Impact Wrestling
Date: October 29, 2026
Location: Dothan Civic Center, Dothan, Alabama
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re in a full on youth movement as the X-Division is getting a bit of a renewed focus thanks to the upcoming Destination X. That should make for a good show here as we might be getting to see something a bit different than usual. At the same time, the current X-Division Champion is the 44 year old Amazing Red, who is defending against Cedric Alexander this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Knockouts TV Title: Jada Stone vs. M By Elegance

Elegance is defending. Stone starts fast and knocks her outside, setting up the early suicide dive. Back in and Elegance drops her right back over the top for a big crash. The dragon sleeper just seems to wake Stone up as she strikes away but gets knocked right back down. Elegance’s moonsault misses and a hurricanrana gives Stone two.

They trade some running shots against the ropes until the Spark Stunner has Elegance in trouble. A moonsault to the floor takes out the entire Elegance Brand and there’s a Spanish Fly off the steps. The Brand offers a distraction, though Mr. Elegance doesn’t seem happy with this and says he quits. Not that it matters as the kneeling tombstone retains the title at 6:40.

Rating: C+. This was about what you would have expected, with the Brand costing Stone the wind. At the same time though, the bigger deal here was the Mr. Elegance issue, though I’m not sure how much of a difference he’s going to make elsewhere. Good enough match though, as Elegance has done far better on her own than I would have expected.

The System is ready for Cedric Alexander to get the X-Division Title back tonight, but the team still doesn’t seem happy with Eddie Edwards.

An unknown man interrupts Daria Rae (and her stupid catchphrase) and says he’s an official observer sent by the Board Of Directors. Oh dear.

Zero vs. BDE

BDE’s early springboard is pulled out of the air but he slips away. A big right hand has BDE in trouble and a release suplex sends him crashing into the corner. Zero’s legdrop gets two but BDE gets in a springboard cutter. That just earns him a chokebomb for the pin at 3:01.

Rating: C. This was just a squash to show that Zero is still a monster after his time with Order 4 came to an end. That worked well here, as it was a total smashing of BDE to make the result happen. There isn’t much of another reason to have BDE around other than stuff like this and it worked out perfectly well enough.

Post match Rich Swann runs in for the save and gets chokebombed as well. Security comes in and is quickly taken out too.

Ricky Sosa and Fabian Aichner both enter the World X Cup and they’re ready to go, albeit respectfully.

Shotzi Blackheart talks about how she’s looking forward to hurting everyone.

X-Division Title: Amazing Red vs. Cedric Alexander

Red is defending. They run the ropes to start and a running shoulder sends Alexander outside. That means the big dive connects for Red and we take a break. We come back with Red caught in a waistlock. A Death Valley Driver gives Alexander two more and we’re right back on the waistlock.

Red fights up and hits a spinning DDT but Alexander plants him with a Michinoku Driver. They slug it out until Red gets some near falls off some rollups. A middle rope spinning faceplant has Alexander in even more trouble and sets up the Code Red to retain the title at 11:15.

Rating: B. Yeah this was the good stuff you would have expected, with Red still being this good in the ring being rather impressive. You wouldn’t think he would still have it this late into his career but he pulled it off again here. His title reign isn’t likely to last very long but he’s making the most of it and that’s cool to see.

Elayna Black comes up to see Heather By Elegance and suggests they both want the Knockouts TV Title.

Indi Hartwell journals about how hard it was to get here and how hard she’s working to keep the title.

The Apex runs in to say they’re here to end Hartwell’s dream and turn it into a nightmare. Shayna Baszler appears to be her next challenger.

Harley Hudson is in with the Righteous.

Fire N Flava are ready to make Shotzi Blackheart’s life miserable for attacking them.

John Skyler vs. AJ Francis

Mila Moore and Expressions are here too. Francis misses a charge into the corner to start and gets knocked outside. Expressions’ distraction lets Francis take over though and a running knee connects in the corner. Back in and Skyler hits a slingshot spear for two but Expressions and Moore get in an argument on the apron. Skyler is sent into Moore for the crash to the outside and Skyler is distracted, but still manages a springboard tornado DDT for two anyway. Francis is right back up with the Down Payment for the pin at 4:14.

Rating: C+. I can’t believe it but I’m becoming a fan of Francis. He gets what it means to be a big monster heel and that’s what he should be doing. It’s working well and I could go for seeing what happens with him in a bigger role. What he does in the ring is what it is, but he’s a heck of a heel character and that’s what he needs to be.

