Impact Wrestling
Date: October 22, 2026
Location: Dothan Civic Center, Dothan, Alabama
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

We’re coming up on Destination X and now we have a #1 contender to the World Title, as Trey Miguel won a ladder match last week. That sets him up to challenge Leon Slater, which should be a heck of a match. Other than that, the card needs to be set up and that should be done this week. Let’s get to it.

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

Opening sequence.

We open with the return of Daria Rae, who tells these disgusting human beings to “shut up, I’m talking”. She brags about her success and says that if she had been around, Indi Hartwell wouldn’t have become Knockouts Champion. This brings out Hartwell, who mocks her with the belt and says that Rae’s time away didn’t make her any better. Hartwell offers to let Rae slap her but Rae says Hartwell has to defend the title against Xia Brookside right now, even if Hartwell is in street clothes.

Knockouts Title: Indi Hartwell vs. Xia Brookside

Brookside is challenging and jumps her to start as the beatdown is on fast. Back up and Hartwell kicks her to the floor, where Brookside grabs the title. That’s broken up so Brookside rams her arm first into the apron. The arm is smashed into the steps and then wrapped around the rope back inside, followed by the armbar. Back up and Brookside misses a charge into the corner but the Hurts Donut is countered into a Fujiwara armbar. Hartwell breaks out of that and counters Darkside into the Hurts Donut to retain at 6:23.

Rating: C+. This was another step forward in Hartwell vs. Rae, which is another attempt to recreate the Austin vs. McMahon dynamic. The problem is Rae doesn’t wrestle (yet) and she’s still such a generic villain that there’s no spark to the story. Hartwell is only so interesting either and it’s a shame to see Brookside stuck in this kind of a spot.

Post match Apex comes in to beat up Hartwell, with Rae approving.

Leon Slater is fired up to be the youngest World Champion of all time. Trey Miguel comes in to say he’s going to do anything to take the title, which is cool with Slater. They depart in peace.

Xia Brookside has a meltdown about her loss but holds up something in her hand, which calms her down.

Fabian Aichner vs. Cedric Alexander vs. KC Navarro vs. Rich Swann

For an X-Division Title shot next week. Aichner and Alexander take over to start, with Alexander knocking him into the corner. Navarro is back in to fire off the superkicks and a tornado DDT but Swann gives him a standing moonsault for two. We take a break and come back with Swann and Aichner trading big shots.

Alexander blocks Navarro’s tornado DDT and Aichner gives Alexander a double springboard moonsault. Swann’s Canadian Destroyer on the apron is broken up and Aichner hits a big corkscrew dive to take out all three of them on the floor. That’s enough to bring out the System to jump Aichner though, allowing Alexander to hit a moonsault for the pin at 9:41.

Rating: B+. It’s a formula that has worked forever and it worked rather well here, with everyone flying around and getting in their offense where they could. The System interfering is about as good of a way to get out of the match as possible, as it’s not like anyone was really standing out over the others. Heck of a fun match here, which is what makes the concept work time after time.

Post match Amazing Red comes out for the staredown.

Tasha Steelz tells Special Agent Zero that there is one thing left to do and they shake hands.

AJ Francis isn’t happy with what the Hardys did to Expressions. Mila Moore and John Skyler come in, with Skyler setting up a match with Francis for next week.

The Hardys and Moose give Avery Styles a pep talk before his Impact debut.

The System isn’t happy with Eddie Edwards, who walks off with Alisha Edwards. That implosion feels like it’s a long time coming.

Avery Styles vs. Joe Alonzo

Alonzo says he’s going to make Styles finally put away those chairs. They go technical to start and neither of them gets anywhere, so Styles hits a dropkick instead. Alonzo bails to the floor and gets taken out again as Frankie Kazarian approves. Back in and Styles knocks him down and grabs the chinlock but Styles is up with a Pele. A running Fameasser and a sliding forearm give Styles two and Alonzo is staggered. The Phenomenal Forearm is superkicked out of the air for two but a second attempt connects with Alonzo. The Spiral Tap gives Styles the pin at 5:59.

Rating: C+. So the point here wasn’t so much showcasing everything Styles can do, but rather giving us a preview of him. He’s brand new to wrestling and this is by far his highest profile singles match to date. He wasn’t out there for very long and what he did went well enough. Obviously he’s a long term project but he has to get his feet wet, and that’s what we saw here.

The Elegance Brand brags about their success but Elayna Black comes in to say she had M beaten and only needed five more minutes. Jada Stone comes in to back Black up but the Brand walks off.

Santino Marella announces a men’s and women’s Ultimate X for Destination X, plus the return of the World X Cup. Daria Rae comes in to glare at him without saying anything.

