Impact Wrestling
Date: March 6, 2025
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Matthew Rehwoldt, Tom Hannifan

We’re coming up on Sacrifice and perhaps the biggest story is the invasion/crossover from NXT. There are a variety of stars coming in from the other promotion and getting involved in some high profile stories around here. That should make for some interesting situations and more of them can take place this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap, including some clips of TNA stars in NXT.

Elijah vs. Brian Myers

Alisha Edwards is here with Myers. Elijah jumps him to start and they go to the floor in a hurry. Some rams into the apron have Myers in more trouble and a running hip attack makes it even worse. Alisha’s distraction lets Myers grab a belly to back suplex though and she gets in a neck snap across the middle rope too. The chinlock is broken up rather quickly and Elijah hits a running knee. The implant DDT gives Myers two more so here is Eddie Edwards for a distraction. Elijah sends them together though and grabs the Highwayman’s Farewell (Tombstone) for the pin at 5:46.

Rating: C+. Myers is a great choice for someone to make Elijah look good since Elijah is still new around here. That is what we had here, as Elijah is already looking like a player. I’m not sure how far he is going to go, but at least he is off to a nice start by surviving three members of the System at once.

Post match the System comes in for the beatdown but Joe Hendry makes the save with his guitar.

Ace Austin and the Rascalz are ready for the Northern Armory tonight. They might not have the best history but their future is looking good.

It’s time for the First Class Penthouse and they have a special guest in the prizefighter: KO! As in KC Navarro! Cue Steve Maclin to tell them to shut up, with AJ Francis saying they can fight in thirty minutes.

Savannah Evans vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside strikes away to start and gets nowhere, instead getting smart by kicking out the leg. Rosemary is watching from the rafters as Evans takes over. Brookside gets sent hard into the corner and the chinlock goes on. Back up and Brookside sends her into the corner, setting up a high crossbody for two. Evans misses a charge into the corner and bangs up her knee, which has Brookside talking to the referee. The distraction lets Evans hit a hard clothesline to the back of the head for the pin at 5:15.

Rating: C. Evans is a powerhouse but she’s not a particularly interesting powerhouse. She’s just kind of there and there isn’t much for her to do at the moment so soon after losing to Masha Slamovich. Brookside is rather perky and can do some nice things in the ring, but it isn’t going to matter if she keeps losing like this.

Spitfire has given By Elegance a makeover, which isn’t to their liking. Don’t worry though as Spitfire has the perfect travel meals for them, which doesn’t sit well with By Elegance. The Personal Concierge watching from the distance in tears is a great touch.

John Skyler vs. Mike Santana

Jason Hotch is here with Skyler, who says he is here on behalf of Mustafa Ali. Skyler hammers away to start but is quickly caught in Three Amigos. A Cannonball into a sitout powerbomb finishes for Santana at 1:31.

Post match Hotch tries to come in but gets caught with Spin The Block. Mustafa Ali pops up on screen and says that Santana has been randomly selected for a urine test. I think you know where this one is going.

AJ Francis vs. Steve Maclin

KC Navarro is here with Francis. Maclin wastes no time by hammering away in the corner but Francis is too big for the Angle Slam. Instead Maclin goes up but Navarro’s distraction lets Francis slam him off the top. A running knee in the corner rocks Maclin again, only for him to tie Francis in the Tree Of Woe. The running spear gets two, as does Francis’ spear. Cue the Northern Armory as Maclin sends him outside for a Scud. Back in and Navarro offers another distraction, allowing Francis to hit a rather big Down Payment for the win at 4:13.

Rating: C. Well they certainly didn’t have Maclin go down easily as it took four people to put him away. That’s what it should be with Maclin against someone on Francis’ level and it made for a good enough story. I’m not sure what First Class is doing, but Eric Young and company against Maclin is only so interesting.

Earlier this week, Ryan Nemeth said he was going to be on Joe Hendry’s team at Sacrifice but Matt Hardy called Nic Nemeth to say not so fast. Ryan got annoyed and left.