Bear Bronson blames Cedric Alexander’s loss on Eddie Edwards and challenges him to a match for leadership of the System.

Daria Rae tells the representative that he’ll see how she does things her way. The representative, apparently named Brian Johnson, says he’ll do whatever to work around here.

Here is Leon Slater for a chat. He talks about growing up without a dad and now he’s made it all the way to the top of the mountain. His X-Division Title reigns are a blueprint for how he wants this to go, which includes facing all challengers. That brings him to Trey Miguel and the two of them got off to a bad start. He wants to make things right to his face so here is Miguel to join him.

Slater praises Miguel, saying he’ll be a World Champion but Slater isn’t done with it yet. Miguel says he’s fought his entire life as well but Slater was 14 when Miguel started around here. He hasn’t had a World Title shot in six years and he has no idea when another might come. Miguel respects him but wants to be on top as well. They have a staredown but it doesn’t seem that they dislike each other.

Ryan Nemeth vs. Elijah

This match is presented by the movie Stranglehold, which features Nemeth. Speaking of Nemeth, he grabs a headlock to start but gets knocked to the apron. Walk With Elijah connects but Nemeth is right back with some choking on the ropes. That earns Nemeth some choking in the middle of the ring (Elijah is a proper cheater.) and the Highwayman’s Farewell finishes Nemeth at 3:59.

Rating: C-. There wasn’t much to see here but that was kind of the point. This was more about plugging the movie (fine, as a sponsor is a sponsor) and having Elijah get a win before what is likely going to be a big match with Nic Nemeth. It’s not like there is any reason to have Ryan around and he’s fine enough in this low level pest role.

Post match Nic Nemeth runs in for the beatdown but Elijah guitars Ryan out.

Mustafa Ali tells Frankie Kazarian to worry about Avery Styles but Kazarian has this and tells Ali to worry about his own former stable.

The Hardys, carrying shovels, head into the boiler room (or close enough) to face the Syx in the Slaughterhouse match and the brawl is quickly on. Shaw beats on Jeff and crushes his head in a ladder but Jeff is right back up. Matt and Sawyer brawl off but Shaw is there to help take Matt down.

Matt is locked in a room and a board is put in front of the door so Jeff is back up to go after both of them. The Syx put a trashcan over Jeff’s head and then beat on it with axes as Amazing Grace plays. There was no match (or commentary) here but of all the violent ways to write Jeff off TV before a Canadian show, this was the most recent.

Overall Rating: C+. This was a big slower than what we had last week but it did a nice enough job to get us ready for Destination X. The renewed focus on the X-Division, even if it isn’t going to last long, is still a fun thing to see and we started getting some of the build towards the World X Cup. We also found another way to murder Jeff Hardy, which is often a fun way to go. The Red vs. Alexander match was good but the rest was just ok, with nothing else really standing out. Good enough show here, but not really something you need to see.

Results
M By Elegance b. Jada Stone – Kneeling Tombstone
Zero b. BDE – Chokebomb
Amazing Red b. Cedric Alexander – Code Red
AJ Francis b. John Skyler – Down Payment
Elijah b. Ryan Nemeth – Highwayman’s Farewell

 

 

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: October 15, 2026
Location: Dothan Civic Center, Dothan, Alabama
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re done with Bound For Glory and there were a bunch of title changes. The biggest of them all was the World Title, with Leon Slater becoming the youngest World Champion in company history. We also have a new X-Division Champion in newly inducted Hall Of Famer Amazing Red, who joined the match for the vacant title at the last minute. As for tonight though, the Hardys are in charge in honor of their 35 years in wrestling. Oh dear. Let’s get to it.

Here is Bound For Glory if you need a recap.

Long Bound For Glory recap.

Opening sequence.

Here are the Hardys to get things going. They brag about Bound For Glory and promise that tonight will be especially extreme. That includes a brother vs. brother match, though not between the two of them. Instead it’s Nic Nemeth vs. Ryan Nemeth and if either of them lose on purpose, they’re stripped of the Tag Team Titles. Matt previews the rest of the show and then brings out Amazing Red, the new X-Division Champion.

The Hardys praise Red for his win but Red says he’s here because of them. That’s not all though as Matt brings out new World Champion Leon Slater, who talks about how much this means for the X-Division. Slater says his mother has always been his rock and will face anyone who wants a shot. Jeff Hardy would like one but instead we’ll have a five way ladder match for the #1 contendership tonight. Sure why not.

