not saying it’ll work, but I think they could do it here. Granted this kind of thing is a total shot in the dark but why not have some fun?

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: The Elegance Brand(c) vs. Rosemary/Allie

Just name Rosemary and Allie the Undead Realm already. Anyway, this is an interesting one as normally I would say that there is no reason to leave the titles on the Brand but they’re kind of great with having the titles as accessories. It makes them even more annoying and that’s a perfect thing for a stable built around the idea of getting on the fans’ nerves. I’m just not sure they’ll keep the belts.

Yeah I think I’ll go with the title change here, as Rosemary and Allie are popular enough at the moment to warrant getting the gold. If nothing else, the Brand is going to be able to drive everyone crazy with or without the titles so let them drop the belts for now. They can easily win them back later if necessary, but for now, Allie and Rosemary are a better option for the win here.

International Title: Mustafa Ali(c) vs. ???

This is one that’s hard to predict, as there is only so much you can do without knowing who is getting the title shot. There have been some rumored names, including at least one who used to be in WWE, but no one really stands out all that well. If nothing else, Ali deserves to hold onto the title longer as he’s getting somewhere with his stuff (as he tends to do when he’s given the chance).

I’ll take Ali to retain over whomever he is facing, even if I want to see him get into the World Title picture sooner rather than later. Ali is someone with the talent to make this work and you can almost guarantee that he’ll be doing something special around election season. For now though, he retains, likely with the help of his goons, though I’m almost worried to see who he’s going to be facing here.

Eddie Edwards vs. Moose

This is, at least in theory, the final blowoff to Moose vs. The System, though it feels like we should have been at that point months ago. The idea here is that you can only lose if your corner person (Alisha Edwards and JDC) throw in the towel to end the match. That opens the door for some shenanigans and it comes down to whom is going to screw the other one over.

I’ll go with Edwards winning here, as it feels like they have set up JDC to mess with Moose again because that’s the kind of thing TNA would do. I’m not sure how you pay that off down the line if JDC is retired, but for now at least, Moose loses again. This feud has gone on far too long already and at this point, I’ll take it ending in whatever way they can figure out.

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

Say it with me: it’s a ladder match! The level of eye rolling I did when that was announced should come with a doctor’s warning but here we are again. The Hardys almost have to be in a ladder match every so often because the law of diminishing returns means nothing in wrestling. It also doesn’t help that the non-Righteous teams are just kind of there, which should tell you where this is going.

The Righteous should take the titles here, as they should have done six months ago. I get that the Hardys are big stars but how many title reigns does one team need? On the other hand you have the Great Hands, who were randomly thrown into this match for reasons I don’t quite get. That leave the champions and, well, does anyone believe they’re the top team in the company right now?

TNA World Title: Mike Santana(c) vs. Nic Nemeth

This is one of the more impressive showings that TNA has had in a minute, as they have taken a pretty nothing story and turned it into one of the hotter feuds going into the pay per view. Nemeth is cashing in his Call Your Shot win and just got a title shot. The catch though, as usual with Santana, is bringing up his daughter, who is his one weak spot. Nic and Ryan Nemeth have gone after Santana over and over but they might have just ticked him off beyond belief. I’m just not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing.

At the end of the day, it seems all but guaranteed that Santana is going to WWE sooner rather than later. The question is whether he drops the title here or later and I think he’ll hang onto it for now. TNA and WWE have a working relationship so Santana doesn’t have to cut all of his ties to go over. It should be interesting to see how it goes, but if they have a big fight with Santana winning, he can move on to whomever is going to take the title as he leaves. For now though, he retains.

Overall Thoughts

For the first time in WAY too long, I’m actually excited about this. The problem is that at the end of the day, this is still TNA and that means there is a real chance of letdown. I’m almost scared to get my hopes up that far as they have been dashed far too many times over the years. The potential is there though and if everything works out, we could be in for a heck of a Sunday afternoon.

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 18, 2026
Location: National Western Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re coming up on Slammiversary and that means things are mostly set for the pay per view. There is still time to change a few things though and we might get something done about that this week. Nic Nemeth is officially next up for World Champion Mike Santana and that won’t sit well for the champ. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is Xia Brookside for a chat. She finds it amazing that the people think she did something wrong. Everything was always supposed to be about her but then it became about Lei Ying Lee more and more every week. Brookside should have done this a long time ago and Lee never saw it coming. That’s because Lee is a dumba** but here is Lee to interrupt. Lee isn’t impressed and rants in Chinese, which doesn’t bother Brookside. The brawl is on with Lee beating up security, allowing Brookside to escape. Granted Lee just standing there rather than following made it easier.

Mike Santana is ready for his tag match tonight and facing Nic Nemeth at Slammiversary. Yeah Nemeth attacked him last week but at Slammiversary, he’ll Spin The Block and retain the title. KC Navarro (Santana’s partner) comes in to say they have to win and Santana seems ready.

Mustafa Ali/Great Hands vs. KC Navarro/Nic Nemeth/Mike Santana

The rest of Order 4 is here with Ali and company and Nemeth and Santana can’t fight each other without getting in trouble. Santana and Skyler start things off and I’m just waiting on Nemeth to tag himself in and yeah there it is before anything can happen. Everything breaks down and Santana powerbombs Ali over the top onto the Hands as we take a break.

We come back with Navarro in trouble and a triple powerbomb planting him for two. Something like a Stundog Millionaire lets Navarro bring in Santana to clean house but Nemeth tags himself in for the near fall. A middle rope G9 gets two on Nemeth with Navarro making the save. Santana saves Nemeth from a double suplex and grabs a double rolling Buck Fifty on the Hands. The double Danger Zone sets up the double pin for Nemeth and Santana at 9:11.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure why Navarro and Ali needed to be in this but the finish was good with Nemeth and Santana working together despite not really being able to stand each other. It’s nice to see the feud actually getting some attention and so far that’s working well enough. Just let Navarro challenge Ali for the International Title at Slammiversary and it should be fine.

Post match Ryan Nemeth runs in to go after Santana, who hits Navarro by mistake. Nic takes Santana out again.

Post break Nic comes up to Navarro and says he knew they couldn’t trust Santana. Ryan comes in and blames Navarro but here is Santana, with security holding him back. With the Nemeths gone, Santana takes the blame for hitting Navarro, who seems to want to fight the Nemeths.