Steve Maclin yells at Eric Young, who says they’re doing this for Maclin. Good grief enough of this Eric Young philosophical stuff. Maclin storms off and runs into Frankie Kazarian, who is enjoying what is happening to Maclin lately.

We look at the Hardys vs. Fraxiom being set up on NXT for NXT.

Also on NXT, Moose said his match with Oba Femi next week at NXT will be the biggest match of his career.

Here is NXT Champion Oba Femi for a face to face chat with Moose, with the System and a bunch of security. Femi wants to know what is up with the security, but he also wonders why Moose waited so long to come see him. Moose says he was just waiting for the right time to cross the line. Femi praises Moose, who agrees with what Femi says. Femi is ready to fight so JDC tells the security that the first person to jump Femi is in the System. The entire team jumps him at once so Femi clears them out, only to get speared by Moose. This is going to be two big men hitting each other really hard and it should be a great time.

Fraxiom is ready to prove themselves to the Hardys.

Northern Armory vs. Ace Austin/Rascalz

Austin takes Icarus down to start and hits a quick spinning middle rope crossbody for an early two. Williams comes in as commentary recaps how the Northern Armory got here. Miguel comes in and the Rascalz hit stereo suicide dives but Icarus grabs Wentz’s leg, allowing Young to get in a cheap shot. Wentz fights up but his partners are pulled to the floor to keep him in trouble.

As you might have expected, the comeback doesn’t take long and it’s back to Austin to pick up the pace. Young slams Austin down but misses a moonsault (because Eric Young can now do moonsaults), allowing Miguel to come in and clean house. The Rascalz start using some Motor City Machine Guns double teaming until Young manages a Death Valley Driver. Cue Wes Lee and company for a distraction though, allowing Young to hit a piledriver on Wentz for the pin at 9:46.

Rating: B-. Perfectly fine six man tag here with the Northern Armory getting built up a bit with Young vs. Steve Maclin likely on the horizon. The match was mostly action based and the interference at the end made sense and protected the good guys in the loss. That’s a nice way to go and it’s nice to see a perfectly well put together match like this one.

Mike Santana yells at Santino Marella about having to take a urine test. At the same time, Tasha Steelz yells about Mustafa Ali’s coffee not being right. The payoff here is so obvious that Santana smiles at the camera.

Spitfire tortures By Elegance in a training session but the Personal Concierge, disguised as a janitor, makes the save.

Here is Masha Slamovich for a chat. She’s ready to go to war with Cora Jade at Sacrifice so cue Jade to say she’ll win. Slamovich mocks her but here is Tessa Blanchard to jump Slamovich from behind. Lei Ying Lee makes the save.

Mustafa Ali is told that Mike Santana passed his drug test….but his coffee is terrible. Comedy ensues.

Ryan Nemeth says that Nic Nemeth will still be back at Sacrifice.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

Hardys vs. Colons

Non-title. Matt backs Orlando into the corner to start and works on the arm before it’s already off to Jeff. We take an early break and come back with Matt missing a charge into the corner. Orlando comes back in and drops Matt for two, setting up a legsweep for two. Eddie works on the arm but gets sent into the corner, allowing the tag off to Jeff. Everything breaks down and the Plot Twist connects…but the System runs in to jump the Hardys for the DQ at 4:49.

Rating: C. There wasn’t much to this one as it was more about the angle at the end rather than the match. That’s a fine way to go, as the ten man tag very well might be headlining Sacrifice at this rate. At the same time, the Colons are the latest definition of “I guess they’re here too”, which isn’t exactly glowing praise. There isn’t much for them to do other than put over better teams, but it’s also not exactly fun to see them show up.

Post match the beatdown is on but Elijah, Joe Hendry and Leon Slater make the save. Santino Marella comes out to make the ten man tag match a cage match as well. That’s going to be crowded.

Overall Rating: C+. This felt like a bit of a step back from recent weeks without much worth seeing. The best match was just pretty good and the Santana/Ali angle felt like bad comedy with a payoff so obvious that they were practically winking at the camera. They did add some stuff to the pay per view and built things up a bit, but it’s not a show you need to see in the slightest.