The Nemeths aren’t happy with their match tonight but Nic would rather complain about not getting his World Title rematch. He’s not even in the ladder match!

The System comes in to see the vacationing Santino Marella, who leaves rather than dealing with them. Hold on though as the System argues a bit over their less than successful Bound For Glory.

Nic Nemeth vs. Ryan Nemeth

They take their time to start and don’t exactly go after each other. A rather gentle kick to the leg puts Nic down as the referee doesn’t look impressed. Ryan goes for a cover but cue the Hardys to say not so fast. They sit down on the stage and say fight or be stripped of the titles. They trade rollups with tights/trunks for two each and the Hardys again try to make them fight. Nic hits a superkick and yells at the Hardys, who want him to do it one more time. A Fameasser finishes Ryan at 5:00.

Rating: C-. This was barely a match and more about the Hardys getting to torment the Nemeths. That’s a good way to go as the show is all about the Hardys, but my goodness can we just get the Hardys away from the titles? Or at least until after they win a match after their loss at Bound For Glory?

Post match Nic again complains about not being in the #1 contenders match.

The Hardys run into AJ Francis and Expressions, the latter of whom wants Francis to get a World Title shot tonight. Instead the Hardys say they’ll face the two of them tonight, which has Expressions responding as expected.

Harley Hudson runs into the Righteous and offers them luck tonight against the Syx. She seems to want to be out there with them.

Righteous vs. Syx

Tables match and both members have to go through to lose. They slug it out with the Righteous getting the better of things. Everyone goes outside and grab the tables as we take an early break. We come back with Sawyer dropping Vincent with the handspring clothesline.

Vincent is knocked off the apron and onto a table, which doesn’t break, so Sawyer goes outside to powerbomb him through it (nice, quick save for a misfire on the table). Dutch knocks Sawyer through another table at ringside and we’re tied up. Another table is loaded up but Sawyer’s distraction lets Shaw slam him through said table for the win at 9:35.

Rating: C+. This was just about the Hardys getting to screw with two teams they don’t like. As a result, it’s a tables match despite not needing to be in any way. The Syx continue to move up the ranks and have been protected thus far. Now just keep it that way and don’t let the Hardys drag them down for eight months and it should work out.

The Hardys run into Frankie Kazarian and Avery Styles, who are ready to get their Tag Team Title shot. Matt approves, but says they can have a title shot without the trophy being cashed in when the Hardys get the titles back.

We get closeups of Allie and then Rosemary, the latter of whom is smiling.

AJ Francis/Expressions vs. Hardys

Jeff avoids a charging Francis to start and works on the arm, with Matt doing the same. A double suplex puts Francis down again so Expressions offers a distraction. Francis gets in a big boot and Expressions comes in to stomp away. A bearhug goes on but Expressions misses an elbow, allowing Matt to come back in. Francis is tied in the Tree Of Woe while Expressions gets Twist Of Fated a few times. The Swanton finishes him off at 5:34.

Rating: C. This was similar to the opener as it wasn’t really about the match itself but rather just something to get the Hardys in the ring. That being said, it worked out just fine because there was no reason for this to be anything more than a squash. While I’m sick of the Hardys, having them beat up an annoying manager is a perfectly fine use of them.

Xia Brookside/Apex vs. Gabby Forza/Harley Hudson/Indi Hartwell

Brookside immediately hands it off to Baszler, who gets to start with Hartwell. Baszler takes her down to try the arm stomp, with Hartwell breaking it up rather quickly. Hartwell tries running the ropes but gets dropped by Serrano, who came in off a blind tag. It’s back to Baszler to stay on the arm, with Brookside getting to grab an armbar. That’s broken up and Forza comes in for a double suplex. Everything breaks down and Hudson is left alone with the Apex, which she knows is a bad thing. She’s willing to fight but is launched into a knee to the face, setting up the Kirifuda Clutch to make Hudson tap at 4:28.

Rating: C. Kind of a weird match here, with Apex smashing through Hudson and not having much trouble with Hartwell either. That’s a good way to make Apex look good, but it didn’t do much for Hartwell, the new Knockouts Champion. I do like Baszler being here, but maybe don’t have another former WWE star come in and be the most awesome thing ever?

Trey Miguel vs. Ricky Sosa vs. Jason Hotch vs. Moose vs. Elijah

Non-title ladder match for the World Title shot at Destination X and Leon Slater is on commentary. Moose and Sosa are left alone in the ring to start and the slugout is on, with Moose dropkicking him off the top and out to the floor. Elijah is cut off so Moose clotheslines Sosa for a loop. Miguel is back in to go after Sosa, who is taken down by Hotch’s rolling neckbreaker (as stolen from Mustafa Ali).