Here is Frankie Kazarian for the King’s Speech. He’s excited about the return of Ultimate X at Slammiversary because he has won more of them than anyone on the active roster. That brings him to his guests, with Leon Slater and Cedric Alexander joining him. Kazarian brings up Slater being only a day away from the longest X-Division Title reign in history and Alexander laughs at Slater.

It’s true that Slater failed, with Alexander having way too much fun about taking away Slater’s dream. The fight is almost on and Kazarian calms them down, saying he’s in Ultimate X as well. Now hit his music. Alexander going all over the top was rather funny though and I’ll take that from this thing.

We get an AJ Francis: Inside The Music, with Francis talking about how much he wanted to be in music…and now he owns the rights to everything Elijah has done. That’s certainly a unique way to go.

Ricky Sosa vs. Dak Draper

Eric Young is on commentary and Draper was a thing in the dying days of Ring Of Honor. They fight over waistlocks to start until Draper takes him down but misses a knee drop. Sosa can’t get a suplex so Draper knocks him down again and gets the knee drop this time. Back up and Sosa knocks him to the floor for the dive but stops to glare at Young, allowing Draper to break up the springboard. Back in and a tilt-a-whirl powerslam plants Sosa for two but he’s back up with a spinning kick to the head. A snap German suplex drops Draper again and the Blue Thunder Bomb finishes for Sosa at 5:55.

Rating: C+. I’m not sure I get it with Sosa, as he really hasn’t done much that makes him stand out thus far. Granted it hasn’t been much, but there is only so much there. On the other hand, TNA needs some fresh blood and Sosa is as good as any other option they have at the moment so let’s see what he has.

The Elegance Brand comes up to see Daria Rae, with the Personal Concierge hyping up Mr. Elegance. This is enough for Rae to put him in Ultimate X. Indi Hartwell comes up and gets in a bit of an argument with Ash By Elegance.

Elayna Black vs. Indi Hartwell

Mara Sade is on commentary. Hartwell jumps over Black in the corner to start and boots her down for an early two. Black avoids a charge though and kicks Hartwell down for two of her own. A springboard (off the bottom rope) double stomp connects as well and Black grabs the chinlock. With that broken up, Hartwell grabs a spinebuster, only to be distracted by the Personal Concierge and Ash. Black gets in a cheap shot but Sade cuts Ash off, allowing Hartwell’s backslide to get the pin at 4:41.

Rating: C. This was more about the women getting involved in the end and that’s probably better than having the match go long. These two are in a less than great place as are only so interesting, though at least Hartwell can deal with the Elegance Brand. As for Black…yeah I’m still not seeing it and I don’t see that changing.

Post match the brawl is on with Sade and Hartwell clearing the ring.

Fabian Aichner talks to Santino Marella and gets a spot in Ultimate X. Nic Nemeth comes in to get KC Navarro a spot of of his own.

Mike Santana commandeers a camera and wants to see Nic Nemeth face to face.

The System vs. Moose/Hardys

The rest of the System is here with the System…and Moose is Broken. Oh joy. Moose and Edwards start things off but of course Edwards hands it off to Myers instead. Matt comes in to tie Myers’ arm up in the rope and crank away before Jeff comes in to help. The System is sent outside and we take an early break.

We come back with Jeff in trouble and Edwards going over to mock Moose. This earns him quite the planting onto the apron but Bronson keeps Jeff in the corner. It’s back to Myers for a chinlock but Jeff gets up for a double clothesline. Moose gets to come back in and clean house, with the chokebomb out of the corner getting two on Edwards. Everything breaks down and we hit the big parade of knockdowns. Cue the Righteous with the ladder on the stage for a distraction and Moose accidentally spears a kendo stick. The Boston Knee Party gives Edwards the pin at 13:57.

Rating: B-. The action was fine, which shouldn’t be much of a shock, but my goodness how long is this Hardys vs. Righteous stuff going to last? It’s been going on for months now and now we get to have a ladder involved because the Hardys are part of the feud. It feels so lame and standard for them and the Righteous being the latest “creepy” team isn’t much.

Here is Mike Santana to call out Nic Nemeth. Instead he gets Ryan Nemeth and Santana isn’t interested in the MY BIG BROTHER stuff. Cue Nic to say that Santana is too emotional and his title reign is on borrowed time. Santana isn’t impressed and he’ll see Nic at Slammiversary. What a thrilling ending.

Overall Rating: C+. This was the show where we got closer to Slammiversary, which was mostly set outside of the Ultimate X participants. They did a nice job with the Brookside/Lee stuff and Santana vs. Nemeth does feel bigger. This was the kind of show that Slammiversary needed, though they still have quite a ways to go.

Results
Mike Santana/Nic Nemeth/KC Navarro b. Mustafa Ali/Great Hands – Double pin
Ricky Sosa b. Dak Draper – Blue Thunder Bomb
Indi Hartwell b. Elayna Black – Backslide
The System b. Hardys/Moose – Boston Knee Party to Moose

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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Impact Wrestling
Date: June 11, 2026
Location: National Western Center, Denver, Colorado
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s title night as while we’re about two and a half weeks away from Slammiversary, the World Title is being defended this week. Mike Santana is putting the title on the line against Eric Young, who won a battle royal a few weeks ago to get the shot. Other than that, we probably get to find out some more matches for the pay per view. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

TNA World Title: Eric Young vs. Mike Santana

Santana is defending and, after the Big Match Intros, charges at him in the corner to start fast. A powerbomb out of the corner gives Santana two and he knocks Young around ringside. Young is back up with a slam onto the apron and a neckbreaker on the same apron as we take a break.

We come back with Young knocking him out to the floor and sending him back inside for two. Young goes up and gets superplexed down for a double breather. The rolling Buck Fifty gives Santana two but the referee gets bumped in the corner, meaning Spin The Block gets nothing. A low blow, belt shot and piledriver give Young two so Young loads up another piledriver. Cue the returning Ricky Sosa, allowing Santana to hit a quick rollup for the pin to retain at 13:32.

Rating: B-. Well, the most important thing here is that Young didn’t win the title and this should move him away from the title picture. Santana is likely dealing with Nic Nemeth at Slammiversary and now we should get ready for the next pay per view title defense. Young gets to move on to a better feud with Sosa and that should be a good way for Sosa to really start his run around here.

