Impact Wrestling
Date: October 1, 2026
Location: Boeing Center At Tech Port, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re only a few weeks away from Bound For Glory and last week saw the reveal of the Syk as the recent mystery attackers. That should open up a big showdown with the Hardys at Bound For Glory, but we have some other things to cover. That includes more on Nic Nemeth vs. Leon Slater so let’s get to it.

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

In Memory Of Pac.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: BDE vs. Mr. Elegance

BDE starts fast with a springboard crossbody and an armdrag sends Elegance outside. Back in and BDE misses a springboard to let Elegance take over, including a cravate. Some rolling suplexes give Elegance two but the wind up DDT is blocked. BDE can’t get his Kliq Cutter but he can get a sunset flip to pin Elegance at 4:30.

Rating: C. The match was what you would expect but BDE getting a win does actually feel like a nice moment. He’s never going to be a big star but they’ve put something into the idea that he’s worked so hard to get here and he finally beat someone. It’s not like Elegance is going to lose anything by being beaten here anyway as he’s just a goofy villain so nice job here.

John Skyler and Jason Hotch have to team together tonight and Hotch is a bit condescending about Mila Moore. Skyler talks about how he had nothing and finally found someone but Hotch can’t be happy for him. Tonight, he hopes Skyler will be in his corner.

The Hometown Man meets the Dude Wipes mascot but AJ Francis comes in to steal the wipes that the mascot gave to the Man.

Zoey Serrano vs. Indi Hartwell

Xia Brookside is on commentary. The brawl starts on the floor with both of them being rammed into the apron. They get inside with Hartwell in control and the bell rings. Serrano is up with a superkick and half nelson suplex to put Hartwell down. Some big crossface shots have Hartwell in more trouble but she spinebusters Serrano out of the air. They head outside again, with Hartwell being sent into the steps. That’s not enough for Serrano, who kicks a security guard in the face and then hits Hartwell with a chair for the DQ at 3:04.

Rating: C. This was more of an angle than a match but I do like the ending, as you don’t want either of them taking a pin right now. Serrano is doing something different by being the unhinged woman who attacks random people while Hartwell is on her way to the title match at Bound For Glory. It was kept rather short, which granted might not be a bad idea.

Post match Serrano unloads on Hartwell with the chair and Brookside belts Hartwell in the head to stand as tall as she can.

Order 4 vs. Great Hands

Tasha Steelz and Mila Moore are here too. Ali dropkicks Skyler off the apron to start and flips over Hotch in the corner. A missed charge puts Ali on the floor though and Hotch takes him out with a moonsault. That just earns him a gorilla press drop onto the apron from Zero though and Ali DDTs him onto the floor.

Skyler is up with a pair of spears to Ali and the Hands are back up, only to get clotheslined outside by Zero. The big no hands dive takes them out again and a spinebuster gets two on Hotch back inside. The swinging Downward Spiral plants Hotch for two more and Zero knocks Skyler off the apron.

Ali’s chinlock doesn’t last long and it’s a sitout powerbomb to put him down. That’s enough for the tag back to Skyler and the Hands get together to take Zero down. The double superplex is broken up though and it’s a double powerbomb to drop the Hands again. Back up and Hotch knocks Zero to the floor, leaving Ali to miss a 450. The slingshot spear gives Skyler two but Ali is right back with a Sharpshooter for the tap at 11:41.

Rating: B. It’s nice to see the Great Hands back together, as they’re rather talented when they get to work together. At the same time, it should be interesting to see where this goes. I was surprised to see the Hands lose here, though it wouldn’t make the most sense to have Ali lose in a tag match and Zero losing getting pinned again wouldn’t be a great idea either.

Post match Ali won’t let go so Skyler makes the save. Ali makes Zero take Hotch out again and then yells at Zero….so Steelz tells Zero to take Ali out. That’s exactly what Zero does, followed by a chokebomb to Moore.

Post break the four of them get in a big brawl but Santino Marella comes in to make a four way International Title match for Bound For Glory.

AJ Francis vs. Moose

Francis, with Expressions, splashes him to start fast and avoids a charge in the corner to put Moose down. They’re quickly on the floor with Francis sending him into the steps but it’s too early for the Down Payment back inside. Moose kicks him in the face but Francis is right back with a suplex into the chinlock. That’s broken up as well so Moose goes up, where he is quickly crotched.

Moose manages to shove him off the top and hit a high crossbody, setting up a top rope superplex to send Francis crashing back down for two. The spear is broken up by an Expressions distraction and Francis’ spear gets two. The villains load up the table, which is then covered with Dude Wipes, so the Dude Wipes mascot gets inside (oh boy). Expressions gets kicked through the table so Moose goes after the mascot, meaning Moose can get in the spear for the pin at 7:50.

Rating: C. The focus of this match was an inflated box of wipes in underwear. I’m well aware that the company got a nice check for this but that doesn’t make for good television. As for the match itself, it was a fine power fight between two big guys, but it was kind of hard to get the focus on that with everything else going on.

Rosemary and Kiera Hogan go to meet Rosemary, who isn’t sure if this is real and says she can’t go back. Rosemary rams herself into a chain link fence and warns them of SNAKES IN THE GRASS before wandering off.

Joe Alonzo vs. Leon Slater

Before the match, Alonzo says his own name a lot and says Slater isn’t going to win the title. He references Nic Nemeth (on commentary) from 2006 and says that Slater isn’t going to take away his spot while promising to take away Slater’s Bound For Glory spot. The bell rings and Slater better beat him in about 30 seconds. A leg lariat and the Swanton 450 finish Alonzo at 21 seconds. There we go!

Post match Nemeth steals Slater’s jacket…so Slater steals Nemeth’s titles. Keeping Slater looking smart is an important idea and they’re doing well.

We look at Frankie Kazarian training Avery Styles.

Elayna Black comes in to see the Elegance Brand and promises to take the Knockouts TV Title. Black mocks the Elegance Brand, with M saying she doesn’t need them. That’s enough for Black to get her to agree to not have the Brand next week. The Personal Concierge points out that might be a bad idea.

Ricky Sosa vs. Cedric Alexander

Sosa backs him up against the ropes for a clean break to start and then grabs a quick northern lights suplex. Alexander is knocked to the floor for a big no hands dive as we take a break. We come back with Alexander hitting a basement dropkick and sending Sosa outside. The chinlock goes on back inside, which is broken up just as fast.

Sosa flips over him out of the corner and…I think DDTs him out of the air for two. Alexander is right back with a suplex but springboards into a Blue Thunder Bomb. Cue the System for a distraction, which is cut off just as fast. Alisha Edwards offers a distraction though and here is Eddie Edwards to kick Sosa low. The Lumbar Check finishes Sosa at 9:57.

Rating: B-. They’re doing a nice job of setting Sosa up for his big win over Eddie at Bound For Glory and that should make for a good moment. Sosa hasn’t quite broken through as a star around here yet but the fans like him. Let him have the moment on the big stage and see where he can go. Eddie is as smart of a choice to make him look good in the ring so the pieces are in the right place from here.

Here is the Syx for their first big speech. Shaw says “we’re here” and says now you know who the attackers have been, but why? This is a rotten place and sometimes a place is so rotten that it has to be cut apart. Sawyer says it doesn’t matter who you are around here because you’re on the chopping block. The Hardys have survived everything over the years and that just means the Syx get to try it again. Now we get to see how hard it is to kill them.

Cue the Hardys, who say they’re still standing because they’re unkillable and will not die. If the Syx want to find out how hard they are to kill, let’s do it at Bound For Glory, anything goes and falls count anywhere. The Hardys are ready to go right now but Syx bail to end the show. You knew the match was coming so just announcing it quickly is the way to go. At the same time, are we really having the former Wyatts pick up the Eric Young sickness deal?

Overall Rating: B-. This was the kind of show that the company needed for Bound For Glory, as we’re getting closer to the show and they were running out of time to build everything up. That’s what they did here, with most of the matches getting at least some time. They still have one more week to finalize everything and it should be interesting to see how they put everything together. This is the most important time of the year and I’m curious to see how they make it work. This week’s show did some good stuff and that’s a positive step forward.