Hotch takes down Moose and Elijah with a double DDT but Miguel is back in with a poisonrana. Moose dives onto Elijah and grabs the ladder, which is cut off by Sosa as we take a break. We come back with a ladder actually set up in the ring, with Elijah and Hotch slugging it out near the top. Sosa is back in but gets shoved off the ladder and into the turnbuckle. Moose sets up the bridged ladder on the floor, with Miguel giving him a tornado DDT.

Miguel goes up and gets pulled down into Hotch’s torture rack neckbreaker. Cue Mustafa Ali to distract Hotch as the two brawl up the ramp and into the back. Sosa pulls Miguel off the ladder and into Elijah’s jumping knee. Moose is back in to powerbomb Sosa…in the general vicinity of the bridged ladder for a scary looking crash. Back up and Elijah gives Moose a springboard guitar shot but here is Nic Nemeth to cut Elijah off. Nemeth tries to go up but gets cut off by Miguel, who goes up and gets the contract at 17:53.

Rating: B-. It’s a ladder match. We saw two of them at Money In The Bank over the weekend and another at All Out a few weeks ago. Seeing TNA run a ladder match of their own so soon after just makes it feel like TNA trying to keep up. Miguel winning is a good choice as Slater can have a nice first defense to get his reign off to the right kind of start. This just didn’t need to be a ladder match, and it was quite the use of Hotch fresh off of his International Title win. Not bad, but not the best timing for something like this.

Post match the Hardys come out to thank the fans and TNA as Slater and Miguel have a respectful staredown to end the show.

Overall Rating: C. I wasn’t feeling this one as it was mainly about the Hardys getting to do their thing all night long. That’s all well and good, but it’s not the right time to do something like that, as this put Bound For Glory WAY onto the backburner. The Hardys have gotten more tributes over the years than anyone could ever use and this was just another on the pile. Too much stuff was pushed off to the side here and it doesn’t help that I’m sick of seeing the Hardys/being told how great they are. At least it wasn’t another Broken Universe show, but that’s only so much of a bar to clear.

Results
Nic Nemeth b. Ryan Nemeth – Fameasser
Syx b. Righteous – Slam through a table
Hardys b. AJ Francis/Expressions – Swanton to Expressions
Xia Brookside/Apex b. Gabby Forza/Harley Hudson/Indi Hartwell – Kirifuda Clutch to Hudson
Trey Miguel b. Ricky Sosa, Jason Hotch, Moose and Elijah – Miguel pulled down the contract

 

 

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

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

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

Pre-Show: Righteous vs. BDE/Rich Swann

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

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

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

Pre-Show: Trey Miguel vs. Special Agent Zero

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

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

National Anthem, minus any singing.

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

Remember: every match is inside a cage.

AJ Francis vs. Elijah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hogan seems to be the official replacement champion.

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

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

Moose vs. Frankie Kazarian

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knockouts Title: Elayna Black vs. Xia Brookside

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

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

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

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

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

International Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Jason Hotch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

X-Division Title: Cedric Alexander vs. Leon Slater

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: Nemeths vs. Hardys

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

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Impact Wrestling
Date: July 23, 2026
Location: Broadview Arena, Albany, New York
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

With about a month to go before Lockdown, it’s time to wrap up the stories before we get to the pay per view. That includes the World Title being on the line tonight, with KC Navarro getting his one and only title shot against Nic Nemeth. We should be in for a good match as Navarro seems rather motivated so let’s get to it.

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

AJ Francis/Frankie Kazarian vs. Moose/Elijah

Elijah knocks Kazarian down to start and it’s quickly off to Moose to take over on Francis. It’s already back to Elijah, who gets tripped from the floor to put him in trouble. Moose isn’t having that and cleans house, only to get knocked down by Francis. Kazarian’s springboard spinning legdrop gets two and Elijah comes back in. The Old School is broken up as Expressions shakes the rope though and Francis hits the Cash Out for the pin at 3:47.

Rating: C. Well that was quick. The ending was more about establishing Expressions (what a name) as the new cheating manager and that’s kind of a weird way to end a shot match. There is a good chance that they are going to run it back and see what else they can do, as this really doesn’t feel done yet.

Post match Moose and Elijah lay out Expressions, likely writing him out of the next TV taping.