Here are Allie and Kiera Hogan for a chat. Allie sounds rather nervous as she says they want a rematch for the Knockouts Tag Team Titles. Hogan: “Are you finished?” Hogan is tired of how this has been going because Allie is the reason they lost the titles. Allie was always the weak link in this team and they’re done. Cue Tasha Steelz to jump Allie and Fire N Flava is back together.

The lights go out though and Shotzi Blackheart runs in to take the villains out. There was a lot going on here, and while I like the Fire N Flava reunion, please do not turn the split with Allie into a big thing. Allie and Hogan had four matches together as a team. That doesn’t need some huge feud.

Harley Hudson comes up to the Righteous, who want an answer about her future soon.

We get an exclusive clip from last week with Elijah jumping Nic Nemeth for costing him the ladder match.

Elijah promises that Nemeth will reap what he sewed. Ryan Nemeth comes in to deliver a threat from Nic, with Elijah not being impressed.

International Title: Mustafa Ali vs. Jason Hotch

Ali is challenging in a 2/3 falls match. They shove each other to start and Ali grabs a headlock, which doesn’t get him very far. Hotch knocks him down and Ali isn’t looking pleased. A dropkick puts Ali on the floor but he gets up to the apron and catches Hotch with a nasty German suplex for the big crash. We take a break and come back with Ali’s rolling neckbreaker being countered with a DDT. They trade some rollups and Ali actually gets a clean pin at 9:29.

Ali – 1
Hotch – 0

Hotch slips out of a powerbomb attempt and kicks him in the face. That’s enough to send Ali outside, with Hotch hitting a suicide dive. A triangle moonsault hits Ali as well but he grabs the title to knock Hotch silly for the DQ at 11:39.

Ali – 1
Hotch – 1

Ali throws him back in for some near falls and Hotch’s kickouts just make Ali all the more frustrated. The referee gets bumped in the corner by mistake, allowing Ali to get in a rather harsh low blow. Ali grabs a belt to whip away, at least until Hotch takes the belt for some whips of his own. They go outside again and Ali sends him into the post to knock him silly.

Ali loads up a superplex to the floor but gets shoved down, only to superkick a diving Hotch out of the air. Back in and Hotch charges into a Spanish Fly for two and they slug it out. Hotch gets suplexed into the corner but is still able to avoid the 450. Ali misses a charge into the corner of his own and gets put in a torture rack for a flipping knee to the face to retain the title at 18:45.

Hotch – 2
Ali – 1

Rating: B. The good thing here is that Hotch felt like he belonged. That’s more than you can say about a lot of people who are trying to get into the deeper waters and TNA might have something with him. It was a good, solid TV main event and Hotch beat Ali again, which hopefully wraps up their feud for the time being, though Ali pinning him clean to start might mean one more match.

Post match Leon Slater comes out to congratulate Hotch on his win, saying the new generation isn’t waiting anymore because they’re right now.

Syx challenges the Hardys to step into their world to end the show.

Overall Rating: B+. The build to Destination X has been kind of thrown together, but it’s a show that sort of has its own setup built in. The focus is on the X-Division and therefore we’re getting two Ultimate X matches and a competition, plus two mostly X-Division wrestlers fighting for the World Title. That part went well, and you had two very good TV matches. Not bad for a night’s work.

Results
Indi Hartwell b. Xia Brookside – Hurts Donut
Cedric Alexander b. Fabian Aichner, KC Navarro and Rich Swann – Moonsault to Aichner
Avery Styles b. Joe Alonzo – Spiral Tap
Jason Hotch b. Mustafa Ali 2-1

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

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

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

National Anthem.

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

Ricky Sosa vs. Eddie Edwards

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

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

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

Post match respect is shown and Eddie leaves in peace.

We run down the card.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Call Your Shot Gauntlet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Knockouts Title: Indi Hartwell vs. Xia Brookside

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

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

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

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

Moose vs. Max Caster

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

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

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

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

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

Syx vs. Hardys

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TNA World Title: Nic Nemeth vs. Leon Slater

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

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

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

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

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

Slater celebrates to end the show.

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

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

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

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

Impact Wrestling
Date: October 8, 2026
Location: Boeing Center At Tech Port, San Antonio, Texas
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matthew Rehwoldt

It’s the last show before Bound For Glory and that means we’re getting the last push to the biggest night of the year. In addition to the usual stuff, we also have the Tag Team Titles being defended, with the Nemeths putting the titles on the line against the Hardys. That should make for a big main event so let’s get to it.

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

Opening recap.

Here are the Hardys, with Matt holding a pipe. They’re ready to win the Tag Team Titles tonight and take them on to Bound For Glory to face the Syks. The challenge is on for the Syks right now but here are the Nemeths to interrupt instead. They promise to keep the titles tonight but Matt disagrees, and Leon Slater is winning the World Title too. This brings out Slater, who agrees with Matt. Nic brings up the no contact clause but Slater says he’ll be watching tonight and thinks the Hardys are going to do some deleting.