Results
BDE b. Mr. Elegance – Sunset flip
Indi Hartwell b. Zoey Serrano when Serrano used a chair
Order 4 b. Great Hands – Sharpshooter to Skyler
Moose b. AJ Francis – Spear
Leon Slater b. Joe Alonzo – Swanton 450
Cedric Alexander b. Ricky Sosa – Lumbar Check

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: September 24, 2026
Location: Boeing Center At Tech Port, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s a fresh set of tapings and that means that Jeff Hardy could be back after his recent attack. The interesting twist from last week was the reveal that there have been multiple attackers, which could make for an even bigger reveal. Granted we’re not sure when that will be but it wouldn’t be much of a surprise if we did. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Here’s Leon Slater to get things going. Slater is a bit shaken up because last week he had to….share the ring with RYAN NEMETH. He knows he can beat Nic Nemeth and wants to do the World Title match right now. Cue Nic, who laughs off the idea of being scared of Slater. Nic promises that the Nemeths are going to be in charge for a long time and here is Ryan behind him.

Nic mocks Slater for not having a father around to teach him lessons, with Slater saying he knows Ryan is behind him. The brawl is on and here is Santino Marella to say this can’t happen until Bound For Glory, so if there is any contact, the title, or the title shot, is gone. Slater looked good and smart here, which is what he needs to do.

Matt Hardy knows there are at least two attackers and Jeff Hardy is back. Matt wants to know who they are and they’ll be in the ring to meet them face to face in an hour.

Indi Hartwell comes up to Daria Rae and says she’s not scared of Rae. That earns her a slap, as filmed by Santino Marella, who is sending it to the board. Well that sounds entrapment-esque.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: Ryan Nemeth vs. KJ Orso

Orso kicks at the arm to start and gets two off a suplex. Another go at the arm earns Orso a pull out to the floor and the chinlock goes on back inside. Back up and Nemeth sends him hard into the corner for two and we’re back to the chinlock. Orso fights up and goes for the arm again but settles for a springboard moonsault.

A basement superkick sets up the Orso Driver (kind of a hammerlock fisherman’s driver) for two but Nemeth is back with a jumping DDT for the same. Orso pulls him into the KJ (cobra) Clutch, which is broken up rather quickly. Nemeth sends Orso shoulder first into the post and hits the Hollywood Ending for the pin at 6:42.

Rating: C+. I’ve seen far worse than Orso, who is a big deal in GCW and far better known as a loudmouthed villain than being a pretty run of the mill X-Division guy. That being said, Orso looked pretty nice in there and as you’ve probably seen, TNA could use all the help they can get. There are weaker options than Orso, who did a nice job in his first match, especially against the limited Nemeth.

Rosemary is in a straitjacket and is being talked to by…..I’m assuming Rosemary but it might have been Courtney Rush. Either way, the non-confined one wants to start at the beginning.

Mustafa Ali yells at Order 4 for coming back to defend the title in a triple threat. He blames Mila Moore, with John Skyler standing up for her. Ali storms off and Moore is thankful.

Hernandez is here. Dang there’s a name that could have been a bigger deal.

Righteous vs. BDE/Rich Swann

This is a Dot Combat match, which basically means hardcore. It’s a brawl to start and Vincent’s sliding Downward Spiral gets an early two. Swann is back in to help take over and BDE…attaches a controller to the back of his trunks to make Swann beat on Dutch with a chair. Cute idea, but maybe not the right place for it (and I wouldn’t have even known what it was without commentary explaining the joke). Dutch beats BDE up the ramp and gives him a brainbuster onto the knee as we take a break.

We come back with Swann and Vincent standing on open chairs in the ring, with Vincent getting in a faceplant onto another chair for two. Dutch is back in to wedge a chair in the corner and naturally misses a charge into the chair. Some superkicks and a double cutter take Dutch down and of course it’s time for a table. Vincent is back up and gets cuttered by BDE, whose slingshot dive is pulled out of the air. Swann takes the bullet through the table though, leaving BDE to cutter Vincent (again) and hit a frog splash for two as Dutch makes the save. Back in and a quick Orange Sunshine gives Vincent the pin on BDE at 12:33.

Rating: B-. This was about what you would have expected and while it’s pretty low stakes, at least the Righteous got to win a feud. That’s been missing since their debut as they spent the better part of ever losing to the Hardys. BDE is going to win something eventually, though it would be nice if he could lay off the cutters for a bit. Throw something new in there.

Post match a chair is wrapped around BDE’s neck and Vincent uses another chair to smash it.

Frankie Kazarian has put Avery Styles sin the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match for his debut match. Styles is happy, even with Kazarian in the match too.

Santino Marella has shown the Daria Rae footage to the Board and Rae is suspended. As a result, Indi Hartwell gets a Knockouts Title shot at Bound For Glory. This brings in Xia Brookside (who was apparently standing about four inches away) to protest, which gets her nowhere.

Here are the Hardys to find out who attacked them. The video screen starts flickering and the attackers jump the Hardys in the darkness. The lights come up and it’s….Samuel Shaw (Dexter Lumis and formerly of TNA) and Joseph Sawyer (Joe Gacy) who are now apparently called Syx. Hannifan: “They’re here.” Subtle.

Eddie Edwards vs. Elijah

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie. Elijah takes him down with an early chinlock before getting in a running knee. Walk With Elijah is cut off by an Alisha distraction though and Eddie pulls him down. Some chops have Elijah in trouble but he counters the tiger driver into an Alabama Slam. A corkscrew faceplant sets up Walk With Elijah for two and the jumping knee gets two. Cue the rest of the System for a distraction so Ricky Sosa comes in to even things out a bit. That’s enough for the Highwayman’s Farewell to give Elijah the pin at 6:37.

Rating: C+. I was surprised at the result here as you wouldn’t expect Eddie to lose going into Bound For Glory. It gives Eddie another reason to be mad at Sosa though and now we get to see where it goes. Elijah is pretty likely going into the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Match so the win here wasn’t exactly necessary. Either way, not bad.

Moose is interrupted by AJ Francis, who says he’s the real franchise around here. The challenge is made and accepted.

Gabby Forza vs. Elayna Black vs. Jada Stone vs. Harley Hudson

For a future Knockouts TV Title shot. Forza clears the ring to start but Black catches her with a running boot in the corner. Stone misses a charge and gets caught with a basement dropkick, leaving Hudson and Forza to hit stereo fall away slams. Forza loads up a superplex to Stone, with the other two coming up to make it a triple. Cue the Elegance Brand to watch as Stone is up with the Spark Stunner to Forza. Black grabs the Blackout to pin Stone at 5:02.

Rating: C+. They only had so much time here and it wasn’t clear who was getting the shot. Stone has gotten a heck of a push in the last few months but Black has seemed like a bigger project. Her face turn has been a much needed upgrade for her and I could go for her winning the title to finally do SOMETHING around here. Forza…well she’s so odd that I can easily go for having her around more often. Hudson is feeling more like a regular here and that’s a good thing too.

Mila Moore thanks John Skyler for his help again. Skyler says she deserves better but Mustafa Ali comes in to yell at them. Moore quits the team…and Skyler quits too. Well at least Moore says he does as she drags him away with her.

Zoey Serrano is on the phone (presumably with Daria Rae) and promises that Indi Hartwell won’t make it to Bound For Glory.

International Title: Trey Miguel vs. Jason Hotch vs. Mustafa Ali

Ali, with Tasha Steelz, is defending. Hotch jumps on Ali to hammer away to start with Miguel breaking it up and following Ali to the floor. That means a double stomping has Ali in more trouble, with Hotch giving him a tornado DDT on the floor. The challengers start brawling on the floor and of course Ali is there with a running flip dive as we take a break.

We come back with Hotch running the corner for a double Spanish Fly and everyone is down. Hotch is back up first and tries a tornado DDT on Ali…who lands on Miguel, allowing Hotch to give Miguel a Destroyer. Ali pops up with a piledriver for two on Hotch but stops to sing Happy Birthday (as Hotch’s daughter turns three today).

Miguel is back up with a top rope Meteora for two on Ali so Hotch gives them a double rolling DDT. A brainbuster/DDT combination drops Miguel and Ali again and Miguel is sent outside. Ali has Steelz bring in the title but uses it to pull her in the way of Hotch’s top rope double stomp. A belt shot to Miguel retains the title at 13:54.