Order 4 is ready to open voting on the next #1 contender to the International Title. The roster will be voting, they get a vote each, and they can’t vote for themselves.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament First Round: Wendy Choo vs. Elayna Black

Choo wrestles her down to start fast and then grabs a headlock takeover. A dropkick puts Black on the floor and it’s already time to be frustrated. Choo follows her out and gets caught for a change, with Black sending her back inside for two. The chinlock, with trash talk of course, goes on before Black switches to a double arm crank.

Choo is back up for a running neckbreaker but Black gives her some running knees. A belly to belly gives Black two but Choo is able to catch her on top with a superplex. That’s enough for them both to need a breather and they’re both down…as time expires at 10:00. Well that’s a surprise.

Rating: C. This wasn’t much to see with Black continuing to do her usual mediocre stuff. At the same time, it’s nice to see a TNA name survive against an NXT guest star. If nothing else, this is the kind of thing you need to see in a tournament for the sake of cutting out some of the time. That being said, Black felt like a favorite to win the whole thing and she’s already out. Odd indeed.

Post match Xia Brookside runs out to jump both of them.

Some wrestlers vote for the International Title shot.

Here is the System for a chat. Bear Bronson doesn’t like Ricky Sosa and the team is ready to decide who is a star here and who isn’t. Tonight, they’re on the way to adding some more gold but here is Sosa to interrupt. They’re not impressed with each other so here is Leon Slater to interrupt. The challenge is made for a tag match but the System says we’ll do it next week in Philadelphia. Slater is ready.

Jason Hotch wins the election, which comes after he was looking at the ballot box earlier. Mustafa Ali seems to think it’s rather amusing and a rib from the roster.

BDE vs. Mr. Elegance

This is billed as an AMC+/Impact+ Exclusive match (it doesn’t appear on the AMC broadcast). BDE knocks him down to start but misses a springboard. Elegance takes over with a running forearm but BDE gives him a running forearm. A springboard cutter gives BDE two and a frog splash gets the same, with M By Elegance putting the foot on the rope. The distraction lets Elegance hit a swinging Downward Spiral for the pin at 3:18.

Rating: C-. Yeah this happened. I’m assuming this was something of a way to fill in some time and cut something out from the Hardy Compound match. The match was about what you would expect, with Elegance being his usual goofy self and BDE still looking for his first win, which might actually be a good moment if/when it finally happens.

And now, to the Hardy Compound.

Hardys vs. Righteous

I’m assuming this is non-title. The Righteous don’t like the darkness and turn on the sunshine. Matt Hardy wakes up and realizes they’re here, so the Righteous walk through the woods. The Hardys go to find them so the Righteous go into a building and touch a light, which teleports them to wherever the Hardys are (Yeah this stuff is going to be weird. Just get used to it.).

The brawl starts with Dutch being sent into a dilapidated boat and then a tree. The Hardys teleport away from a boat shot and the Righteous are teleported into the same barn. As usual, there is a ring with a referee there as well and the fight is on again. The brawl is on with the Righteous taking over but Matt gets in a Twist of Fate. The Swanton is blocked so Jeff and Vincent brawl off. Dutch takes over on Matt and they fight to the floor.

We cut to Jeff and Vincent outside (where it’s night)…and then we cut to the Righteous walking through the house and looking at some mementos of the Hardys’ lives. Then Matt bulldogs Dutch into the pool and we cut to the four of them sitting around and having some drinks (though Jeff has water). Matt’s son comes in and Vincent disappears, with the son saying he needs Dutch’s help. They go inside and Matt says Vincent has died. Dutch: “That is some heavy news. You got a cigarette?”

They open a coffin with Vincent inside, but he pops up to put the poison flower in Dutch’s mouth. The Hardys pop up to say this dream is orgasmic and now we’re back in the ring. Dutch is thrown inside, where he’s beaten up by Matt’s children and wife Reby. One of the daughters uses the power of confetti and now Vincent is there too. Matt, no longer Broken, pops in with a barbed wire baseball bat and does the Walking Dead pick of who he’s going to get their head cracked.

We cut inside where Dutch, back in his suit, meets Willow (in an Umaga shirt), who beats him up with the umbrella. Then Dutch gets out of the pool and I think we go back to reality. Jeff and Vincent slug it out and of course it’s time for the fireworks. Dutch comes up with some kind of necklace and the Righteous win the firework war.