Allie and Zoey Serrano get into it backstage and are quickly held apart.

Moose issues an open challenge for Bound For Glory.

Allie/Kiera Hogan vs. Ki Vibez/Alex Gracia

Non-title. Hogan and Vibez fight over wrist control with Vibez sending her into the ropes for a running hip attack. Gracia comes in and gets elbowed in the corner so it’s back to Vibez, who takes over for a bit. That’s broken up with a jawbreaker and it’s Hogan coming back in for the running hip attack in the corner. Vibez hits Gracia by mistake and it’s Face The Music to pin Gracia at 3:12.

Rating: C. Not much to this one, though the jobbers got in some offense for a change. That made things a bit more interesting and it was nice to see the champs continuing to gel together well enough. If Rosemary is gone for the long term, it’s smart to let them have this kind of chance, as it can go a long way.

Post match Allie and Hogan send out the challenge to Zoey Serrano to find a partner for Bound For Glory.

Frankie Kazarian preps Avery Styles for the Call Your Shot Gauntlet.

Bear Bronson/Frankie Kazarian/Elijah/Trey Miguel vs. AJ Francis/Hometown Man/Brian Myers/Joe Alonzo

Random teams and whomever gets the pin is the #20 entrant in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, while the person who take the fall is in at #1. Kazarian and Man start things off but Myers wants in, which is a rather smart idea for a change. Myers shoulders him down and Kazarian is back up with a chop…to Bronson for the tag. That doesn’t work for Bronson, who does the same chop to Miguel, earning himself a running hurricanrana.

Everything breaks down and the brawl goes to the floor with Elijah and Man hitting a dive each as we take a break. We come back with Elijah fighting out of Francis’ bearhug. The rope walk Destroyer is broken up though and it’s Elijah getting caught in the wrong corner again. Elijah knocks Alonzo down without much trouble though and it’s Kazarian coming in with the springboard spinning legdrop.

Alonzo and Avery Styles get into it on the floor, leaving Kazarian to give Alonzo a slingshot cutter for two. Everything breaks down and Styles actually gives Alonzo a Spiral Tap for two, with Francis having to make the save. Miguel comes in to strike away at Francis, including a DDT. We get the parade of knockdowns with Francis spearing Miguel but Alonzo tags himself in and steals the pin at 12:42.

Rating: B. Good stuff here and Alonzo getting the spot is interesting, as he’s done well enough in his limited time thus far. If there’s something to him, let him see what he can do and find out what might be there. Miguel as the #1 entrant in the match should go well too as he can do well enough in that kind of spot. Everyone else is just kind of there, but that’s the point of a match like this.

The Righteous offer Harley Hudson their help in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet but she’s good.

We look at ODB winning the Knockouts Title way back in the day before her Hall Of Fame induction this weekend.

Mustafa Ali has the final Order 4 meeting, saying this is everyone’s last chance to say something. Jason Hotch is ready to hurt Mustafa Ali once and for all. John Skyler is sick of Ali, who he really doesn’t like. Tasha Steelz is ready for Special Agent Zero to wreck all of them. Ali promises to win and this was a clever enough way to go for the push towards the four way.

Knockouts TV Title: Elayna Black vs. M By Elegance

Elegance is defending on her own and backs her into the corner. Black avoids a big boot though and sends Elegance outside, where it’s time for an early breather. Back up and Black misses a Stomp, jamming her knee in the process. Elegance is fine enough to suplex her on the floor and knocks Black down for two more back inside. A northern lights suplex gives Elegance two and gets in a knee to the back. The apron boot gives Elegance two but Black backdrops her out to the floor for a breather.

Black makes the clothesline comeback and a stomp to the back gets two. The Blackout is blocked with a ram into the corner and a Samoan driver gives Elegance two more. Black grabs a gutwrench suplex of all things for two and it’s time to chase each other around on the floor. Back in and Black sweeps the leg for two and now the Blackout connects, leaving them both down. Black finally gets over for the cover and time expires at 10:00.

Rating: C+. The ending was a nice surprise there as I had forgotten about the time limit and they didn’t tease it at all so Black looks like she would have won with five more seconds. Odds are we’ll see a rematch between them and that’s only so good, as Black is still only so good in the ring. There’s just something off about her and if it doesn’t get better, I’m not sure how far her career is going around here.

Ricky Sosa says this weekend is going to be the biggest match of his career and he’s ready for Eddie Edwards.

We look at Amazing Red winning the X-Division Title back in the day before his Hall Of Fame induction.

Eddie Edwards gets rather fired up about Ricky Sosa’s comments and says Sosa will need every bullet in the gun to take him out.