Rating: B. Some of the spots in here were nuts and Hotch continues to feel like he belongs at this level. At the same time, Ali continues to feel like he should be in the main event scene and just isn’t because of whatever reason. Maybe he comes after a newly crowned Leon Slater later in the winter, as it’s not like there’s much of a reason for him to stay out of the title picture.

Post match Ali picks up Steelz to carry her to the back…and then drops her to pose with the title. That’s amazing.

The Hardys swear vengeance on Syx to end the show.

Overall Rating: B-. The best thing about TNA right now is they have a focus. Bound For Glory is coming and they are using their time to make the show feel as important as possible. That’s been lacking for a little while now and what they’re doing is starting to work. Hopefully they can keep it going for the next few weeks, as they could use a good top show of the year. This was a nice edition to build towards that show and I’m more interested in what’s coming at Bound For Glory than I was coming in, which makes this a success.

Results
Ryan Nemeth b. KJ Orso – Hollywood Ending
Righteous b. BDE/Rich Swann – Orange Sunshine to BDE
Elijah b. Eddie Edwards – Highwayman’s Farewell
Elayna Black b. Gabby Forza, Harley Hudson and Jada Stone – Blackout to Stone
Mustafa Ali b. Trey Miguel and Jason Hotch – Belt shot to Miguel

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: September 17, 2026
Location: CAA Center, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re less than a month away from Bound For Glory and that means it is time to start firming up a lot of the card. That’s for later though, as Moose is putting his career on the line against Frankie Kazarian in what should be a pretty big showdown. Other than that, we have another qualifying match for the X-Division Title so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Knockouts TV Title: Kiera Hogan vs. M By Elegance

M, with the Elegance Brand, is defending while Allie is here with Hogan. They fight over wrist control to start and Hogan sends her into the ropes for a running hip attack. M is right back up with a Blockbuster and a basement dropkick with the kickout leaving her stunned. The double arm crank goes on and Hogan is pulled down by the hair to keep her in trouble. Hogan is back up with a running hip attack but Face The Music is blocked. M misses her moonsault though and Hogan grabs a rollup for two. Back up and Hogan tries a rollup out of the corner, with M reversing into a kneeling Tombstone to retain at 5:37.

Rating: C. M needs wins like this to boost herself up a bit and this went well. At the same time, it could probably boost the Brand up for a Knockouts Tag Team Title somewhere down the line. It’s annoying to have champions lose but the tag division is hardly overflowing with teams in the first place.

Leon Slater doesn’t like what Nic Nemeth has become so tonight he’s going to beat up Ryan Nemeth.

John Skyler again seems to try hitting on Mila Moore to no avail as she takes a phone call instead.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: LJ Cleary vs. Rich Swann

Cleary, from Ireland, is making his debut. We get a handshake and we’re ready to go, with both of them flipping away and avoiding the early contact. Swann connects with a dropkick and they flip up to a standoff and another handshake. Swann takes him down for the step up kick to the back and Cleary is sent outside for a kick in the chair.

With Cleary still in the chair, Swann gets a running start around the ring to kick him in the face but gets cut off by a dive for trying it again. They trade dives to the floor before Cleary gets two off a Death Valley Driver. After we hear some audio that I don’t think was intentional, Swann wins a strike off but Cleary is back with a springboard Canadian Destroyer for two. Swann rolls around a lot and hits a handspring cutter, setting up the Phoenix splash for the pin at 8:05.

Rating: B. These two had some sweet chemistry out there and it was nice to see Swann getting to have this kind of a match. He has the resume around here to be a bigger star but he needs some wins to get him back up the ladder a bit. I’ve seen Cleary a few times before and he has talent, so it was nice to see him getting a chance here.

Frankie Kazarian says Moose has brought this on himself and he’s ready to take Moose out.

The System vs. Elijah/Ricky Sosa

Elijah works on Eddie’s arm to start and it’s off to Sosa for two off a slam. A snap powerslam gives Sosa one and Elijah gets to hit Alexander in the face a few times. Walk With Elijah is loaded up to Alexander while Sosa dives onto Edwards at the same time as we take a break.

We come back with Alexander pulling at Elijah’s beard and Edwards mocking his inability to get a tag. Elijah manages a jumping knee to knock Edwards out of the air and it’s back to Sosa as everything breaks down. Walk With Elijah cuts off the rest of the invading System and Sosa’s running uppercut is good for the pin on Alexander at 12:07.

Rating: B-. This got better near the end and it’s good to see Sosa get a win. He’s still trying to find himself in TNA but he’s around here often enough and getting wins. Having him in various tag teams is fine for now, as being the guy you bring in when you need a partner isn’t a bad idea.

Post match the System lays the winners out, with Eddie grabbing a mic and having a seat. He wants Sosa at Bound For Glory to see if Sosa belongs here. Yeah that’s an upgrade.

The Righteous isn’t happy with BDE for turning them down and he has one more chance.

Ryan Nemeth vs. Leon Slater

Nic Nemeth is on commentary. Slater starts fast with the right hands in the corner and nails a handspring elbow. Ryan is sent outside for a dive from Slater, who stops to glare at Nic, allowing Ryan to neckbreaker him on the way back inside. Some forearms set up a chinlock and a Nic style jumping DDT gives Ryan two. Slater fights up and kicks him in the head, setting up a very spinning torture rack bomb. The Swanton 450 finishes Ryan at 4:47.

Rating: C+. That’s all this needed to be as it’s Ryan Nemeth against the #1 contender to the World Title. Slater is on the way to the biggest match of his career and he got to beat up the champion’s brother in the process. Thankfully they didn’t drag this out in any way and Slater got to finish with his big move.

Post match Nic runs in to beat Slater down, including a belt shot to the head.

John Skyler has roses for Mila Moore but hears her on the phone, mocking the idea that she would ever date someone who looked like him.

Moose is ready to do his best as his back is to the wall.

Zoey Serrano vs. Harley Hudson

Serrano wastes no time in shoving her down and mocking Hudson’s pushups. Some choking in the corner has Hudson in more trouble and we’re already in the chinlock. Back up and Hudson knocks her into the corner for a string of running hip attacks. A rollup gives Hudson two but Serrano German suplexes her into a brainbuster onto the knee for two. Hudson trips her down and drops a leg for two, only for Serrano to come back with her flipping knee (with Hudson being flipped backwards onto the knee) and the pin at 5:50.

Rating: C. Hudson continues to impress me as she’s getting a bit more established around here. I could go for her having more success, but Serrano feels like she’s the bigger prospect at the moment. If nothing else, Serrano looking fairly dominant in her singles debut makes sense and that knee looked great.

Post match Daria Rae comes out to tell Serrano to finish Hudson, which brings out Indi Hartwell for the save. Hartwell says Rae isn’t getting rid of her but Rae says Hartwell is on borrowed time.

Moose vs. Frankie Kazarian

Moose’s TNA career is on the line and Avery Styles is here with Kazarian. Moose knocks him down but misses an early backsplash, allowing Kazarian to crucifix him for two. Kazarian’s Backstabber and Back To The Future gets two, only for Moose to come back with the chokebomb out of the corner.

Kazarian bails out to the floor and tries the slingshot cutter, with Moose head faking him for a slingshot splash instead. A high crossbody gives Kazarian two more and we take a break. We come back with both of them getting to their feet for the slow slugout. Some rollups give Kazarian two more and he clotheslines Moose for one. A headbutt and the spear connect for Moose but Kazarian rolls out to the floor.

Moose makes the mistake of trying another spear outside and gets backdropped through a table, which is good for a nine count. Fade To Black gives Kazarian two and the chickenwing goes on but Moose keeps his arm up. Moose rolls out and gets two off the spear before spearing a springboarding Kazarian out of the air. One more spear gives Moose the pin at 16:52.

Rating: B. The best thing here is the match was starting to feel big. That was the idea is it was Moose putting up everything he had for one more shot at Kazarian, which paid off. The match could have used some more time to be set up, but at least the match wound up being rather good and worthy of the main event slot.

Post match Moose crushes Kazarian’s crown with a chair.

Matt Hardy has been attacked….and two people look down at him before walking away. Well there’s your next big detail.