Matt winds up eating the poisonous flower and the Righteous throw both of them into the Lake Of Reincarnation. The Hardys come out in goat masks (because they’re the GOATs you see) but Jeff needs another goat so he runs back into the water. Jeff comes out with his 2010 Immortal title (now a blue/green rather than purple) and gets into what I think is a bulldozer. A Swanton out of the bulldozer puts Dutch through a table for the pin at 19:47.

Rating: In the Romanian folk tale The Bear Fooled By The Fox, a fox steals some fish from a woman. The fox then refuses to share them with a bear, who is still hungry. Realizing there is a chance the bear might eat him, the fox tells the bear to put his tail in the water as a fishing pole. The tail then freezes off (or is eaten by the fish, depending on the version you read) and the bear tries to get the fox. That doesn’t happen though as the fox is smart enough to hide in a tree and the bear eventually gives up and walks away. That has as much to do with wrestling as this….thing did.

Then the Hardys throw the Righteous into the Lake. That’s it. Yeah I can’t stand this stuff. It was fun once or twice but doing it over and over for years on end makes it lose its charm really quickly. This is all the Hardys getting to show how creative and amazing they can be and you only need to have been watching for the last ten years to know what this was about. I’m assuming this is the big finale to the whole feud, and we’re right back where we started in December when it all started: the Hardys as the greatest, most amazing team in ALL of TNA with pretty much no one to challenge them. Great.

Jason Hotch goes to talk to management, but Leon Slater says not so fast. Slater believes in him and wants him to have the title match.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament First Round: Alisha Edwards vs. Jada Stone

Edwards slugs away to start but gets kicked down, with Stone hitting a standing moonsault. Stone sends her outside, where Eddie Edwards saves Alisha from a dive. That means a big dive onto the two of them, followed by a kick to the head back inside. Edwards goes to the eyes though and a Downward Spiral gets two. Stone’s handspring is broken up by some Eddie interference, but Stone is fine enough to grab a rollup for the pin at 5:05.

Rating: C. Maybe it was after seeing the Hardys stuff, but this was perfectly fine. They only had so much time and neither of them are the most regular wrestlers so this was only going to be able to get so far. Stone has been presented as a prospect though and it makes sense to have her move forward, as it helps make her look a bit bigger.

Post match Alisha goes after her again but Stone fights back and clears Alisha out.

Jason Hotch tells Mustafa Ali that he didn’t back out of the match and thinks he deserves this for the sake of his family. Ali is not pleased.

TNA World Title: Nic Nemeth vs. KC Navarro

Navarro is challenging and mocks the hip shaking Nemeth entrance. Nemeth yells at him and a quick superkick gives Navarro two. Back up and Nemeth is ticked off and rakes the face in the ropes. Nemeth starts going after the leg but Navarro is fine enough to snap off a headscissors. That’s enough for Nemeth to get a breather on the floor, where Navarro scores with a suicide dive. Back in and a frog splash gives Navarro two but Nemeth knocks him down as we take a break.

We come back with Navarro fighting out of a chinlock but getting taken right back down. Nemeth misses a charge in the corner though and it’s time for the comeback. A very spinning Downward Spiral gives Navarro two and he gets the same off a rollup. Navarro powerbombs him out of the corner for another near fall and they both need a breather. Navarro’s Fameasser gets two more but Nemeth is back up with a superkick for the rather near fall, leaving Nemeth stunned. Back up and a Code Red gives Navarro two more but Nemeth reverses a cutter into the Danger Zone to retain at 13:38.

Rating: B. This was a match where the result was never in any serious doubt, as Navarro is hardly a main event star around here. What he is though is someone who the fans can get behind rather quickly and that’s what they’ve done recently. I wanted to see how close he could get and he did give Nemeth a sweat here, which is all you can ask for. Nice job.

Overall Rating: C. The main event helped but the Hardys/Righteous thing was the big deal here and…no. I don’t get it and I’d rather keep it that way so we’ll move on. It’s not their greatest show, but at least it clears a lot of things out on the way to the final push towards Lockdown. This wasn’t their best show, but the last match did bring it up a good bit.

Results
AJ Francis/Frankie Kazarian b. Moose/Elijah – Cash Out to Elijah
Elayna Black vs. Wendy Choo went to a time limit draw
Mr. Elegance b. BDE – Swinging Downward Spiral
Hardys b. Righteous – Swanton through a table to Dutch
Jada Stone b. Alisha Edwards – Rollup
Nic Nemeth b. KC Navarro – 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:

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