Post match here is Nic Nemeth with the trophy to say he could call his shot right now, but he’s a man of his word. Earlier this week, he said he would use his title shot at Slammiversary and that is what he is going to do. As cheap of a way as that is to set up a title shot, it’s about all there is right now.

Mustafa Ali, with Order 4, liked what Nic Nemeth just did. As for KC Navarro, Ali gives his condolences for Navarro’s losses. Both of them, including the match tonight and his uncle earlier this week. That’s rather cold.

We look back at AJ Francis laying out Elijah last week and apparently buying his likeness and music library.

Elijah vs. Mr. Elegance

Elijah says no one will silence him but here is a lawyer with a cease and desist letter. The distraction lets Elegance grab a small package for the pin at 12 seconds.

Post match here is AJ Francis to mock Elijah for losing again, earning himself a beating. They fight into the crowd (yo TNA: stop going into the crowd when there are large areas of empty seats) and here is Lei Ying Lee to brawl with Elegance. Xia Brookside comes in for a cheap shot but gets taken out.

Nic Nemeth gives KC Navarro a pep talk. Ryan Nemeth comes in as well but here is Mike Santana, who respects Nic for announcing the title shot man to man. Santana will be ready for him at Slammiversary. Navarro says he has a title to win and could use either Santana or Nic’s help with Order 4. They both seem intrigued but don’t agree.

Fabian Aichner/Leon Slater vs. The System

Slater and Alexander start things off and, say it with me, Alexander tags Edwards right at the bell. That earns Edwards a kick to the face and it’s off to Aichner, who gets cheap shotted from the apron. Alexander suplexes him onto the apron and we take a break. We come back with Aichner still in trouble and Edwards grabbing a chinlock.

That’s broken up and Aichner gets in a knockdown, followed by kicking Edwards away. Slater gets the tag to clean house and a high crossbody gets two on Alexander. Everything breaks down and Aichner tornado DDTs Alexander, which brings out the rest of the System. Slater dives onto both of them but Alexander grabs the Lumbar Check for the pin at 9:59.

Rating: B-. This was a perfectly acceptable tag match as Slater continues to want revenge on the System. I’m hoping that he moves on to something bigger after this is done, as he seems too important for the X-Division and yet he has only teased a few moves up the ladder. Other than that, Aichner’s start continues to go well now that he’s away from the awkward debut.

Post match the beatdown is on but Moose returns for the save. Moose vs. Edwards is set for Slammiversary.

Santino Marella is happy with his win last week. Indi Hartwell comes in and is granted a match with Elayna Black next week, which is all she wanted.

Here is the Righteous for a chat. They brag about their win last week, including poisoning Jeff Hardy last week. The Hardys have survived everything over thirty years but they come into the Wicked Garden and are immediately classified as obsolete. That leaves the Righteous wanting the Tag Team Titles.

This brings out Santino Marella, who says the Hardys still have a rematch clause so they’ll get a title shot at Slammiversary, as will the Righteous in a three way match. A three way LADDER match. GOOD GRIEF ENOUGH WITH THE LADDER MATCHES! My goodness just have them wrestle once in a blue moon already. The Righteous laugh at the idea because the Hardys are gone but the lights go out, Matt Hardy’s laugh is heard, and a ladder appears.

The Elegance Brand vs. Allie/Rosemary/Mara Sade

Mr. Elegance offers a quick distraction to start and it’s a big brawl on the floor before the bell. Sade and M start things off with Sade hitting a middle rope dropkick. Rosemary comes in with a doll, which seems to control Ash. This involves making her dance and biting her for some pain before throwing the doll to M. Ash chokes Rosemary on the rope and it’s off to Heather to choke on the rope. Rosemary fights up and brings Allie in to clean house as everything breaks down. Allie hits a quick running Codebreaker to pin Heather at 5:31.

Rating: C. This was more about the doll bit and fair enough. Given some of the things the Undead Realm (just name them that already) have done, this is hardly a stretch. Ash sells comedy well enough too and it could have been worse. The match was mainly about running all over the place, especially in the end and that’s fine enough.

Slammiversary rundown.

International Title: KC Navarro vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali is defending and elbows Navarro in the face to start. Navarro sends him outside though and hits a big dive as we take a break. We come back with Navarro getting to the rope to escape an STF. The 450 misses though and Ali misses a charge into the buckle. They both go up and Ali tries a fireman’s carry, with Navarro reversing into a cutter for a huge crash. Navarro hits a Fameasser for two and a running flipping neckbreaker gets the same. Navarro looks up at the sky but dives into a Sharpshooter for the tap at 10:37.

Rating: C+. This was ok while it lasted but at the same time, that was quite the punch to the gut of a finish, with Navarro referencing his uncle and then tapping out almost immediately. Ali retaining is fine as he’s likely going to be in for a big time title defense at Slammiversary. Navarro is a talented guy but he’s not on Ali’s level and it never seemed like he was.

Post match Ali puts the Sharpshooter on again but here are Nic Nemeth and Mike Santana for the save. Ali teases a belt shot on Santana but Nemeth gives Ali a superkick. Then Nemeth gives Santana the Danger Zone to end the show.

Overall Rating: C+. This was the show where they got everything else cleared out of the way before we can get on to Slammiversary. That’s a good thing as well, as there wasn’t much of anything that stood out with what they were doing in recent weeks. Slammiversary still doesn’t look great but at least there is a card to build towards and that has been needed for awhile now.

Results
Mike Santana b. Eric Young – Rollup
Mr. Elegance b. Elijah – Small package
The System b. Fabian Aichner/Leon Slater – Lumbar Check to Slater
Allie/Rosemary/Mara Sade b. The Elegance Brand – Codebreaker to Heather
Mustafa Ali b. KC Navarro – Sharpshooter

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: June 4, 2026
Location: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re less than a month away from Slammiversary and…there isn’t much on the show. There are only a few matches set for the show and most of the champions are still waiting to find challengers. They might want to work on that with just four shows left before the pay per view so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Eddie Edwards vs. BDE

The rest of the System is here with Edwards. BDE starts fast with a springboard crossbody and Edwards is sent outside for a dive. Back in and Edwards catches him on top for a scary sounding top rope belly to back rope superplex. BDE is right back up with a reverse DDT into a Codebreaker. Alisha Edwards gets up for a distraction but BDE is right back with a springboard Stunner for two more. The System offers another distraction though and BDE’s frog splash hits raised knees. The Boston Knee Party finishes for Eddie at 4:52.