Fabian Aichner vs. KC Navarro

Cedric Alexander is on commentary. They show respect to start and Aichner backs him into the corner for a pat on the head. Navarro is able to send him into the ropes but misses the 305. A missed charge sends Aichner to the floor, where he cuts off a dive to suplex Navarro onto the apron. Back in and Aichner grabs a waistlock, followed by a wheelbarrow suplex for two. Navarro gets up for a kick to the head and a frog splash connects for two more. Aichner muscles him up for a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker though and a sitout Last Ride finishes Navarro off at 5:04.

Rating: C+. They didn’t have much time here but Aichner looked mostly dominant in his win. It wouldn’t surprise me to see him getting a bigger spot, including winning the title. At the same time, Navarro continues to feel like he’s the big underdog and him pulling off a bit upset wouldn’t be shocking.

Zoey Serrano calls someone to be her partner and the woman is in…and it’s Shayna Baszler.

We look at Konnan as the leader of LAX as he’s going into the Hall Of Fame this weekend as well.

Indi Hartwell talks about coming so close to winning the Knockouts Title last year at Bound For Glory but failed. Xia Brookside calls this an embarrassment and she’ll fail again this weekend. Hartwell promises to win, as does Brookside.

Bound For Glory rundown.

Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. Nemeths

The Nemeths are defending and Leon Slater is on commentary. Matt elbows Ryan down to start and it’s off to Jeff for a basement dropkick. Nic comes in to save his brother but he gets sent into the wrong corner so Matt can take over. It’s already back to Ryan, who gets catapulted throat first into the bottom rope. Ryan gets the rams into various buckles and Nic comes in for the same as we take a break.

We come back with Matt fighting out of a chinlock and hitting a Side Effect to drop Ryan again. Jeff gets the tag to clean house, including a middle rope double clothesline for two. Poetry In Motion hits Nic, with Ryan making the save. Matt gets posted and it’s the Danger Zone to drop Jeff for two. Matt is back up with a Twist Of Fate each but the Syk’s flickering lights distract Jeff, meaning the Swanton is countered into a rollup to give Nic the pin at 13:18.

Rating: B-. This was more a matter of when would the Syk’s get involved rather than if and that’s…well it’s mostly ok at least, as you could go with them not caring about the titles. The violence should be fine enough on Sunday and while I would have liked Nic to not have two titles going into the main event of Bound For Glory, it’s probably better that he doesn’t lose. This was a big main event, but the interference was pretty telegraphed.

Post match Slater and Nic have a staredown and the lights go out, with Slater being knocked down. Nic denies doing it and the Syk are here to stand tall and end the show.

Overall Rating: B. This show did a good job of getting Bound For Glory ready and that’s exactly what it was supposed to do. The card is all but set and now we’ll get to see what they are going to have at the biggest show of the year. TNA has had a lot of issues over the years but they have kept Bound For Glory strong, so hopefully that string continues this weekend. Good job here, which is a nice first step.

Results
Allie/Kiera Hogan b. Ki Vibez/Alex Gracia – Face The Music to Gracia
AJ Francis/Hometown Man/Brian Myers/Joe Alonzo b. Bear Bronson/Frankie Kazarian/Trey Miguel/Elijah – Spear to Trey Miguel
Elayna Black vs. M By Elegance went to a time limit draw
Fabian Aichner b. KC Navarro – Sitout Last Ride

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

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Impact Wrestling
Date: October 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:

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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:

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

Heels Have Eyes Four The Culture
Date: April 18, 2025
Location: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nevada
Commentators: Ernest Miller, Kazeem Famuyide, David Otunga

This is the annual For The Culture show, which features Black wrestlers from around the world. The series has featured some good stuff and I’ve liked the shows well enough so far, though this one is a bit different as it is a co-promoted event between GCW (the regular promotion) and 4th Rope. That could make things different enough so let’s get to it.

Commentary and the ring announcer welcome us to the rope.

Rapper Westside Gunn comes out, apparently the person in charge of 4th Rope, and raps a song about hurting people…and the Hurt Syndicate is here. MVP is happy to be here because this is wrestling meets hip hop. He welcomes us to the show and tells us to have a great f****** time.

Mustafa Ali vs. Leon Slater vs. Trevor Lee

Lee, with far shorter hair, shoulders Ali to start and we get some early near falls. Slater sends both of them outside and tries the big running flip dive over the post, only to have his head hit the post (GEEZ) on the way down. Thankfully he’s fine and Lee takes him down for two back inside. A pop up hurricanrana sends Lee back outside though, leaving Ali to neckbreaker Slater down.

The standing phoenix splash gives Ali two as commentary can’t believe the speed. Lee comes back in to help Ali beat Slater down but he’s back up with a double handspring elbow. Slater’s spinwheel kick drops Ali but Lee knocks Slater silly with a clothesline. Back up and Slater gives Ali a spinning powerbomb before he gets whipped hard into the corner. That leaves Slater to roll Lee up for the pin at 5:50.

Rating: B-. Good, fast paced match to start here and that’s what it should have been. Slater is the young up and comer here as Lee and Ali are far more established. They all looked good here and thankfully they didn’t spend a lot of time out there, which made the match that much easier to watch.