Results
Elijah b. Brian Myers – Highwayman’s Farewell
Savannah Evans b. Xia Brookside – Clothesline to the back of the head
Mike Santana b. John Skyler – Sitout powerbomb
AJ Francis b. Steve Maclin – Down Payment
Northern Armory b. Ace Austin/Rascalz – Piledriver to Wentz
Hardys b. Colons via DQ when the System interfered

 

 

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Impact Wrestling
Date: February 27, 2025
Location: Full Sail University, Winter Park, Florida
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

After not doing much to get ready for Sacrifice, things have gotten rather interesting in a hurry, with multiple matches being set up at once. That’s on top of the upcoming NXT vs. TNA matches at NXT Roadblock next month. We could be in for some big stuff in a hurry here so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here is the System to get things going. They brag about their success last week, with JDC bragging about running over Leon Slater. The fans tell Moose that Oba Femi is going to run him over so Moose wants Femi to get in this ring tonight. At the same time, Moose has been pinned by Jeff Hardy twice in a row now, so Moose is ready to take him out. Brian Myers thinks the Colons might be System material so here are said Colons to interrupt. They respect the System and think fighting on their side is a good idea. Fist bumping ensues.

Spitfire is ready to beat By Elegance and turn then into their personal concierges.

The System has to be separated from Leon Slater/the Hardys.

Mike Santana vs. Oro Mensah

Mensah is something of a high flier from NXT. They fight over wrist control to start until Santana takes over in a slugout. Mensah is back with a tornado DDT over the top rope into a springboard kick to the chest. Santana hits some running chops into a backflip into a cutter for two but Mensah rolls a kick to the head for the same. Mensah tries it again but gets reversed into a buckle bomb. Spin The Block finishes for Santana at 5:01.

Rating: C. This was a nice showcase for Santana, who is gearing up for his big match with Mustafa Ali. That is probably going to be a heck of a showdown when it happens and TNA has done a very good job of making him feel like a star. What matters the most is keeping these new names strong and Santana is doing rather well.

Post match a video plays from Mustafa Ali and his cabinet, talking about how Santana (who has been sober for two years) is off the wagon. Santana does not care for this.

Post break Santana goes looking for Ali but can only find the cabinet.

Tessa Blanchard vs. Kelsey Heather

Tessa strikes away in the corner to start and hits a quick basement dropkick. A running slap annoys Heather to the point where she grabs some rollups for a near fall each. Tessa shrugs that off and grabs a cutter, setting up the Buzzsaw DDT for the win at 2:33. As usual, Tessa has very few issues between the bells.

Cora Jade jumps Masha Slamovich in the back.

Elijah and Joe Hendry had a good time last week but Hendry is expecting Elijah to turn on him. That calms down a bit but here is the System to interrupt. Then they leave without doing much.

KC Navarro vs. Steve Maclin

AJ Francis is here too. Maclin wastes no time in countering a hurricanrana into a powerbomb, followed by a basement clothesline for two. Navarro sends him outside where Francis gets in a cheap shot, setting up a running double stomp for two more. We hit the chinlock but Maclin isn’t having that and strikes away as the Northern Armory is out to watch. Navarro uses the distraction to hit something like a 619, only to miss a frog splash. Maclin plants him face first, setting up KIA for the pin at 6:39.

Rating: C+. This was just a step above the opener in a very similar vein, as Maclin is on his way to a big match against Eric Young. Navarro is a bit better competition for him and Maclin looked good in his victory. I’m still not sold on Young as some big villain but TNA seems to love it for reasons I do not grasp.

Tessa Blanchard argues with Lei Ying Lee in the back, with Santino Marella coming in to make the match official for Sacrifice.

Knockouts Tag Team Titles: Ash by Elegance/Heather By Elegance vs. Spitfire

Spitfire is defending and the losers are the winner’s Personal Concierges for a day. Ash and Jody lock up to start and exchange muscle flexes. Jody takes her to the mat and hits some corner clotheslines before handing it off to Luna. A slam puts Jody onto Ash for two but the Concierge offers a distraction, allowing the villains to take over on the corner.