Rating: C. This was about what it should have been as a former multiple time World Champion shouldn’t have much effort beating a winless streamer. The good thing is that they didn’t stretch this out, as tends to be the case for BDE, and BDE is far from embarrassing. Just a quick opener here and that’s about all it needed to be.

Post match the beatdown stays on but Fabian Aichner runs in for the save. The System manages to take him down but here is Leon Slater for the real save. This includes the big running flip dive over the corner so the good guys can stand tall.

Video on the Hardys vs. the Righteous in the Righteous’ weird garden.

Here is AJ Francis for a chat. Francis does his usual introduction and brags about getting rid of Rich Swann. He brags about his musical abilities and loads up a song called Walk, which doesn’t seem to be overly great. Cue Elijah to interrupt but Francis says that Elijah is stealing his intellectual property. Francis throws up what appears to be his face on Elijah’s guitar playing body.

Hold on though as Francis isn’t done, even busting out a cease and desist letter. Since Elijah doesn’t want to collaborate, Francis has purchased the name, image and likeness for Elijah, Elias and EZEKIEL. Elijah loads up a song called No Skill Uncle Phil anyway and actually turns his back on Francis, who lays him out. That was another level of dumb from Elijah, who deserved to be knocked cold.

Indi Hartwell and Santino Marella are warming up when Daria Rae interrupts. She makes it clear that she had nothing to do with Hartwell getting a new contract.

Elayna Black brags about winning the Champions Challenge last week and is ready to win the Knockouts Title because she’s that awesome.

Indi Hartwell/Santino Marella vs. Stacks/Arianna Grace

Frankie Kazarian is on commentary. The men start things off but Grace comes in to offer a free shot. Hartwell is fine with coming in to tackle Grace and hammer away but Stacks jumps Marella to take over instead. A random sleeper pulls Stacks down, who is right back with a basement lariat as we take a break.

We come back with Stacks mocking the trombone pose but getting backdropped out to the apron. That’s enough for Hartwell to come in (legally this time) with a spinebuster to Grace but Stacks makes a save. A fisherman’s neckbreaker gives Grace two and she runs Hartwell over. The chinlock goes on but Hartwell fights up for a clothesline in the double down. Marella comes back in but Grace takes the Cobra and loads it up herself. Naturally she hits Stacks by mistake, allowing Hartwell to pull out her own Cobra. Stereo Cobras give Marella the pin on Stacks at 12:23.

Rating: C. This was all about the power of the Cobra and given that we have a match in a magical garden coming up, this could have been worse. It wasn’t much of a tag match, though Marella isn’t out there for the sake of having something high quality. There is at least something with the son/daughter/son-in-law deal though so it could have been worse.

The Elegance Brand gets scared by the Undead Realm again.

Eric Young is in the ring to talk about how this place is sick and he has to fix everything. He did that to Joe Hendry, Ricky Sosa and EC3 and now it’s time to win the World Title. Mike Santana is sick and addicted to the fans’ applause so Young is going to beat him due to being better than that.

Cue Santana to interrupt and call Young a bit less than relevant. Young talks about how he’s been here longer than anyone and he is the one constant (that’s not how constants work). Santana says that people like Young are the ones really poisoning TNA but Young calls him the shiny new toy around here. The people will turn on him too but Santana is sick of him, so let’s do the title match right now. Young hits him low and gives him a piledriver. Thankfully it seems like we’re done with Young’s main event push after next week.

Mustafa Ali is not happy with getting pinned in the Champions Challenge but he knows that KC Navarro just got a fluke win. Their title match is next week.

We look at Young piledriving Santana again.

Here is the Personal Concierge to warn Lei Ying Lee that the Elegance Brand is coming for the Knockouts Title.

Mr. Elegance vs. Lei Ying Lee

Xia Brookside is on commentary. Elegance shoves Lee down to start and strikes a pose but Lee is back up with her own takedown. That means Lee gets to pose as well and then hammer away in the corner. The rest of the Elegance Brand gets up for a distraction and that’s a big group elimination. Elegance powers Lee around again and swivels his hips behind her neck.

Some hip thrust faceplants have Lee in more trouble and she can’t get a sunset flip. A missed charge sends Elegance into the corner though and Lee kicks him into an ankle lock. Elegance reaches the rope and nails a pop up slap but gets crotched on top. An airplane spin is broken up as Brookside gets on the apron, allowing Elegance to rake the eyes. A wind up DDT finishes for Elegance at 7:09.

Rating: C-. This was a rather odd choice for a match, with Lee getting powered around, as you would expect, and then the villain cheating to win, even if he should have anyway. Brookside costing Lee the win in the end was a logical way to go but this was weird all around. I’m not sure what they were going for here but it didn’t exactly work.

Post match Brookside announces that she’s getting her title shot at Slammiversary.

The Broken Garden is prepared, which appears to be a bunch of flowers and barbed wire being set up around ringside. I’ll take that over some mythical place.

Hardys vs. Righteous

Wicked Garden, which means anything goes and pin/submission has to be in the ring. The Righteous come out with a bunch of lackeys in robes, who surround the ring. The bell rings and they take their time getting ready before finally slugging it out. That means the Hardys have to avoid being sent into the barbed wire a few times but Dutch is sent into the barbed wire board.

Jeff is sent into the wired ropes and gets his arm wrapped around one of them but Matt is back up with some kind of a gardening tool. Dutch’s face gets raked and of course he’s already busted open. Vincent is back up with some wire around Matt’s head but Jeff is up for the save. The double legdrop hits Dutch as Matt is busted open as well. The Righteous are sent outside so the Hardys join them for more wire raking.

We take a break and come back with Jeff being dropped ribs first onto the barbed wire. A Downward Spiral sends him into the wire again and Matt is back inside to get choked down. We go to a quick shot of the crowd which is likely some kind of an edit and come back to Matt using the wire to hit Dutch low. A Plot Twist gets two on Vincent and the wire is wrapped around his head. Dutch’s save is cut off and Vincent gets caught with Poetry In Motion.