Moose vs. Oni King

Moose’s TNA X-Division Title isn’t on the line. King apparently “woke up this morning and chose violence” and Moose flips the fans off at the bell. Moose knocks him down to start but King sweeps the legs and starts up some rhythmic strikes in the corner. Some right hands have Moose staggered but he’s able to block a suplex and hit a big boot. King runs him over for two but a suplex doesn’t work. Moose’s spear finishes at 3:40.

Rating: C. This wasn’t anything close to the opener but it wasn’t supposed to be. This was about two good size guys beating each other up and a spear from someone the size of Moose is always going to work. Having Moose on the show is a big deal and the match was fun enough while it lasted.

Justin Roberts comes out to be the guest ring announcer and has a quick chat with commentary, who he apparently knows.

4th Rope Tag Team Titles: Hardys vs. TNT

TNT (Terrell/Terrance Hughes, the sons of D-Von Dudley, who brings them to the ring) are challenging and ignore the Hardys bringing out the TNA titles rather than the 4th Rope titles. Matt (who does not look thrilled to be here) starts with Terrance (commentary isn’t sure which is which) and takes him into the corner for some opening posing.

Terrance takes him down and does the Jeff Hardy dance so Jeff comes in for the double elbow. The flipping splash/fist drop combination sets up Poetry In Motion as everything breaks down. Terrell comes in for a cheap shot and D-Von gets in some choking from the floor (to quite the reaction). Terence monkey flips Terrell into a Cannonball to Jeff in the corner and we hit the front facelock.

Terrell Death Valley Drivers Terrance onto Jeff for two and it’s back to the facelock. Jeff mule kicks his way to freedom and brings Matt back in to give both of them the ten rams into the buckle. The Side Effect gets two on Terrance but a springboard Hart Attack (back elbow rather than clothesline) drops Matt for two more. Back up and the Plot Twist into the Swanton retains the titles at 7:14.

Rating: C+. You could tell the Hardys weren’t overly thrilled to be there but it was cool to see the two generations deal here. The Hardys have all kinds of history with the Dudleys and this was a fun idea. TNT isn’t a great team yet but they had some nice double teams and certainly didn’t look bad.

Some unnamed people are talking about their numbers in the battle royal but no one will tell much of anyone anything. This includes Vix Crow, better known as Alicia Fox.

Mike Santana vs. Raj Dhesi

Dhesi is better known as Jinder Mahal. We get a bit of respect before the match, with Miller wanting one of them to throw a right hand, just like he would. I’m thinking that would have been a kick, but that’s why Miller didn’t win much. Dhesi shoves him away and Santana realizes he needs to think twice about this. They go to a stalemate so Santana hits him in the face, only to get dropped with a shoulder.

Santana knocks him outside and keeps up the beating near the crowd, setting up the chops against the post. Back in and Santana catches him on top with a superplex for two and it’s already time to get frustrated. Dude, you hit one move. The chinlock goes on for a bit until Santana fights up and hits a rolling cutter for two. Dhesi’s Death Valley Driver gets the same but the Khallas is blocked. The referee accidentally gets superkicked though, allowing Dhesi to kick him low. A chair is loaded up but here is JBL to lariat Dhesi down. Spin The Block gives Santana the win at 10:14.

Rating: B-. I was getting into this one before the JBL ending, which is the whole Sheriff deal or whatever it’s supposed to be. That’s not the most interesting ending, but at least the two of them were both protected. Santana feels like someone who is ready to become a star, though Dhesi has done well enough since leaving WWE. I’m still annoyed he didn’t get at least a chance, but he needed to get away from WWE after how things went for him there.

Hollyhood Haley J/Vix Crow vs. Alexis Littlefoot/Masha Slamovich

I haven’t seen Littlefoot before but she’s from Lexington, Kentucky so we’ll give her some bonus points. Slamovich kicks J in the face to start and then brings in Littlefoot to face Crow. They slug it out with Crow getting the better of things as J has gone into the crowd to dance, while being paid in dollars. Crow grabs the chinlock and looks rather confused by whatever J is doing. J finally gets on the apron but Littlefoot rams Crow into her (that should be a tag) and rolls Crow up for the pin at 3:15.

Rating: D. Yeah what else is this supposed to be? It was nice to have Crow back in the ring after being away for so long but it wasn’t like she got to do much here. Slamovich was barely involved in this, but given how much she has done over the weekend, I can forgive the shorter match. Nothing to see here.

Post match J whips out a sock and knocks Crow cold, revealing a rock inside.

The Infantry vs. Culture Inc.