Overall Rating: B+. There was enough good action to carry this one with the main event and Swann vs. Cleary being the highlights. This show felt more packed than usual and it made for one of the better Impacts in awhile. That’s a great sign as we’re this close to Bound For Glory, but they have to keep it up or this doesn’t mean very much.

Results
M By Elegance b. Kiera Hogan – Kneeling Tombstone
Rich Swann b. LJ Cleary – Phoenix splash
Elijah/Ricky Sosa b. The System – Running uppercut to Alexander
Leon Slater b. Ryan Nemeth – Swanton 450
Zoey Serrano b. Harley Hudson – Flipping knee to the face

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: September 10, 2026
Location: CAA Center, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We have just over a month to go before Bound For Glory but the bigger story around here seems to be a mystery attacker. Someone has been taking out wrestlers left and right and some accusations have set up Nic Nemeth vs. Matt Hardy in a No DQ match. That should serve as a main event, though I’m not sure how good the service will be. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Elayna Black vs. Heather By Elegance

The Elegance Brand is here with Heather. Black starts fast with some knees to put Heather on the floor but she switches places to hit Black with a crossbody from the apron. Back in and Heather cranks on the arm before posing a bit. A Samoan drop gives Heather two but Black is back up with a running knee in the corner. The Blackout finishes Heather at 5:23.

Rating: C. Well, at least Black got a clean win over a name. That’s something she’s been lacking for a long time now and this could be a nice step forward for her. It’s not like the division doesn’t need some fresh blood so maybe this can help. If nothing else, Heather losing and getting frustrated is always worth a look.

Ryan Nemeth says he was attacked last week by the mystery attacker but Nic Nemeth was there to help him out.

Jason Hotch runs into Daria Rae, who puts him in a match with Special Agent Zero. Oh and Mila Moore can be guest referee.

Here is Frankie Kazarian, with Avery Styles, for the King’s Speech. Tonight is a coronation as Kazarian is officially the new face of the franchise after beating Moose. He is the only King Of TNA and has a crown, but here is Moose to interrupt. Moose says Kazarian got lucky to win at Lockdown because it was Moose’s spear that let Kazarian escape. That’s why Moose wants to face him again, one fall, pinfall or submission. Kazarian says no, so Moose says Kazarian has to win to prove himself to the locker room. The match is on, but Moose has to put his career on the line. Deal. Well that escalated quickly.

Gabby Forza is rather fired up for her Knockouts Title shot.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: Rohit Raju vs. Fabian Aichner

KC Navarro is on commentary. Aichner powers him down to start and we hit the early headlock. Raju goes to the eye and knocks him outside for a ram into the steps, followed by a double stomp for two back inside. Aichner wastes no time in fighting back and getting two off a middle rope moonsault. Back up and Raju knocks him right back down, followed by a tornado DDT out of the corner for two. That’s shrugged off and Hasta La Vista (the sitout Last Ride) finishes for Aichner at 5:40.

Rating: C+. I like the finisher, as there is always something to that big of a powerbomb, though this was as much of a formality as you can get. Raju has never been much to see around here and he was little more than a flashback on this show. Aichner has been presented as a newcomer worth watching for a bit now and he needed this kind of a win to get into a big match at Bound For Glory.

Zoey Serrano talks about growing up a wrestling fan and how getting into the business changed her life forever. She’s going to stay true to herself, which is being the best wrestler in the world. I’ve heard a lot worse.

Special Agent Zero vs. Jason Hotch

Mila Moore is guest referee and Order 4 is at ringside. Zero jumps him to start fast and sends him flying off a hiptoss. Another whip sends Hotch hard into the corner and a big legdrop gives Zero two. A jumping enziguri gives Hotch…well nothing as Moore is taking her time on the counting. Zero’s clothesline gets a rather speedy two so Hotch yells at Moore, earning himself a headbutt to put him down again.

Hotch manages to reverse a suplex into a swinging DDT and a frog splash gets nothing again, as Moore checks her nails. This time Tasha Steelz gets in the ring for the brawl with Moore, whose shirt is ripped off. Steelz designates herself referee and counts the fastest pin in history off a rollup to give Hotch the pin at 6:34.

Rating: C+. It’s a story that has been done for years in wrestling and they didn’t exactly reinvent the wheel here. I do like that Hotch got another win and isn’t having his singles run dropped. He’s an intriguing talent and if they can build something out of him, why not see what they can put together.

Leon Slater comes up to Matt Hardy and wishes him luck on the main event. Slater runs into Jason Hotch and pleasantries are exchanged.

Knockouts Title: Gabby Forza vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside is defending but doesn’t have a gnome cap or Legion Of Doom shoulder pads, meaning advantage: Forza. The fans get behind Forza, who gets caught with a rather aggressive headlock. Some forearms knock Forza into the corner and the running hip attack keeps her down. The Broken Wings connect but Forza pulls her into the corner for a crash.

Some clotheslines, both standing and running, connect for Forza in the corner and an Oklahoma Stampede gets two. A Vader Bomb connects as well, with Brookside getting her foot on the rope. That’s enough for Brookside to leave but Indi Hartwell cuts her off. Cue Daria Rae to yell at Hartwell, allowing Brookside to get in a belt shot to retain at 5:40.

Rating: C. The matches aren’t exactly getting time tonight and that was hardly the most thrilling ending. Forza has charisma for days, but she might want to tone down a bit of the comedy stuff. The idea is funny, but if that becomes the focus of what she’s doing, it won’t wind up working very long.

Kiera Hogan, with Allie, is ready to win the Knockouts TV Title next week.

Here is Elijah for some music. His song this week is about the System, who comes out to interrupt and warn him to stay out of their way. The System has a list of people they don’t like, starting with Ricky Sosa. Elijah would be glad to be on that list so here is Sosa to chase the System off. The tag match is set for next week.

Matt Hardy is visited by Willow, who apparently is just in Matt’s mind.

Leon Slater has been attacked.

Vincent vs. Rich Swann

Dutch is here with Vincent and Swann charges right in to start swinging away fast. Vincent fights back and takes over, with a backbreaker leaving Swann in trouble. Swann’s comeback is cut off as he gets knocked into the corner but comes out swinging. A dive to the floor hits Dutch and Swann goes back inside, where the referee gets bumped. Swann is knocked down as well and here is BDE, all in white like the Righteous. BDE picks Swann up and then cutters Vincent, allowing Swann to hit the Phoenix splash for the win at 5:18.

Rating: C+. Well at least they didn’t waste time on this “will he/won’t he” thing with BDE, who is still only so valuable in the first place. The Righteous continues to have issues with finding any kind of success and I’m rather fine with that. After seeing them against the Hardys for so long, I could go for a bit of a break from them, though thankfully this is at least a fresh story.

Here’s what’s coming next week.

TNA World Title: Matt Hardy vs. Nic Nemeth

Nemeth is defending and there are no disqualifications. They waste no time in fighting out to the floor and Nemeth has to put a table back underneath the ring. That doesn’t work for Matt, who leans it against the ring and suplexes Nemeth through it as we take a break. We come back with Nemeth getting two off a superplex and sending Hardy into a chair in the corner.

Hardy avoids being sent through a table in the corner and gets in a clothesline to put both of them down. The multiple rams into the buckles have Nemeth in more trouble and Hardy whips him through the table (with the first attempt not breaking anything). The Twist Of Fate connects but Ryan Nemeth pulls the referee at two. Hardy elbows Nemeth through the table at ringside but walks into a low blow for two back inside. Hardy’s low blow and small package get two so Nemeth hits him with a wrench to retain at 13:17.

Rating: B-. This was a weird one as it was a fine enough hardcore match/street fight and the idea of Hardy being outnumbered and ultimately losing as a result. The problem is Hardy was moving in slow motion at times and the match doesn’t exactly feel like must see TV. They had the match you would have expected, but dang it felt like quite the TNA main event.

Overall Rating: C+. Outside of the main event, this was a bunch of pretty quick matches, though they did a good job of moving stories forward. The mystery attacker feels like it could be a big reveal, though I’m almost worried about how it might be. Otherwise, I do like some of the new names that they’re bringing along and it could make for a nice future. The pieces are there but they have to get the execution to work, which is always the hard part.