The Side Effect gets two on Dutch but he spears Matt through a barbed wire board in the corner. Jeff gets pulled into a kendo stick shot to the ribs and Vincent whips out a white flower. They put it into Jeff’s mouth and Jeff is in trouble. Matt is back up with a double DDT as Jeff falls outside and convulses. Jeff starts vomiting and is put on a stretcher but comes back in to fight some more. That doesn’t exactly work and it’s Orange Sunshine to finish Matt at 21:00.

Rating: C+. I never know what to make of these weird/otherworldly things and this was no exception. I’m sure there’s some kind of explanation of what the heck the Righteous are talking about here but honestly that might just make it worse. The brawl was less insane than I was expecting and thank goodness it was just in the arena, though this feud has outlived its interest for a long time now and needs to be over. It won’t be, but it needs to be.

The Righteous are all happy and the Hardys disappear for the spooky ending.

Overall Rating: C-. This one really didn’t click for me, as Slammiversary is coming up and it feels like one of those things that might be going on in the background but isn’t overly important. I’m not sure why they’re so obsessed with the Righteous vs. the Hardys, but it’s probably whatever Jeff came up with and thought was some artistic display. This wasn’t a very good show and that’s not something I have to say about Impact Wrestling very often. Hopefully it’s better next week, as the pay per view needs some buildup.

Results
Eddie Edwards b. BDE – Boston Knee Party
Santino Marella/Indi Hartwell b. Stacks/Arianna Grace – Cobra to Stacks
Mr. Elegance b. Lei Ying Lee – Wind up DDT
Righteous b. Hardys – Orange Sunshine 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

Impact Wrestling
Date: May 21, 2026
Location: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re back to taped after last week’s live show which was kind of all over the place. Last week’s show saw Cedric Alexander end Leon Slater’s near record setting X-Division Title reign. The show ended with the debut of Fabian Aichner, which is certainly a surprise, though maybe not the biggest. As for tonight, Steve Maclin gets his (second) World Title shot against Mike Santana. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is the System to get things going. Eddie Edwards brags about the team’s success and says Cedric Alexander got them one step closer to holding all of the gold. He’s coming for Mike Santana but Brian Myers doesn’t like the fans disliking them. Bronson promises that anyone who comes after them will be eaten alive. Alexander became the Record Taker last week and if Fabian Aichner has something to say, come say it.

Cue Aichner, who says he was out here to introduce himself last week. He knows he’s a future TNA Champion and that X-Division Title looks nice. The team comes after Aichner, who gets right through them and chokes Alexander, sending the System running. That already makes Aichner look more interesting than anything he did in WWE.

Daria Rae gives Steve Maclin a pep talk and he says…absolutely nothing.

Elayna Black vs. Indi Hartwell

Stacks and Arianna Grace are on commentary. Black gets shoved out of the corner to start fast and Hartwell boots her in the face. Another boot to the side of the head gets two but Black shoves her off the top for a crash to the floor. Back in and Black knees her in the back for two, followed by a running knee for the same. The chinlock doesn’t last long as Hartwell fights up with a spinebuster. Hartwell goes up but Grace shoves her down for the DQ at 4:05.

Rating: C. They didn’t have much time to get this going and the biggest thing here was Grace going after Hartwell. That’s a feud that has been built up for a bit and will probably get us closer to Hartwell going after the Knockouts Title down the line. Then you have Black who continues to just kind of be here, which has been an issue for her since her debut. At least she isn’t taking pins all the time though, meaning there is still hope for her at the moment.

Post match Grace throws Hartwell outside and rants about Santino Marella, who comes out to interrupt. Marella says that wasn’t cool and yells at Stacks, who seems interested in a fight. The Cobra is loaded up but cue Daria Rae to interrupt. After her catchphrase, she brings up her own past in MMA and tells everyone to leave.

The Elegance Brand is planning for Ash’s return when the lights go out. The lights come back up and there is a message from the Undead Realm, saying they’ll see the Brand soon.

Vincent vs. Matt Hardy

Dutch is here with Vincent. Hardy’s music starts but Vincent says hang on, because he wants Broken Matt. Cue Matt, with Jeff Hardy, and yes he’s Broken because this is still a thing. Jeff and Dutch have to be handcuffed to the corners and we start with Matt avoiding a charge into the corner. Dutch grabs him by the leg though and we take a break.

We come back with Matt striking away until a double clothesline puts them both down. Matt pops up and sends him into the corner over and over. The powerbomb out of the corner plants Vincent, who starts untying his boot. A big swing misses Matt and he bites Vincent’s foot. Dutch offers a distraction so Vincent gets in a running shot to the face.

The Twist Of Fate is countered and the referee gets bumped, with Vincent belly to back suplexing Matt down. Vincent steals the key from the referee’s pocket…but the lights go out (just like in the previous backstage segment). This time though, Willow is back to beat Vincent up with the umbrella. The Twist Of Fate gives Matt the pin at 11:29.

Rating: C+. I know the Broken stuff has its audience and I continue to not be part of it. This was another instance of the Hardys getting to do their weird stuff and get out their creativity or whatever they’re calling it this time. At the same time, the Hardys get to win again, as they tend to do far too often around here.

AJ Francis comes up to applaud Elijah’s guitar playing and suggests a collaboration. Elijah politely declines and Francis says you’re going to regret that. Francis: “You’re going to regret that.”

Santino Marella announces a pair of upcoming Champions Challenges (champions vs. challengers) but Daria Rae interrupts and makes Marella vs. Stacks for next week. Marella approves and leaves, with the System coming in. Eddie Edward requests and receives a match with Fabian Aichner next week.

International Title: Chazz Hall vs. Mustafa Ali

Hall, from NXT/Evolve, is challenging and Ali has Order 4 with him. They run the ropes and trade legsweeps to start until Ali sends him into the corner. Hall knocks him away and hits a springboard wristdrag, setting up a running flip dive to the floor. Back in and Ali cutters him for two before taking Hall up top. The super Razor’s Edge is countered into a super hurricanrana, followed by a standing corkscrew moonsault for two. Sliced Bread is broken up and Ali grabs a backslide and flips forward into a cradle to retain at 4:47.

Rating: B-. They packed a bunch of stuff into the limited time they had here and that was nice to see. Hall got to showcase himself fairly well, with those flips and dives looking nice. The rollup was rather smooth as well though and Ali certainly seemed to be fired up off that nice of a pin.

Mara Sade meets actor Keith Jardine, who agrees to be in her corner.