That would be Carlie Bravo/Shawn Dean vs. Eli Knight/Malik Bosede and this is a street fight. They go straight to the brawling (as they should) with the Infantry taking over and heading outside. A running boot knocks Knight out of a chair and it’s time to go back inside, with the Infantry bringing in some chairs. That takes too long though and they’re quickly dropped with baseball slides, allowing Culture to grab the chairs. Back in and Bravo gets knocked outside, leaving Dean to get caught with a double superkick.

The beating continues, with the Infantry being sent into the set a few times. Back in and Bravo gets thrown onto a raised chair for two (ouch) and it’s right back to the floor. Dean is back up with a heck of a big dive and everyone is wiped out. The fight goes into the crowd and this can’t end well. They go into a dark corner and the camera misses something that draws a HOLY S*** chant. We go back inside with Bravo in trouble but Dean comes in with a top rope clothesline. Knight is staggered enough that a running double stomp onto a chair finishes Knight at 9:04.

Rating: B. It was a wild brawl for the most part and the big spots were certainly good. The problem was not being able to see some parts, but that’s more on the production than the wrestlers. It felt like they were having a fight though and that’s the point, with the anger coming through here.

One of the people asking about the numbers earlier (Joe Alonzo) finds someone we can’t see behind a door.

Tiara James vs. Maya World

James wastes no time in taking her down and throws in some pushups. A running shoulder takes World down but she’s back up with a shoulder of her own. And yes, she does include some pushups. James is right back up with a Backstabber for the win at 1:53, as World might have gotten banged up there. The referee didn’t seem to think that would be the ending and was checking on World after it was over.

Justin Roberts gets in the ring and wants to try an experiment. He’s heard that if….say his name he will appear, so here is Joe Hendry. We get the pose and catchphrase before Hendry talks about how great this weekend has been. Cue the Godfather, with the ladies, for one of the most random pairings I’ve ever seen.

Godfather offers Hendry the women, but says it should be called the Nice Lady Train. We can call it the NLT! The fans aren’t sure about that, even with Haley J coming out to join in. Godfather offers to put Hendry on the “Lovely Lady Train”. The fans try to chant it, but they’re more into the idea of Godfather doing Hendry’s pose. This was bizarre fun.

Cha Cha Charlie is ready to win the battle royal to become Flyweight Champion.

4th Rope Flyweight Title: Battle Royal

This appears to be a Royal Rumble with 20 entrants for the inaugural title. Real1 (Enzo Amore) is in at #1 and does his greatest hits while looking even worse than usual. Joe Alonzo is in at #2 and apparently no one can stand him. Real1 sits on the top and Alonzo yells at the crowd as they decided to wait on #3, which is quite the troll job. Apparently we have one minute intervals (or less) and it’s Mo Jabari in at #3.

Real1 and Alonzo jump him before he can even get in, with Real1 hitting a running Razor’s Edge into the post (though it looked more like the crowd). Jabari is thrown inside for Jordunzo and the elimination. Sidney Akeem (Reggie from WWE) is in at #4 and picks up the pace, managing to knock Alonzo down. A Downward Spiral into the buckle cuts him off though and Jordunzo lets Real1 toss him out.

Richard Holliday is in at #5 and says he wants in on what Real1 and Alonzo are doing. If his Steiner Math is correct, the three of them together gives them 100% chance of success. They seem to agree and everyone shakes hands…and Holliday is tossed out as John Wayne Murdoch is in at #6. Yeah that tracks. Murdoch jumps Alonzo but gets knocked outside (not out) for a posting from Real1. The Razor’s Edge into the post knocks Murdoch silly and Mance Warner is in at #7.

That gives us something of a tag match, with Alonzo quickly being knocked down for a running knee from Warner. Real1 gets beaten up but manages to hang on as Cha Cha Charlie is in at #8. A frog splash hits Alonzo and Charlie tosses him out without much trouble. Charlie clotheslines Warner and Murdoch down as Rich Swann is in at #9. Swann and Charlie immediately dance together, until Charlie suplexes him to cut off the music. AJ Francis is in at #10 as I wonder what exactly the flyweight class is supposed to be.

Francis beats up Real1 on the ramp before coming in to throw Murdoch out. A splash hits Warner and Francis is dominating as Bryan Keith is in at #11. Francis runs over Keith and Real1 with a double shoulder but they muscle him up for a double suplex. We settle down into a more traditional battle royal with some elimination attempts until Tommy Dreamer (of course) is in at #12.

Dreamer hammers away on various people until he runs into Francis. The chokeslam is broken up with a bite to the hand and Kevin Blackwood comes in to clean house. Well until he gets poked in the eye and cuttered by Dreamer that is. AJ Gray is in at #13 and hammers away until we settle back down. Kenny King is in at #14 as the ring is getting full. Said ring gets more full with Odyssey (Jones) in at #15.

Odyssey knocks down a few people and goes after Francis, who pulls him off the top and tosses him without much trouble. Well that was disappointing. For some reason Francis goes up and gets ganged up on to no avail. Isaiah Broner is in at #16 and muscles Francis up for an impressive F5. An even bigger F5 hits Swann and Dreamer gets punched down as well. Keith and Broner chop it out until Elijah is in at #17.