Results
Elayna Black b. Heather By Elegance – Blackout
Fabian Aichner b. Rohit Raju – Hasta La Vista
Jason Hotch b. Special Agent Zero – Rollup with a fast count
Xia Brookside b. Gabby Forza – Belt shot
Rich Swann b. Vincent – Phoenix splash
Nic Nemeth b. Matt Hardy – Wrench to the head

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: September 3, 2026
Location: CAA Center, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re still on the long road to Bound For Glory and the card is already starting to come together. The World Title match is set, with Leon Slater challenging Nic Nemeth via Option C, though it means we’ll be needing to crown a new X-Division Champion. That process starts tonight so let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Here is Matt Hardy to get things going. The Hardys are known as the Goats and the TNA Tag Team Titles mean the world to them. They’re already planning to get the titles back but Jeff is in the hospital. So who would have done that to him? Of course it’s the Nemeths, who know that the Hardys have a rematch for the titles. Cue the Nemeths, with Nic denying taking Jeff out. Matt slugs away anyway and security can only do so much to break it up.

Trey Miguel is ready to face Jason Hotch for a future shot at the International Title. They’re friends, but that won’t matter tonight.

Elayna Black is interrupted by the Elegance Brand, with M mocking her. Black isn’t impressed and seems to have a match with Heather set for later.

Here is Impressions to introduce AJ Francis.

AJ Francis vs. Brent Oakley

Oakley, with his amazing mustache, jumps at Francis to start and actually avoids a charge in the corner. Then he gets caught with the TFL to give Francis the pin at 49 seconds.

Post match Francis says he is the best AJ ever in TNA and wants to face Avery Styles in his first match. Instead here is Santino Marella, who, after the applause, introduces Styles, who agrees to face Francis next week. This brings out Frankie Kazarian to call the whole thing off, because that’s not a good way for Styles to debut. Hopefully AJ Styles makes an appearance at some point, though I can get why he wouldn’t as well.

Daria Rae gives Zoey Serrano and Xia Brookside a quick pep talk.

Harley Hudson/Indi Hartwell vs. Zoey Serrano/Xia Brookside

Daria Rae is on commentary. Brookside immediately tags out (gah) so Hartwell clotheslines Serrano in the corner instead. The villains are knocked outside, where Serrano shoves a fan and we take a break. We come back with Brookside grabbing a crossarm choke on Hudson, who starts to fight up.

Serrano comes in for the save and knocks Brookside down by mistake, allowing Hartwell to come back in. House is quickly cleaned and a boot to the head gets two on Serrano. Everything breaks down and they all get knocked to the mat. Serrano knees Hartwell in the face but gets yelled at by Brookside, with Hartwell fighting back. Hartwell grabs a weird armbar to make Brookside tap at 10:05.

Rating: C+. This was all about giving Serrano her first match and having Hartwell get her win over Brookside. Hartwell getting a big time match against either Brookside or Rae at Bound For Glory seems all but guaranteed at this point, as Hartwell feels like the fan favorite. At least the hold is better than the Hurts Donut.

Ryan Nemeth has been attacked as well.

X-Division Title Qualifying Match: KC Navarro vs. Joe Alonzo

Leon Slater is on commentary and Alonzo is the newest signing to the company. Alonzo knows that Slater would rather hand the title over than have Alonzo (who likes to talk in the third person) take it from him. Alonzo takes Navarro down for a pat on the head to start before missing a charge out to the floor. Back in and Navarro kicks him in the head in the corner but gets sent over the corner for a big crash.

Alonzo throws him back inside for a slam and some yelling at the crowd, followed by the double arm crank. Back up and they hit stereo crossbodies to leave them both down, with Navarro getting up for a tornado DDT. That’s enough to send Alonzo to the apron, where he snaps Navarro’s throat across the top. A springboard ax handle (that’s a new one) gives Alonzo two but Navarro catches him with the 305. After escaping the Blessing In Disguise, Alonzo gets rolled up for two, followed by the Blessing In Disguise to give Navarro the pin at 7:41.

Rating: B-. Navarro seems to be on the rise in TNA and it wouldn’t stun me to see him win the X-Division Title. There are far worse ideas and it would be nice to see some fresh blood in the title picture. Alonzo made a nice enough impression here, as he has some personality and had a decent match, so we’ll have to see where he goes from here.

Fabian Aichner wants to be X-Division Champion.

Women’s Tag Team Title: Kiera Hogan/Allie vs. Vipress/Shazza McKenzie

Hogan/Allie are defending in an open challenge. McKenzie backs Allie into the corner to start but they switch places, with Allie hitting a basement clothesline. Hogan comes in for a step up Fameasser but Vipress gets the tag to take over. The Cannonball in the corner hits Hogan and it’s back to McKenzie for a seated abdominal stretch. That’s broken up and it’s back to Allie for the Upside Down. A quick Codebreaker into Face The Music to Vipress retains the titles at 4:29.

Rating: C. This was a basic title match and seemed to be more about getting the new champions reps. That’s about all they can do, as they were thrown together out of nowhere. They can wait a bit before they have a serious title defense, so this is about as good as it gets for the short term.

Indi Hartwell talks to Daria Rae about getting a Knockouts Title shot but Rae gives it to Gabby Forza instead.

Ricky Sosa isn’t happy with the System beating him at Lockdown but here is the System to mock him. Elijah comes up to say leave him alone, and that’s what the System does. Yeah I’d leave before he could sing too.

Dutch vs. BDE

Vincent and Rich Swann are here too. The bell rings and Vincent offers to let BDE get his first win by having Dutch lay down. Instead BDE drops an elbow, which brings Dutch up to pull a crossbody out of the air. BDE is sent crashing into the corner but comes back with a superkick. Another springboard is pulled out of the air for Death Walks and the pin at 3:55.

Rating: C-. A good chunk of that was spent on Vincent trying to get BDE to accept the easy pin. That’s an interesting story and the Righteous needs something to do other than chasing the Hardys for months on end. At least they even explained why they would want a loser like BDE on the team, as he has the influence that the Righteous wants.

Post match Vincent lays Swann out and the Righteous kidnap BDE.

John Skyler seems to hit on Mila Moore and is promptly shut down.

Trey Miguel vs. Jason Hotch

For an International Title shot. They stare each other down and then fight over a lockup until Miguel takes over on the arm. Hotch is up with a wristlock, which is broken up rather quickly. The test of strength doesn’t go very far so they trade armdrags and missed dropkicks into a standoff.

We take a break and come back with Hotch in trouble and getting caught with a sliding kick to the face. Hotch escapes a Last Chancery and pops up with a slingshot suplex. Miguel kicks him in the back and gets two off a Lionsault but Hotch hits some clotheslines. A rolling neckbreaker (ala Mustafa Ali) gives Hotch two and he catches Miguel with a kick in the corner.

Miguel stomps him on the back but gets caught with a standing double stomp for two more. They trade poisonranas and Hotch’s torture rack bomb gets a rather near fall (I bought that one). Back up and they trade shots to the head until they’re both down. They untape their hands and slug it out, at least until Special Agent Zero comes in to clothesline them both for the double DQ at 18:45.

Rating: B. GAH I was into this one until the end, as I wanted to see who was going to pull this off. The triple threat title match should be fun, though I do look forward to Ali being shocked at both of them getting a title shot. It’s slightly better than Hotch losing and (probably) falling back down to the midcard, but dang I could have gone for more of this as they were having an awesome match.

Matt Hardy and Nic Nemeth argue some more but Santino Marella comes in to make a No DQ World Title match for next week.

Overall Rating: C+. The main event was pretty awesome but the rest of the show was focused on a bunch of midcard stuff. The Matt Hardy vs. Nic Nemeth stuff is only so interesting as it’s just filler until we get to Bound For Glory. That didn’t leave much to focus on here, though what we got was still good enough. They need something big to bridge the gap to Bound For Glory though as that show is a good ways off. Nice enough show here, but they’ll need to step some things up.

