Reviews

TNA Impact Review – December 5, 2024

By Kristian Thompson • Published 6th December 2024
TNA Impact December 5

It’s the ‘Build a PPV in a Night’ approach from TNA this week as we look towards next Friday’s Final Resolution show with The Hardys in action against The System, and more.

Last week TNA held Turning Point. It could’ve been a great show, as the line-up was pretty solid, but as usual, TNA found a way to sabotage themselves – this time with shocking production quality. I almost turned it off in frustration a few times. The Steve Maclin vs Josh Alexander no-DQ match, KO’s title match and the main event between Nic Nemeth and Eddie Edwards were the highlights of the show. Tonight’s show opened with a highlights package from those matches.

TNA Impact 5/12/24 from Winston-Salem, North Carolina

We are straight into the first match of the year because TNA has one night to build Final Resolution’s card. The lack of foresight here is mind-boggling.

Match #1: #1 Contender Match for the X-Division Championship: Trent Seven vs JDC vs Kushida vs Ace Austin vs Leon Slater

Seven and Austin were the only ones to get televised entrances. I have about as much claim to being in this match as JDC, such is his win-loss record in TNA in 2024. Slater should be winning this match 100% and if he doesn’t then they should give him a program with Moose for Genesis. Kushida hit a dropkick on Austin and started kicking Seven. Seven blocked another kick and hit a DDT. Leon Slater slipped out of a Pumphandle slam attempt and kicked Seven out of the ring. He went for a slingshot over the top rope but JDC grabbed him and tossed him to the mat hard. Austin took down JDC but ran into a forearm from Seven. Seven and Slater brawled on the outside. Austin flew over the top and took them both out. He sent Seven back into the ring and dropkicked JDC. Austin hit a superkick on Kushida from the ring apron. He tried a springboard kick back in the ring but Seven wiped him out in mid-air with a forearm. Seven with a scoop slam on Austin, then JDC stomped on him. The heels double-teamed Austin with some strikes. Slater fought back in from the ring apron. He went after JDC with right hands. Seven cut him off with some forearm shots and chops in the corner. JDC upper-cut him down to the mat. They pummelled Slater in the corner. JDC kicked Kushida off the ring apron as he tried to enter the ring. He tried to roll up Seven but got a 2 count. The temporary alliance was broken. Slater took down JDC with a spinning kick and a twisting neckbreaker but Kushida but up the pinfall. Austin broke free of a Hoverboard lock attempt and hit the Art of Finesse on Kushida for a close 2 count. A nice homage to his tag partner. He went to the top but Kushida stopped him. Kushida locked in the armbar and sent Austin crashing towards the mat with the submission held on. That looked so good. Slater came out of nowhere with an insane Frog Splash on both men, which broke the submission. Slater was only in the ring so he did a crazy dive over the corner turnbuckle to take Austin and Kushida out on the floor. The crowd was going nuts. Slater went back to the top rope but JDC rammed Seven into the corner to knock him down. Austin spring-boarded onto the back of Seven and superplexed Slater over the top of Seven and JDC. Wow. He went for the cover but Seven powerbombed JDC on top of Austin to break the pin up. The fans rightly told the wrestlers that they were awesome. Seven and Kushida traded stiff strikes. Kushida avoided the Seven Star Lariat and hit the Pele. Austin nailed him with a spinning heel kick. He set up for The Fold but Slater reached over the top rope and pulled him down to the floor. Slater saw his opportunity but JDC distracted him. He went for a handspring but Kushida stopped him with a punt to the chest. Kushida hit Back to the Future for the pinfall win after 9 minutes.

Winners by pinfall and X-Division #1 Contender: Kushida

Analysis: ***1/2 That was the perfect choice for an opener, in order to get the crowd pumped up early in the show. Every now and then TNA has these almost 10-minute X-Division matches that are crazy. Having a stipulation is appreciated. Moose vs Kushida at Final Resolution? Yes, please.

Tasha Steelz was backstage with Gia Miller. Miller asked why Steelz was the worst booked Knockout in TNA. Okay, she didn’t really. Steelz said Jordynne Grace needs to stay out of her business with Masha Slamovich. She said she was sick of Grace and tonight would take her out. I don’t know what flavour is or understand most of what Steelz is saying half of the time.

Match #2: The Good Hands vs PCO & Sami Callihan

The Good Hands cut their usual ‘trash the fans’ pre-match promo. I just tune out nowadays. Both PCO and Callihan need something to do so they’ve teamed them up. Callihan levelled Hotch with a clothesline early. He chopped Hotch down into the corner. PCO tagged in and PCO tossed him to the outside. Skyler pulled Hotch out of the way of a PCO dive. Skyler tagged in and faced up to PCO. PCO sent him down to the mat and tagged in Callihan. Callihan bounced off the ropes but Hotch tried to distract him. Skyler hit the slingshot spear on Callihan and tagged in Hotch. Hotch hit a rolling neckbreaker for 2 then tagged Skyler back in. Skyler tried a side headlock. Sami broke free and hit a clothesline, then tagged in PCO. PCO hit a very sloppy back body drop and Hotch probably saved himself from a serious injury by turning himself over in the move. Callihan tagged himself back in and they hit an awkward clothesline in the corner. PCO hit a double DDT on the Good Hands. Callihan assisted PCO to hit a very slow dive to the outside. Callihan tagged PCO back in. PCO climbed on top of Callihan’s shoulders and hit a senton from high up for the win after 7 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: PCO & Sami Callihan

Analysis: ** That was rough and it probably went a few minutes longer than it should’ve. Hotch is so much better than Skyler and wasted in a jobber tag team. PCO did not look crisp at all in this match.