That’s broken up and Luna comes back in for a powerbomb to Heather but she’s taken into the corner as well. A Backstabber/top rope double stomp combination gets two on Luna but she easily gets over for the tag to Jody. Something like a powerbomb gets two on Heather and it’s the Pressure Drop to retain the titles at 8:11.

Rating: C+. Good stuff here with the right result. The whole point is to have the stuck up villains get what is coming to them, which is what Spitfire will be doing. The match was acceptable as well, as tends to be the case when these teams are together. Just find something else for them to do once this is over though, as this should be the blowoff or close to it.

Post break, Spitfire is already having By Elegance do their laundry. The Personal Concierge is crushed.

Sami Callihan vs. Mance Warner

Callihan Stunners him to the floor and uses a chair for the DQ at 29 seconds.

Post match the brawl is on but security breaks it up. Santino Marella comes out to make a street fight at Sacrifice. Makes as much sense as anything.

Frankie Kazarian vs. Ace Austin

NXT’s Wes Lee, with Tyriek Igwe and Tyson DuPont, is on commentary. Austin grabs a quick rollup to start and hits a dropkick to send Kazarian into the corner. Back up and Kazarian sends him to the apron for the slingshot Fameasser to take over. The springboard spinning legdrop gets two and they fight over some backslides. Austin kicks him out to the floor but gets caught with a shot to the face. Lee offers a distraction and the slingshot cutter gives Kazarian the pin at 5:56.

Rating: B-. They didn’t have much time here and it was more about the interference than anything else, but what matters the most is having a solid match between two good wrestlers. That’s what we had here, which shouldn’t be a surprise given who was out there. Kazarian needs to cash the trophy in already, but that has to be dragged out for months instead.

Post match the beatdown is teased but the Rascalz make the save.

Spitfire torments By Elegance with some dogs. I get the feeling I’ve missed something but Ash and Heather freaking out is funny.

Ryan Nemeth brags about his big brother returning at Sacrifice.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

We look at Moose beating Lexis King and the Hardys beating the No Quarter Catch Crew on NXT.

System vs. Oba Femi/Hardys

Femi and Moose start things off but we’ll go with Edwards instead. Femi runs both of them over and the villains are cleared out as we take a break. Back with Poetry In Motion hitting Edwards but Alisha offers a distraction so Moose can get in a cheap shot. Jeff fights out of trouble and brings Matt back in as everything breaks down.

The Side Effect hits Moose for two and the Plot Twist gets the same on Edwards. Everything breaks down and the referee gets bumped. Femi shrugs off Moose’s pump kick and hits a spinebuster but cue the Colons for a distraction. Myers gets in a shot with a System ring though and Moose spears Matt for the pin at 10:20.

Rating: C+. Pretty wild match here with Moose getting a win to move himself back into a better place after some recent losses. There is almost no way this whole thing is over though as this is a mixture of some of the bigger stories in TNA. Throw in Joe Hendry and it could get even bigger.

Post match Joe Hendry and Elijah come in to cut off a beatdown. Santino Marella makes Jeff Hardy vs. Moose in a ladder match for the X-Division Title, and a ten man tag with Hendry/Matt/Elijah/Leon Slater/??? vs. the System. The first is a pretty big match to just throw out there like that.

Overall Rating: B-. Nice show here as they advanced a bunch of stories on their way to Sacrifice in a few weeks. Sacrifice is turning into a big enough show despite the bigger sows coming up in the following weeks. The second round of the NXT crossovers have been far better and Femi alone has made the show feel more important. Good effort this week, with the bigger stuff getting closer.

Results
Mike Santana b. Oro Mensah – Spin The Block
Tessa Blanchard b. Kelsey Heather – Buzzsaw DDT
Steve Maclin b. KC Navarro – KIA
Spitfire b. Ash By Elegance/Heather By Elegance – Pressure Drop to Heather
Mance Warner b. Sami Callihan when Callihan used a chair
Frankie Kazarian b. Ace Austin – Slingshot cutter
The System b. Oba Femi/Hardys – Spear to Matt

 

 

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

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