Results
AJ Francis b. Brent Oakley – TFL
Indi Hartwell/Harley Hudson b. Zoey Serrano/Xia Brookside – Armbar to Brookside
KC Navarro b. Joe Alonzo – Blessing In Disguise
Kiera Hogan/Allie b. Shazza McKenzie/Vipress – Face The Music to Vipress
Dutch b. BDE – Death Walks
Trey Miguel vs. Jason Hotch went to a double DQ when Special Agent Zero interfered

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

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

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

Pre-Show: Righteous vs. BDE/Rich Swann

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

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

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

Pre-Show: Trey Miguel vs. Special Agent Zero

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

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

National Anthem, minus any singing.

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

Remember: every match is inside a cage.

AJ Francis vs. Elijah

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Hogan seems to be the official replacement champion.

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

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

Moose vs. Frankie Kazarian

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knockouts Title: Elayna Black vs. Xia Brookside

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

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

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

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

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

International Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Jason Hotch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

X-Division Title: Cedric Alexander vs. Leon Slater

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tag Team Titles: Nemeths vs. Hardys

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 20, 2026
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the last show before Lockdown and the big story coming out of last week is the announcement of Lethal Lockdown. There is a good chance that we are going to be seeing a match between members of the team for the advantage on Sunday, as per tradition. Other than that, the rest of the card is likely to get its usual last push so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here is Order 4 in the ring for a chat. Mustafa Ali rants about everything at Jason Hotch has achieved, because all of those things were due to Ali himself. Even the clothes on Hotch’s wife’s back. All that matters to Ali is loyalty, so tonight, John Skyler will prove his loyalty by fighting Hotch, but not for the International Title. Skyler doesn’t seem pleased.

Hotch is not happy about having to fight someone who is like a brother to him. Daria Rae comes in to basically say get over it.

Rich Swann vs. Mr. Elegance

The Personal Concierge is here too and while he’s blind, he can smell all of the horrible fans. Elegance shoulders him down but gets dropkicked to the floor. Cue the Elegance Brand for a distraction, with Heather giving Swann a tornado DDT. A rather delayed vertical suplex gives Elegance two and we’re off to the seated full nelson. Back up and Elegance fires off some knees to the ribs but Swann kicks him in the head. The rolling splash gives Swann two and he reverses the wind up DDT into a rollup to pin Elegance at 5:42.

Rating: C. It was a rather basic match and there was no reason for Elegance to be able to beat a former World Champion in a straight up match. The point of someone like Elegance, or the entire Brand for that matter, is that they’re all talk and often in over their head. That was the case here, though having BDE beat Me. Elegance could have been a lot of fun too.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament Semifinals: Jada Stone vs. Heather By Elegance

They trade some rollups to start until Stone kicks her in the face. A springboard misses Heather though and she gets to stomp in the corner. The chinlock goes on but Stone is back up for a kick to the head. The split legged moonsault gives Stone two but Heather breaks up the Spark Stunner.

That lets Heather twist her neck around and they go back to the pinfall reversal sequence. They go out to the apron with Heather taking over, only to get hurricanranaed out to the apron for a big crash. Heather is back in at nine and the Spark Stunner finishes for Stone at 7:44

Rating: C+. Heather got further in the tournament than I was expecting and it wound up being a pretty entertaining match. I was thinking they might have gone with the all elegance final, but Stone is pretty clearly getting a push of some sort around here. I’m not sure if that’s going to be enough for the title, but at least she’s making a run in the tournament.

We get a split screen interview between Elayna Black and Xia Brookside. Black says it’s just the two of them in a cage at Lockdown (kind of the point of the show) but Brookside isn’t impressed. Brookside talks about getting rid of challengers and that’s what she’s going to do again with Black on Sunday.

The Elegance Brand freaks out over their losses tonight but the Personal Concierge gives them a pep talk. I think we can move on from the Brand tonight.

Fabian Aichner vs. Brian Myers

For the advantage in Lethal Lockdown. Myers whips him hard into the corner to start but Aichner is back with a hard toss to the floor. Aichner runs him over again and we take a break. We come back with Myers grabbing the chinlock but quickly getting knocked into the corner. Aichner’s crossbody sets up a middle rope moonsault for two, with Myers’ implant DDT getting the same.

The Roster Cut misses though and Aichner is up with a huge dive to the floor. Back in and Aichner grabs a DDT for two of his own, followed by a bulldog choke. Myers gets to the ropes and then kicks them into Aichner for a low blow. The spear gets two, followed by a more discreet low blow into the Roster Cut to finish Aichner at 11:55.

Rating: B-. This was a case of “one of the heels has to get the advantage for the match” and these two fit as well as anything else. Myers can do a good job with anyone and they had a nice match here. It was a perfectly acceptable match, even with the second low blow being a bit of overkill.

Harley Hudson calls Traci Brooks, who gives her a pep talk before her match against Alisha Edwards. This felt like a Cameo more than a phone call.

Jason Hotch vs. John Skyler

Non-title. Before the match, Hotch says he and Skyler are like brothers and while they have to have the match, it can be great wrestling instead of a fight, which seems to work for Skyler. They fight over wrist control and a headlock to start, with Skyler taking him down into an armbar. Cue Mila Moore to say this is NOT what Mustafa Ali wanted. The Secret Service comes out and Agent Zero decks Hotch for the DQ at 3:07.

Rating: C. This was an angle disguised as a match and that’s what you want to do with a match that might be something down the line. I’m not sure I can imagine Hotch retaining the title on Sunday but you don’t want him losing here, especially when he feels like a fluke champion in the first place. There’s a good chance that Skyler has to make his decision on Sunday and that could be interesting.

Post match Mustafa Ali comes in to mock Hotch.

The Righteous seem to recruit BDE. Why?

Alicia Edwards vs. Harley Hudson

For Hudson’s contract, Eddie Edwards is here with Alisha, and Daria Rae is on commentary. Hudson goes for some early rollups but goes after Eddie, allowing Alisha to get in a posting. Back in and Alisha stomps/chokes away in the corner as Rae brags about her success running TNA. Hudson powers out of the corner, only to get caught in a Downward Spiral for two. Back up and Alisha loads up a double underhook but gets reversed into a rollup to give Hudson the quick pin at 6:27.

Rating: C+. They seem to be trying something with Hudson and as has been the case around here quite a bit lately, that is a good idea due to all of the roster turnover. The match wasn’t much to see, but Hudson is easy enough to like based on her recent vignettes. See what they have with her, which might result in a match against Rae down the line.

Post match Alisha jumps her again with Eddie getting in as well, only for Jada Stone to make the save.

Video on Cedric Alexander vs. Leon Slater, with Slater’s past title reign on the line in a rather bizarre stipulation.

Lockdown rundown.

Nemeths/AJ Francis/Frankie Kazarian vs. Hardys/Elijah/Moose

Kazarian and Jeff start things off with the latter’s early splash getting a fast two. Elijah comes in to chop at Ryan and the Walk With Elijah connects. Everything breaks down (I’m surprised it took that long) and the villains are sent into the buckles over and over as we take a break. We come back with Elijah fighting out of Kazarian’s chinlock and bringing Moose back in to wreck people. The chokebomb out of the corner gets two on Nic and it’s Matt coming in with a Side Effect for two more.

A cheap shot cut Matt off though and Ryan comes in for the Hardy Dance. For some reason Kazarian tries a Twist Of Fate and gets dropped with a clothesline. Francis comes in for the running boot in the corner before knocking Matt’s partners off the apron. They go up top, with Matt grabbing a super Side Effect for the double down. Jeff gets the tag and everything breaks down with Elijah having to save Jeff from the TFL. The Twist Of Fate and Swanton finish Francis at 14:18.

Rating: B-. This was the rare three PPV matches at once match and it worked fine. Of course the Hardys win because, you know, Hardys, but Francis is the best choice to take the loss here. It didn’t exactly do a lot to build up the three matches, but those were already set up and I’ll take something different like this over the standard video packages.

Cedric Alexander has been attacked in the back. Rehwoldt: “First Moose, now Alexander!” Oh yeah I had completely forgotten about Moose being attacked, mainly because he just wrestled in the main event the next week like nothing happened.

Overall Rating: B-. They were really just covering all of the bases here and that’s a good way to go for the last Impact before the pay per view. The action was completely acceptable, though I’m only so interested in Lockdown. TNA is doing what they can with the options that they have, but it’s still not the most thrilling stuff. Hopefully Lockdown is better, because they need some kind of a spark soon.