Eric Young fires up the rather serious/possibly zombified Steve Maclin. Young talks about giving him an opportunity and now Maclin has to make the biggest choice of his life.

Jada Stone vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside looks annoyed and backs Stone into the corner to start. Stone rolls her up and Brookside goes outside for a breather. Back in and the threat of a leglock sends Stone over to the ropes so she comes back up with a wristlock. Stone knocks her down but takes too long going up, with Brookside going back to the leg. Said leg is tied up and cranked on until Brookside ties it up in the corner. Stone fights back and gets in a kick to the face, setting up a split legged moonsault for two. A handspring is cut off with a kick to the leg though and Darkside (implant DDT) finishes for Brookside at 7:09.

Rating: C+. I like Brookside getting a chance in this way and while it’s early, it’s working for her thus far. She very easily could bring it back around the whole “it’s your birthright” thing and this is her way to get there. It’s working for her well enough so far and picking Stone apart was a good way to go.

Steve Maclin goes after Mike Santana in the back but security holds them apart.

Stacks and Arianna Grace are ready for Santino Marella next week.

TNA World Title: Steve Maclin vs. Mike Santana

Santana is defending. They immediately slug it out to start and Maclin blocks the superkick (which knocked him out at Sacrifice). A missed dropkick puts Santana down but he’s right back up with a belly to back faceplant. Maclin heads outside and gets taken out by a dive but is able to post Santana for a breather. The table is loaded up and Santana seems to tweak his knee. That’s fine with Maclin, who scores with a chop block to put Santana down.

We take a break and come back with Santana reversing a Figure Four to send Stacks over to the rope. Maclin dives into a Death Valley Driver and they’re both down again. Back up and a jumping enziguri rocks Maclin in the corner but the rolling Buck Fifty is blocked. Santana escapes the Tree Of Woe though and now the rolling Buck Fifty connects for two. A spinning powerbomb gives Santana two but Spin The Block is countered into a Michinoku Driver for two more.

The spear in the Tree Of Woe gets another two and they go up top. Santana drops down to the apron and kicks Maclin through the table, followed by a frog splash for two more. Maclin collapses before Spin The Black can connect, which is a ruse so he can connect with a superkick of his own. Santana is back with a jumping clothesline into Spin The Block to retain at 17:37.

Rating: B. So that was the Sacrifice main event postponed by a bit and that’s perfectly fine. I do like Maclin getting his title shot and a chance at a full match rather than the mishap from the first attempt. This worked and felt like a main event, though I could have gone with something other than a second match in a row with someone working on the leg.

Overall Rating: B-. It’s another perfectly efficient show, with a big main event and some stuff being set up for later. I could go for less of the Broken Hardys and the battling bosses, but the champions vs. all stars matches should be good. They covered quite a bit here and that’s always appreciated, with a more steady show after last week’s live edition.

Results
Indi Hartwell b. Elayna Black via DQ when Arianna Grace interfered
Matt Hardy b. Vincent – Twist Of Fate
Mustafa Ali b. Chazz Hall – Rollup
Xia Brookside b. Jada Stone – Darkside
Mike Santana b. Steve Maclin – 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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Impact Wrestling
Date: May 14, 2026
Location: Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s another live show this week and the card is pretty stacked. On the docket this week, we have a street fight and a 2/3 falls match as Leon Slater defends the X-Division Title against Cedric Alexander in a bid to become the longest reigning champion of all time. The live shows have been hit or miss and I’m hoping they make it work here. Let’s get to it.

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

The opening video looks at Leon Slater’s near record setting X-Division Title reign, with only Cedric Alexander standing in the way of the record.

Opening sequence.

Battle Royal

Eddie Edwards, Bear Bronson, Brian Myers, Elijah, Mr. Elegance, Mustafa Saed, BDE, Eric Young, Vincent, Dutch, Frankie Kazarian, Home Town Man, Agent Zero, John Skyler, Jason Hotch

For a future World Title shot against Mike Santana and yes that is the same 62 year old Saed from ECW. Saed uses a bunch of weapons to start, gets in a fight with Zero, and is tossed. Good grief let the ECW thing die already. Anyway Zero and Dutch get in a fight and are both tossed. Elegance gets rid of BDE and poses, only to get tossed by Man. The System tries to get rid of Man, who backdrops Myers out instead.

Hotch gets knocked outside onto the steps (as moved by Zero) but pops back up onto the apron. A jumping knee knocks him out again as they’re certainly moving here. Kazarian tosses Man out of the corner but gets eliminated as well. Elijah faces off with the System but gets grabbed by Kazarian. That’s fine with Elijah, who backdrops the System out and before slugging it out with Young on the apron. A low blow gets rid of Elijah to give Young the win at 4:57.

Rating: C. Well they made good time. If you have a bunch of people who have no real chance of winning and a few stars in there, at least they didn’t waste time with all of the nonsense. That being said, Eric Young? That might actually be worse than bringing ECW, ahem, legends, out of mothballs again and again.

Leon Slater says this isn’t just another title match tonight because it’s his chance to rewrite the record books. The Hardys come in to offer some words of encouragement.

Mustafa Ali yells at Order 4 for losing and says the International Title open challenge is back next week.

Eric Young promises to win the World Title. That has to be illegal in multiple states yes?

Here is Lei Ying Lee for a chat. Last week was the greatest night of her life and she got the Knockouts Title back. She is so proud of herself for bringing the title back to TNA and while her English isn’t the best (her words), she wants to say thank you from the bottom of her heart. Cue Xia Brookside to interrupt, saying she wants the title. Lee rants in Chinese and translates to English, saying they can do this right now. Brookside says no and calls her a b**** in Mandarin.

The System promises to take out Moose and Cedric Alexander is getting the X-Division Title tonight.

Keith Jardine, star of an upcoming movie, is here but the Elegance Brand interrupts. Jardine isn’t impressed so Mr. Elegance gets in Jardine’s face. And then security gets them apart. Ok then.

AJ Francis vs. KC Navarro

Street fight and Chris Caray (the great grandson of Harry Caray and a fourth generation MLB announcer is on commentary). Navarro avoids a charge to start and kicks him in the face but gets knocked down without much trouble. They get inside where the Down Payment is countered and Navarro hits the 305. A suicide dive is pulled out of the air but Navarro keeps spinning into a tornado DDT. The table is set up on the floor and Navarro uses a chair before sending him into the steps.