A big guitar shot hits Broner and another hits Blackwood as the guitar is wrecked. Blackwood and Broner are out, followed by Gray as Elijah does some good work in clearing the ring. Elijah goes Old School (that’s stupid) but eliminates Dreamer anyway. Francis goes up again to pose, earning himself a low blow from King. That doesn’t go well either as King, and then Swann, are tossed by Francis. Real1 and Keith send Francis to the apron as Kevin Knight is in at #18.

Knight slams Charlie as almost everyone else is down on the ropes. Nic Nemeth is in at #19 as the star power in this is impressive. With Ryan Nemeth at ringside, Nic fires off superkicks, including a pair to get rid of Francis. Nic superkicks Elijah and just about everyone is down as EJ Nduka is in at #20 to complete the field. Nduka kicks a bunch of people and gives Knight a heck of a powerbomb.

Real1 gets one of his own as commentary chants about Nduka not being a flyweight. After Dreamer is in the match too, the weight limits go out the window. Nduka gets a running start and hits a crossbody on Keith and Knight, with all three of them being eliminated at once. We’re down to Real1, Nic, Elijah and Charlie. Elijah and Nic wind up on the apron with Ryan helping pull Elijah out…but Nic goes out as well. So we’re down to two with Charlie hitting a splash but Real1 skins the cat and wins at 34:25.

Rating: C+. I liked this a bit more than I was expecting to, as there is something very fun about seeing who is coming through the curtain next. That’s what we had here and it worked pretty well, with quite the lineup. It would have been better if it was pretty much anyone but Real1, but I’ve long since given up on the hope that we’ll be rid of him anytime soon.

Madusa of all people comes out to present the title. Real1 does a Shawn Michaels pose and of course wants a mic. He goes on a rant about how much he deserves this because no one has put up with more than he has. This is what he was made to do and there is no man in wrestling he would ask for advice. Madusa believed in him though and he has no problem asking a woman for advice. This is the first family of 4th Rope and that was for Windham and Brodie. Can’t stand the guy but that was a sweet thing to say.

And now we get extra emotional as here is Chris Bey (in an Evanescence shirt). He’s glad to be back but these people are sick. It’s 3am and these people are at a wrestling show! They’re here because of 4th Rope and for the culture. Bey is having a great weekend and even though he wasn’t able to be on the promotion’s first show, he’s been watching what has been going on. After hitting the promotion’s catchphrase, he sends us to the next match. This is always great to see.

Matt Riddle vs. Gabe Kidd

Kidd drops down to chill for a bit and then does the crane pose from Karate Kid. They go to the grappling with Riddle taking him down for a kneebar before letting it up for the chop off. Kidd hits a corner clothesline into a slam for two before putting Riddle in a chair at ringside. That means more chops but Riddle pops up and fires off his own strikes.

Back in and they fight over a suplex until Riddle gets two off a small package. Riddle’s fisherman’s buster plants Kidd again for a near fall but he catches Riddle up top for a superplex. A brainbuster gets two but Riddle knocks him down again. The Floating Bro connects for two and a running knee gets the same as frustration is setting in for Riddle. Back up and Kidd grabs a victory roll for the fluke pin at 6:52.

Rating: C+. This didn’t have time to go anywhere and it was nowhere near the other stuff I’ve seen from Kidd. Riddle losing clean is weird enough, but the good thing is that Kidd’s rise continues. He’s going to be a big deal somewhere and this is the kind of win outside of a major promotion that gives him an even brighter future.

Post match respect is shown but Riddle gives him an RKO. Sore loser.

Here is MVP, apparently the Commissioner, to ask if the fans are still with him. After starting a F*** THAT GUY chant for a fan who say something mean, MVP introduces the Flatbush Zombies for some music as the cage is set up for the main event. Points for not just asking the fans to sit there at about 4am.

Then a DJ plays some music.

Then another live performer performs. This eats up quite a long time, closing in on half an hour. I get the idea, but that is a long wait if you’re here for the wrestling.

4th Rope Title: Zilla Fatu vs. Josh Bishop

Fatu is defending in a cage (Justin Roberts gets the name of the title wrong). Fatu headbutts away to start and sends him into the cage a few times, with Bishop already being busted open. The Samoan Spike is blocked though and Bishop grabs a suplex. The slow beating begins and a fall away slam sends Fatu into the cage. A running dropkick does it again for two but Fatu knocks him down again and heads up.

That earns him a crotching on the top, with Bishop following to ram Fatu’s head into the cage. A nice superplex brings him back down for two and we hit the reverse chinlock. Back up and Fatu hits a backdrop and the flying shoulders. A DDT sets up the Superfly Splash for two but Fatu misses a charge into the cage. They both go up top, where Fatu grabs a super Samoan drop. The running Samoan Spike retains the title at 10:09.