Results
Rich Swann b. Mr. Elegance – Rollup
Jada Stone b. Heather By Elegance – Spark Stunner
Brian Myers b. Fabian Aichner – Roster Cut
Jason Hotch b. John Skyler via DQ when Agent Zero interfered
Harley Hudson b. Alisha Edwards – Rollup
Hardys/Elijah/Moose b. Nemeths/AJ Francis/Frankie Kazarian – Swanton to Francis

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: August 13, 2026
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

This is an interesting week as we have the World Title on the line with Nic Nemeth defending against Jeff Hardy. That’s certainly a noteworthy main event, but at the same time, we’re ten days away from Lockdown and there is no World Title match scheduled for that show. Maybe we’ll get it tonight, but that’s pushing it awfully close, assuming such a match takes place there. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Opening sequence.

Ricky Sosa vs. Brian Myers

Bear Bronson is here too. Myers goes right after him to start but gets slammed down. They’re quickly outside with Sosa being sent into the apron so Myers can take over. Back in and a suplex gives Myers two and we’re off to the early chinlock. Sosa is back up with a spinning kick to the head into a Lionsault but Bronson offers a distraction.

That’s enough for Myers to get in a kick of his own and grab an implant DDT for two more. The Roster Cut is countered with a nice dropkick so here is Cedric Alexander for a distraction. Myers grabs a belt but here is Leon Slater to take it away. Sosa’s running uppercut gets the pin at 5:45.

Rating: B-. There was too much going on here but they were starting to have a hot match. Sosa is beginning to fit in nicely around here and that’s good to see, as the company needs all the help it can get. Slater works well as a partner to help give him a rub, and odds are we’re getting a big group match of some kind at Lockdown.

Post match Slater reiterates his X-Division challenge to Alexander, but knows he’s dodging it due to a high level of cowardice. Slater even offers to put up anything Alexander wants, so Alexander says he wants….Slater’s second longest reign ever is officially stripped from the record books. Since that wouldn’t really change much, Slater is in. What an odd choice for a stipulation.

BDE and Rich Swann are ready to face Order 4 and have a mystery partner, who isn’t Jason Hotch.

We get a preview of tonight’s show and there is an announcement of the Hardys vs. the Nemeths for the Tag Team Titles at Lockdown. Ah there’s the way around the World Title.

AJ Francis is in the recording studio when Elijah interrupts. Elijah is ready to face Francis in a cage…but it seems that Elijah is an illusion. Who seems to appear on camera because reasons.

Here is Moose for a chat, complete with Frankie Kazarian’s stolen scarf and sunglasses. This is the first episode of his own talk show and his guests are….all of these fans! He asks the guests some questions, all of which are answered with a chant of MOOSE. Cue Kazarian, who has his own questions and wants the answer to be KING. The fans seem to pronounce “KING” as “MOOSE” and he doesn’t want to play anymore. Then he mocks the Wawa chain of stores and gets in a fight with Moose, which is broken up by security.

Video on the Hardys vs. the Nemeths.

Order 4 vs. BDE/Rich Swann/???

The partner is…the returning Trey Miguel, who was injured against Ali earlier this year. Ali does the “start the match and immediately tag out” deal so the three opponents kick Agent Zero to the floor and we take a break. We come back with Zero giving Swann a swinging Downward Spiral and nipping up to show off a bit. Swann headscissors Ali though and it’s back to Miguel to fight back fast. Zero is back in to wreck everyone but Miguel catches Skyler with a diving tornado DDT on the floor. The Lightning Spiral gives Miguel the pin on Skyler at 8:39.

Rating: B-. As usual, Zero does well in his role as the monster who can smash through almost anyone and he’s good as the enforcer for Ali. Having Miguel back is a nice thing to see as he’s an established name and can go after Ali, whether Ali gets the title back from Jason Hotch or not. The commercial cut off a lot of the match but they did well in the time that they had.

Post match Zero chokebombs Miguel but Hotch runs in for the save.

Xia Brookside gets her makeup done.

Post break, Brookside is not happy with some very black eyes, as she finds out that Elayna Black did her makeup. Brookside gets the better of a brawl and runs off.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament Semifinals: M By Elegance vs. Indi Hartwell

The Elegance Brand is here with Elegance, who bumps into Hartwell before the bell and gets clotheslined for her efforts. Elegance misses a charge into the corner and gets bulldogged for two as a result. Hartwell goes up and gets tied into the Tree Of Woe on the apron for a running dropkick. A suplex on the floor has Hartwell in more trouble and Elegance stomps her down in the corner.

The double arm crank is escaped and Hartwell gets two off a spinebuster. A top rope elbow to the back gets the same so Hartwell boots her to the floor…as Xia Brookside and Elayna Black brawl into the arena. That’s enough of a distraction for Elegance to send Hartwell into the steps, setting up a moonsault (with trunks) for the pin at 7:21.

Rating: C+. This was a surprise as I wouldn’t have expected Hartwell to lose here, if at all. Hartwell felt like the odds on favorite to win the whole thing but going with M is a more interesting choice. I’m not sure how much of a favorite she is to win the whole thing but getting to the finals is further than I would have expected.

We look at Harley Hudson winning a TNA contract and talking about how she has been dreaming of getting here and make her family proud. Next week is everything when she faces Alisha Edwards. These things often do a lot of good for the people involved and hopefully it works here too. Hudson could certainly use the better connection with the audience.

Moose is down in the back. I’m assuming he’s been attacked but he looks rather peaceful so hopefully he’s just getting a nap.

Eddie Edwards vs. KC Navarro

Alisha Edwards is here with Eddie, who charges into a superkick at the bell and rolls out to the floor. Navarro hits him with a suicide dive and frog splash for two so Eddie sends him into the post. A tornado DDT gets Navarro out of trouble so Alisha throws in Kenny the Kendo stick and distracts the referee. Navarro intercepts said stick and drills Eddie in the ribs, meaning the Blessing In Disguise can finish Eddie at 3:06.

Rating: C+. Why not? Navarro has been warming up in the last few weeks and needed an actual big win so let’s see what he’s got. It’s another case of finding out what some of these newer stars can do and they need to be built up one way another. This could work out for everyone and again, it feels like we’re coming up on a big Lethal Lockdown at Lockdown. Might as well put Navarro in a big spot and see what he can do.

Post match the System jumps Navarro and load up a Pillmanization but Jada Stone, Fabian Aichner and Ricky Sosa run in for the save. Santino Marella does indeed come out to make the Lethal Lockdown match.

Allie looks for Rosemary and finds a message saying THE STRUGGLE IS REAL.

TNA World Title: Jeff Hardy vs. Nic Nemeth

Hardy is challenging. They trade hammerlocks to start until a superkick and Twisting Stunner are both blocked. Nemeth easily wins a wrestle off and sends him into the buckle for some raking of the eyes. Hardy kicks him out to the floor though and the running flip dive from the apron connects as we take a break.

We come back with Nemeth holding a chinlock and going to the eyes again. Nemeth mocks the Hardy dance though and gets sent into the corner, allowing Hardy to hammer away. The legdrop between the legs and basement dropkick have Nemeth in more trouble but he breaks out of Spinal Destination.

Hardy cuts off a running…something with a sitout powerbomb and the Twisting Stunner connects. Another is countered with a superkick for two, with Hardy going to the rope. The Danger Zone is countered into a cutter but the Swanton hits raised knees. Hardy tries another Twisting Stunner but gets reversed into the Danger Zone to retain the title at 15:03.

Rating: B-. Yeah it was fine. You know these two are going to have a completely acceptable match together and they did it again here. That being said, it was also a completely clean win for Nemeth and didn’t do much to make me interested in the Tag Team Title match. It felt like a bigger than usual main event but absolutely nothing that blew the doors off.

Nemeth celebrates to wrap it up.

Overall Rating: C+. This was the regular moving day show towards Lockdown as they did a lot to get the show over but it still doesn’t feel like the biggest card. I really do need a breather from the Hardys near the top of the card, as the “we’re the best team ever” isn’t exactly the most thrilling stuff. Having them face the Nemeths is only so good, even if the match should work. A bunch of the rest of the show was about the System, which is often the case, and at least they have something set up for them. It still seems like they’re trying to figure out what to do with the roster they have though and that makes for a rough build.