We take a break and come back with Francis posting Navarro and stealing the baseball bat that Caray brought for protection. Navarro takes it away and finds an Athletics (the team Caray broadcasts and local to Sacramento at the moment) helmet. With Francis down in the corner, Navarro takes a swing at the air, runs around the corners, and dropkicks a trashcan into Francis.

A Fameasser gives Navarro two and he throws in a bunch of chairs. The chairs are set up but Francis gets in a bat shot, only for the super Down Payment is countered into a cutter onto the steps. Francis boots him down and hits the Down Payment over the top through the tables at ringside. What’s left of Navarro is thrown back inside and pinned at 15:01.

Rating: B-. I’m a big baseball fan so this was a nice little meeting of the two words. I’m not sure on Navarro being so obsessed with revenge that he had the time to stop for the home run deal but it was fine enough. That chokeslam at the end looked great and Francis can move on to something else. Caray was actually pretty good on commentary, as he might not have known much about what he was seeing but he made some nice comparisons to baseball and certainly sounded like he was interested. That’s a lot more than some guest broadcasters do.

We look at Leon Slater winning the X-Division Title last year at Slammiversary.

Here is Mike Santana for a chat (you might not want to have him walk through so many empty seats). Santana talks about his actions and words matching up and now he has a challenger. He’s facing Eric Young, who helped build this place, but Santana is the one who helped build this place in the AMC era. This brings out Daria Rae, who says the next challenger is actually Steve Maclin next week.

No she didn’t explain this to Santino Marella, but here he is to interrupt. He likes the title match, but he has his own announcements. First, Indi Hartwell has re-signed with TNA. Marella is also proud of Lei Ying Lee but Rae brings up Marella’s issues with Arianna Grace. Santana cuts them off and says he’ll beat anyone to keep his title. Rae has got to drop the SHUT UP I’M TALKING thing as it’s one of the worst catchphrases I’ve ever heard.

Myla Moore/Victoria Crawford vs. Rosemary/Allie

Tessa Blanchard and Mara Sade are here too. Rosemary backs Moore into the corner to start and Allie gets in a bite from the apron. Allie comes in to scream a lot and hits a running corner clockwise. Moore chokes her in the ropes though and it’s off to Crawford for a chinlock. Allie gets double kneed in the corner but comes out with a neckbreaker. Rosemary comes in to clean house and it’s a double Upside Down. Sade takes Blanchard out on the floor and Allie drops Moore next to her. Back in and As Above So Below finishes Crawford at 6:26.

Rating: C+. It’s so nice to have Allie and Rosemary back, as it gives Rosemary something to do and Allie has been gone for far too long. The Undead Realm stuff was kind of weird but the division needed some fresh blood. It helps that the two of them are long established names so they come in with an advantage.

Video on Leon Slater.

The Broken Hardys are ready to delete the Righteous.

X-Division Title: Leon Slater vs. Cedric Alexander

Slater is defending in a 2/3 falls match. They trade some rapid fire strikes in the corner until Slater reverses the Lumbar Check into a rollup for the first fall at 35 seconds. We take a break and come back with Slater getting whipped into the Tree Of Woe. Alexander pulls him into a backbreaker for two and we hit the chinlock. Slater isn’t having that and makes the clothesline comeback, including a spinwheel kick.

A high crossbody gives Slater two and they trade some rollups for two each. The Michinoku Driver gives Alexander two more but Slater knocks him into the corner. That just earns Slater the Lumbar Check to tie it up at 10:41 total. We take another break and come back again with both of them pulling themselves up. Slater sends him outside for the big flip dive over the corner, followed by a super Styles Clash for two back inside.

They head outside, where Alexander lawn darts him into the steps but stops to hold up the belt. Slater is rather busted open but he’s able to get two off a small package. Alexander’s brainbuster gets the same and another Lumbar Check gets another two. Slater knocks him down but misses the Swanton 450. Two more Lumbar Checks give Alexander the title at 22:11 total.

Rating: B. Well it certainly felt big, mainly because the match was treated as a huge deal. That’s what it needed to be, as Slater has been an outstanding champion. The good thing is Slater is a made man after his title reign and very well could move on to the World Title picture. Either way, good match here, and I’m not expecting Alexander to hold onto it for very long. Rather good main event here, with the atmosphere helping a lot.

Post match….Fabian Aichner (Giovanni Vinci) of all people shows up to stare Alexander down to end the show. That’s the kind of moment that really doesn’t need to be ending a show this big. Aichner was never a huge deal in WWE and while that could be better here (it can’t be worse than his Vinci stuff), this comes off as “he used to be in WWE so bring him in”. Him being here is good, but it’s definitely not a big closing the show with a surprise moment.

Overall Rating: B. The show did feel big and the main event mixed with the better than expected street fight brights it up. That being said, TNA has a very odd definition of a big moment/surprise and that was certainly on display again here. It’s a good show, though Aichner coming out at the end was more of an “uh, ok?” moment than a “whoa”.

Results
Eric Young won a battle royal last eliminating Elijah.
AJ Francis b. KC Navarro – Down Payment through tables
Rosemary/Allie b. Victoria Crawford/Myla Moore – As Above So Below to Crawford
Cedric Alexander b. Leon Slater 2-1

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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Impact Wrestling
Date: April 23, 2026
Location: Upstate Medical University Arena At The Oncenter War Memorial, Syracuse, New York
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s World Title time, as Rich Swann is getting a shot at Mike Santana and the gold. That should be enough to carry the show but we still have a bit of fallout from Rebellion to deal with this week. If nothing else, the Hardys still want revenge on the Righteous, as their feud is somehow still going. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Bear Bronson vs. Nic Nemeth

The rest of the System is here and Ryan Nemeth is on commentary. Bronson chokes in the corner to start and gives him a rather enthusiastic slam. Nic fights back but Bronson sits down on his chest, allowing Alisha Edwards to get in a cheap shot from the floor. The side slam gives Bronson two but Nic fights up and hits a quick Fameasser.

Bronson chokebombs him for two more, only to get sent into the post. The running DDT and superkick give Nic two more but Bronson knocks him outside. The System surrounds him but KC Navarro comes out to offer a distraction. Nic hits the superkick into the Danger Zone for the pin at 8:27.