Rating: C+. It was nice while it lasted, but it didn’t last that long. Granted it was probably close to 5am local time here, but you would kind of hope for a longer main event, especially in a cage for a title. Zilla feels like someone who could go somewhere if he gets the chance to develop, though that is going to take time. Bishop wasn’t bad either, though this didn’t feel like a big time main event.

Post match a bunch of wrestlers from Reality Of Wrestling, including Journey Fatu, run in to beat Zilla down. Bishop is beaten down as well and Reality Of Wrestling owner Booker T. pops up on screen to say this is just the beginning for 4th Rope. And we seem to have an invasion angle.

Overall Rating: B. It’s very long and the music part wasn’t the most thrilling time (though I’m sure it had its fans), but my goodness what a lineup. You had the Hardys, the Hurt Business, Nic Nemeth and a bunch of other TNA stars. This felt like something closer to the annual WrestleCon Supershow with all kinds of big names. The wrestling was good enough and it had the cool moments with Bey and Hendry. I had a lot of fun with this and it was WAY better than I was expecting.

Results
Leon Slater b. Trevor Lee and Mustafa Ali – Victory roll to Lee
Moose b. Oni King – Spear
Hardys b. TNT – Swanton to Terrell
Mike Santana b. Raj Dhesi – Spin The Block
Masha Slamovich/Alexis Littlefoot b. Hollyhood Haley J/Vix Crow – Rollup to Crow
The Infantry b. Culture Inc. – Double stomp onto a chair to Knight
Tiara James b. Maya World – Backstabber
Real1 won a battle royal last eliminating Cha Cha Charlie
Gabe Kidd b. Matt Riddle – Victory roll
Zilla Fatu b. Josh Bishop – Running Samoan Spike

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IMG Credit: AEW

Dark
Date: April 21, 2020
Location: Undisclosed Location
Commentators: Tony Schiavone, Chris Jericho

This show continues, though it isn’t like it’s something that you can really get annoyed about. Given that the show barely breaks twenty minutes anymore, it’s really just a blip that comes and goes with no consequences. That’s not the worst thing in the world, but it also makes it less important than Main Event. Let’s get to it.

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

Anna Jay vs. Penelope Ford

Kip Sabian is here with Ford. Jay’s tights say Jayy but everything else says Jay so we’ll go with the majority. Something seems to be amiss here as this is announced as Jay’s AEW debut, and that isn’t exactly accurate as you can see another match of hers on this same YouTube channel. Cody even references Jay’s first match so I’m not sure what’s going on.

Feeling out process to start with Jay taking her down into a headscissors and a headlock. Back up and Ford runs her over with some shoulders but a hiptoss sends Ford into the corner. Sabian offers a distraction though and Ford hits the handspring elbow for two. Choking with a kiss ensues but another handspring elbow misses. Jay hits a dropkick and a running seated Blockbuster for two but Ford is back with a Stunner. A fisherman’s suplex finishes Jay at 5:17.

Rating: D+. I don’t think there is any secret to the fact that part of the point of this match was the positive visuals, but at the same time, neither of the two of them embarrassed themselves. Ford is getting better and Jay was quite good given that she hasn’t even had ten matches (though it might be a lot higher given AEW’s questionable counting), the match was acceptable enough. The women’s division still needs work, but it is getting better as time goes on.

Joe Alonzo vs. Cody

Brandi is here with Cody. Alonzo does everything for the views and Tony is handling commentary alone here. Cody’s takedown attempt is cut off so he works on a wristlock into a hammerlock instead. A release gordbuster lets Cody do some pushups so Alonzo goes outside to hit on Brandi. Back in and Cody no sells a cutter and kicks Alonzo in the face. The Gale Lock (another finisher) makes Alonzo tap at 4:13.

Rating: C-. Not bad here as Alonzo got to show off a little bit. It was little more than a squash but when you’re getting to face one of the bigger stars in the company, you have to make the most of it. Alonzo didn’t look like a star or anything, but he had a fine enough match and that’s all you can ask for. Well that and Cody to have a few less finishers, though that’s false hope at this point.

Overall Rating: C-. I know I say this every week but I’m not sure what the point is in having this show. It’s not like there is anything to gain from it as fans who are going to be watching this are probably watching Dynamite. At sixteen minutes, how much can you get out of it, even as a big fan? The show is too short to be offensive but not long enough to mean much. It’s a strange show, but I can’t get mad at it with what we were given here.

Results

Penelope Ford b. Anna Jay – Fisherman’s suplex

Cody b. Joe Alonzo – Gale Lock

Remember to follow me on Twitter @kbreviews and pick up the paperback edition of KB’s Complete 2004 Monday Night Raw Reviews (also available as an e-book) from Amazon. Check out the information here:

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