Results
Ricky Sosa b. Brian Myers – Running uppercut
BDE/Rich Swann/Trey Miguel b. Order 4 – Lightning Spiral to Miguel
M By Elegance b. Indi Hartwell – Moonsault
KC Navarro b. Eddie Edwards – Blessing In Disguise
Nic Nemeth b. Jeff Hardy – 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

Impact Wrestling
Date: August 6, 2026
Location: Liacouras Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re still on the way to Lockdown and the big story is that we’re coming up on Nic Nemeth defending the World Title against Jeff Hardy. Granted the match isn’t taking place at Lockdown, but at least it’s taking place. If nothing else, it’s better than seeing the Hardys vs. the Righteous again. In other news, the Righteous are back tonight. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

Matt Hardy vs. Ryan Nemeth

Jeff Hardy is here with Matt, who is a better actor than Ryan, who is here with his brother Nic. Ryan shoulders him in the corner to start so Matt is back with the rapid fire rams into the buckle. The Twist Of Fate is countered with a clothesline but Matt no sells a suplex to hammer away. Matt hits a clothesline of his own and the Side Effect gets two. Nic trips Matt down so Jeff gets on the apron, allowing Ryan to grab a DDT. Matt doesn’t seem to mind as it’s the Twist Of Fate to pin Ryan at 5:49.

Rating: C. Were you expecting anything else? This was all about Matt getting to beat Ryan up like it was a legend against a goof and…well yeah that’s exactly what it was. The match wasn’t meant to be anything bigger than this and that’s kind of nice to see for a change, as there were no shenanigans and the logical result took place.

Xia Brookside isn’t letting Wendy Choo take the Knockouts Title back to NXT. As for Elayna Black, who pops up, Brookside hopes she’s watching so she’ll know what she’s getting into by coming for the title.

We look at Jason Hotch winning the International Title in a huge upset.

Hotch, with his family, says he’s not just a sidekick and he’s not taking being champion for granted. Rich Swann and BDE come in to offer congratulations.

Knockouts TV Title Tournament Quarterfinals: Mara Sade vs. Heather By Elegance

The Brand is here with Heather. Sade works on the arm to start so Heather stomps on her foot. That’s broken up and Sade sends her into the rope for a running shot to the back. A dropkick gets two on Heather back inside but she sends Sade outside, where Sade comes up holding her arm.

Back in and Heather works on the arm but Sade is able to power her up for a powerbomb into the corner. Some right hands have Heather in more trouble and Sade powerbombs the heck out of here for two. Sade goes up top but gets her arm pulled down onto the rope, setting up a top rope double stomp to give Heather the pin at 8:54.

Rating: C+. This was better than I was expecting, with Heather working on an injury and taking her apart until she won. That’s rare to see but it wound up working rather well, even with a somewhat surprising result. At the same time, Sade has since departed the company so the loss makes a bit more sense in hindsight.

Moose is ready to fight Frankie Kazarian and wants to face him for the first time so Kazarian can see what Moose is all about.

Jason Hotch has to go do something and leaves his family in the back, with Mustafa Ali coming in a few moments later. With the wife looking anxious, Ali talks about saving Hotch’s job and now he has to do what he has to do. Worry not though, as he’ll take care of the two of them after getting the title back. Ali was a good villain here as he felt evil.

KC Navarro vs. Brian Myers

Feeling out process to start until Bear Bronson offers a distraction. That earns him an ejection so here is Ricky Sosa to jump Bronson with a chair. Navarro takes over again but here is Eddie Edwards to spear Navarro for the DQ at 2:08.

Post match the beatdown is on so Fabian Aichner makes the save. Santino Marella, tag match.

The System vs. KC Navarro/Fabian Aichner

Aichner slams Myers down to start and the good guys hit stereo dives as we take an early break. We come back with Aichner getting chopped on the floor but he suplexes his way to freedom back inside. Aichner’s moonsault takes out a standing Myers and it’s back to Navarro vs. Edwards.

Everything breaks down and Edwards small packages Aichner for two but it’s a butterfly superplex to send Edwards into Navarro’s frog splash. Myers makes a diving save so Aichner gives him a sitout Last Ride. That earns Aichner a Boston Knee Party though and everyone is down. Alisha Edwards sends in a kendo stick so Eddie can knock Navarro silly, followed by a package piledriver for the pin at 11:13.

Rating: B-. This was getting going near the end, though I’m not wild on seeing Navarro take another fall after he lost his big World Title shot last month. The good thing though is that he feels like he belongs here and that is more than I would have bet on when this run started. It definitely doesn’t feel like it’s over yet though so we should have more coming up.

Post match Ricky Sosa runs in to chase the System off.

The Righteous run into the Hardys and respect is shown.

Jason Hotch freaks out on Mustafa Ali and the rematch is made for Lockdown. Hotch talks to John Skyler, who reluctantly says he needs this job, which has Hotch storming off. Makes sense.

Here is the Righteous for a chat. The Lake Of Reincarnation changed their direction, meaning they are going away from the Hardys (WOO HOO!). They’re not looking for opponents, but rather someone hanging to life who wants to bloom into something better.

Santino Marella talks to Harley Hudson, whose job is hanging by a thread. Alisha Edwards comes in to run her mouth and gets in an argument with Jada Stone. Hudson isn’t happy with this and gets a match with Edwards. That’s one way to help keep her job.

Allie looks for Rosemary but finds some miniature tarot cards.

AJ Francis vs. Home Town Man

The spear looks to set up the Down Payment but Elijah’s guitar offers a distraction. Man gets a rollup pin at 48 seconds.

We get a sitdown interview with Cedric Alexander, who talks about working so hard to get here and earn what he has become. Leon Slater comes in to face off with Alexander, where he asks for one more title shot. Alexander says no because Slater has had everything handed to him. They go nose to nose and Alexander turns him down again. He wants to erase Slater’s history with the title, which sounds ominous.

Daria Rae interrupts Frankie Kazarian (who is on a pay phone) and says that Kazarian is going to have to face Moose. That’s fine with Kazarian, who wants it in a cage at Lockdown. With Rae gone, Kazarian promises to show Moose why he’s the king.

Knockouts Title: Wendy Choo vs. Xia Brookside

Choo is challenging and hammers away to send Brookside outside. Brookside gets kicked down and we take an early break. We come back with Choo firing off some clotheslines and runs her over for two. A Codebreaker gives Brookside two of her own so Choo is back with the Snooze Button for the same. The Dirt Nap goes on so Brookside sends her into the ropes for the break. The Darkside retains the title at 9:21.

Rating: C+. This could have been worse, but it was mainly just a quick match without getting very far off the ground. Choo never felt like she was a major threat to win the title but that’s going to be the case every so often. It helps to have Brookside getting another win though, as she’s starting to feel like a strong champion.

Post match here is Elayna Black for the staredown with Brookside.

Jeff Hardy is drawing in the back (possibly more so than he does in the arena these days) but Nic Nemeth comes in to mock Jeff for not doing anything important. Nemeth says he’s the best in the world and gets annoyed when Hardy won’t pay attention to him. They both sign the contract for their title match (in Sharpie) and Hardy still won’t talk, with Nemeth storming off in frustration. This feels like it should be at Lockdown but instead it’s just for an upcoming Impact. That doesn’t give them much time to set something up for Lockdown and that has me worried/curious.

Overall Rating: C+. They set things up for Lockdown and that’s good to see, though there is only so much to be said for the wrestling this week. It was perfectly fine but not exactly something that you need to see. Either way, Lockdown is the big goal but we have the weird side trip of Jeff Hardy vs. Nic Nemeth in their big match in the next week or so. Good enough show here, but mainly there to set things up for Lockdown rather than anything here.

Results
Matt Hardy b. Ryan Nemeth – Twist Of Fate
Heather By Elegance b. Mara Sade – Top rope double stomp
KC Navarro b. Brian Myers via DQ when Eddie Edwards interfered
The System b. KC Navarro/Fabian Aichner – Package piledriver to Navarro
Home Town Man b. AJ Francis – Rollup
Xia Brookside b. Wendy Choo – Darkside

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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:

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