Rating: B-. This actually wound up being pretty decent, which isn’t a surprise as Bronson has completely exceeded his expectations in his time around here. The interference likely sets up another tag match down the line and I’m digging Nic as a good guy. You could put him into the World Title scene rather easily and that will likely be the case down the line, though going after the System is a good way to start.

Rich Swann, with BDE, is very excited for the main event and wants to do this alone. BDE doesn’t seem to mind.

Here is…well it’s supposed to be Elijah for a concert but it’s obviously Frankie Kazarian with a fake beard (which commentary does recognize). He has a bad case of the blues because he can’t beat Kazarian and he has written a song called Kaz Is My Daddy. Cue the real Elijah to choke Kazarian out and announce a guitar strap match. Then he sings about how horrible Kazarian is. I’ve heard worse ideas for a gimmick match.

EC3 has a chair and is ready to end Eric Young.

Tessa Blanchard, Victoria Crawford and Mila Moore are back from the Undead Realm and next week, they’re fighting Rosemary and company in their world. Sidenote: I know it’s (probably) not intentional but Moore’s “Hotter Than Her” shirt with an arrow pointing at Crawford is hilarious.

Dutch vs. Matt Hardy

Their partners are banned from ringside. Hardy wastes no time in setting up a table at ringside and spray paints SACRIFICE on top. Dutch jumps him inside for the opening bell and blocks an early Twist Of Fate attempt. The Side Effect connects and they go outside, with Hardy ramming Dutch’s head into the steps over and over.

We take a break and come back with Dutch charging into a side slam and grabbing a chinlock. That’s broken up and Dutch misses an elbow, allowing Hardy to hit a DDT. Dutch is sent outside for a middle rope elbow…which breaks one of the table’s legs but not the table itself. Hardy suplexes him through the table but since it was set up before the match, it’s not a DQ. As I try to get my head around THAT logic, Vincent pops out from underneath the ring and slides a chair inside. The distraction lets Vincent shove Hardy off the top into Death Walks to give Dutch the pin at 10:15.

Rating: C. The idea here was that Hardy wanted revenge, but at the same time the stuff with the table didn’t exactly work. This feud feels like it should have ended a few times now and odds are we’re going to the Hardy Compound sooner than later. Dutch getting a win is a surprise, though it was only an ok match.

Post match Vincent sits in a chair as Dutch beats on Matt. Jeff Hardy runs in for the save, which is treated as a surprise because…well because villains in wrestling are dumb.

The Elegance Brand have Mr. Elegance show off his physique to convince Daria Rae to give him a match next week. Yeah sure. She’s rather confused as the team leaves. This could be funny, which might be due to Rae not using her terrible catchphrase.

Here is a rather upset looking Lei Ying Lee for a chat. After apologizing for her English not being great, she says she loves her friends and TNA but doesn’t know why Xia Brookside did that to her. Cue Brookside, now in a leather jacket, to say they aren’t best friends because if they were, they would have stood together at Rebellion. Lee is in tears as Brookside says she has the pressure of being a second generation star and being all alone.

Lee talks about being alone out here but then she met Brookside and tried to help her. She apologizes to Brookside and promises to be right by her side. Brookside says she made a mistake and that Lee has been by her side. She knows Lee will be champion again and they make up with a big hug. Then Brookside glares at the camera and lays her out. Perfectly fine stuff here, though Brookside as a heel might be hard to make work.

Elayna Black vs. Katie Arquette

Black knocks her down to start and then trips her onto the apron. Back in and Black knocks her into the corner, setting up the Blackout for the fast pin at 2:29. Total squash.

Mustafa Ali, with Order 4, welcomes us to the International Title summit, where a random country is selected to have a representative get a title shot. The lucky country is Australia and the challenger is….Chris Brookes! He’s thankful for the chance and calls Ali a “bloke”, which Ali doesn’t understand.

Bear Bronson is ticked off about his loss and Cedric Alexander wants Leon Slater and the X-Division Title. Eddie Edwards says the System will fix this.

TNA World Title: Rich Swann vs. Mike Santana

Santana is defending and Swann is in remarkable shape as that has never been his thing before. They shake hands to start and we’re ready to go. Santana goes after the arm to start and wrestles him down, with Swann popping up for a standoff. They go to the test of strength and head to the mat with neither being able to get the advantage.

Back up and they both miss dropkicks, followed by Swann catching Santana with a dropkick to send him into the ropes. That has Santana rethinking things and hitting a dropkick of his own. A belly to back faceplant drops Swann and Santana hits a backsplash for two. They go outside, where Santana sends him face first into the floor (ow) as we take a break. We come back with Swann hitting a running kick from the apron and putting Santana in a chair next to the barricade.

Some running kicks to the face have Santana rocked but he comes back with a superkick. They get back inside, where Swann superkicks him out of the air and goes up as well. That earns Swann a top rope superplex, though he might have countered in some way as they both stay down. Santana fights up and strikes away, setting up the Rolling Buck Fifty. The Cannonball and a sitout powerbomb give Santana two but Swann scores with a rolling clothesline.

Swann misses a middle rope 450 but connects with the handspring cutter. A super hurricanrana into a frog splash gives Swann two and they need a breather. Back up and Santana tries a sitout powerbomb but gets reversed into a Canadian Destroyer for a rather near fall. Swann hits a superkick but Santana pops up with a heck of a Spin The Block to retain at 19:06.

Rating: B+. Yeah this worked, as they beat the fire out of each other and Swann looks like he’s back after a weird few years. That’s great to see and he has clearly put in the work. At the same time, Santana continues to be the man and it’s great to see that he is feeling like the A-list star of this promotion. TNA has been needing that as even Joe Hendry felt like he was a rental before he could get to WWE. Santana doesn’t feel that way (though WWE would snatch him up as soon as they could if possible) and that’s good to see for the promotion.

Respect is shown to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The main event is rather good, though there was only so much worthwhile on the rest of the show. Right now there isn’t a big show set up so until we start building towards whatever is next, we’re in something of a holding pattern. Granted having that good of a main event helps, but it’s the only thing really worth your time this week.

Results
Nic Nemeth b. Bear Bronson – Danger Zone
Dutch b. Matt Hardy – Death Walks
Elayna Black b. Katie Arquette – Blackout
Mike Santana b. Rich Swann – 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:

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

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