After the match, there was a creepy video on the screen with the number ‘23’.

Analysis: That was interesting. I like those mystery storylines.

Nic Nemeth cut a pre-taped promo backstage but AJ Francis and KC Navarro interrupted him. Francis congratulated Nemeth on his 2024 achievements. Francis said Nemeth had nothing on his 2024. He said he wanted to gain 10 pounds by becoming TNA Champion. Nemeth said he would fight anyone, anytime, anywhere. Francis said he will knock Nemeth down with one hand and take his title. Santino Marella set the match up for Final Resolution.

Analysis: Apparently this match got some backlash online. I think it’s smart. There’s a week of build and Nemeth isn’t losing to anyone, so why not give AJ a go in the main event. That way a bigger profile match isn’t wasted off a week’s build and Nemeth is on the show, which I didn’t expect. Plus, I’m a big AJ fan!

Match #3: TNA World Tag Team Championships: The Hardys (c) vs The System w/Alisha

This is The System’s contractual rematch. The Hardys got a huge reaction. I’m not sure why you couldn’t just save this match until next Friday. That writes itself as a big PPV match but they want The Hardys on these NC shows, so that’s fair enough. Jeff and Eddie started the match off, but Matt made a quick tag and Eddie raked his eyes so he tagged in Brian Myers. They double-teamed Myers and Jeff tagged Matt in again. He did his Delete head smashes in the corner to the delight of the crowd. Matt nailed a neckbreaker for 2. He sent Myers to the ring apron. Eddie distracted Matt, so Myers hit a chop block to the left knee of Matt. Myers with a snapmare and hard knee strike to the back of Matt then went back to the left knee. Myers tagged Edwards, who hit Jeff with a cheap shot off the apron. He stretched out Matt’s knee in the corner. Matt tried to fight off Myers but Eddie knocked him down again. Edwards hit a snapmare and wrenched at the knee of Matt again. Myers made the tag. He set Matt’s knee up against the bottom rope and sat down on it. Myers got a 2 count. He tagged Edwards in again, who mounted Matt with right hand strikes on the mat. Myers made another quick tag in. He mocked Jeff’s dancing then dropped an elbow on Matt. Myers targeted the knee with a submission. He went back to strikes to the face of Matt. Myers tried a single leg lock. He went for the Roster Cut but Matt caught him with a Side Effect. Jeff tagged in and so did Edwards. He nailed a dropkick on Edwards and an elbow drop for a 2 count. Myers ran in from behind with a cheap shot. He also knocked Matt off the apron. Jeff stopped Myers from a running attack in the corner. He nailed the Whisper in the Wind on both opponents. Jeff covered Edwards for a 2 count. Eddie countered the Twist of Fate. They brawled in the centre of the ring. Myers ran in again and nailed the spear. The referee did nothing about it. Edwards covered Jeff for a 2 count. The referee didn’t even tell Myers to leave the ring. Edwards set Jeff up for the backpack stunner but he sent Eddie into Myers in the corner. The Hardys hit the Plot Twist on Eddie but Myers broke up the pin. Matt tossed Myers out of the ring. Jeff hit a double clothesline to wipe out The System on the floor. The Hardys got a table from underneath the ring. Why not? The Hardys set up for a double powerbomb through the table. Alisha hit Matt over the back with the kendo stick for the DQ. The match went about 12 minutes.

Winners by disqualification AND STILL TNA World Tag Team Champions: The Hardys

Analysis: ***1/4 That was pretty good, with The System targeting Matt Hardy’s knee and Matt working hard to get the tag to Jeff. Alisha causing the DQ makes zero sense, especially when it’s your only rematch.

Edwards hit Jeff with the Boston Knee Party on the floor. Myers nailed Matt with a low blow. They set Matt up on the table. Alisha hit Jeff with the kendo stick then choked Matt out. The System hit a double chokeslam on Jeff, on top of Matt, through the table.

Analysis: Later on, they just made another tables match for Final Resolution so I guess it doesn’t matter what you do in TNA, you still get rewarded!

Spitfire was backstage addressing Heather and Ash. Dani said she was going to face Heather next week. There wasn’t much to it.

Santino Speaks to the People

Santino got a huge ovation from the crowd. He said what The System did was unacceptable so he made a Tag Team Title match for Final Resolution. Santino made it a Tables match. End promo.

PCO and Sami Callihan were backstage wondering about what ‘23’ meant on the screen before. Callihan thought Hammerstone and Jake Something had something to do with it. Hammerstone didn’t like that so got in Callihan’s face. Callihan wanted a tag match next week.

Match #4: Tasha Steelz vs Jordynne Grace

There was some mat wrestling early on. Rosemary was watching from the rafters. The commentators did a terrible job at wondering who it was. Grace tossed Steelz across the ring with a front-facing suplex. She hit an uppercut in the corner and a neckbreaker for 2. The camera focusing on Rosemary was annoying. Grace hit a stalling suplex for 2. She put Steelz on the top turnbuckle. Steelz slipped between her legs and hit a kick. She nailed a stomp from the middle rope for a 1 count.

(Commercial break)

Steelz was in control in the corner as we returned to the action. Grace sent her to the ring apron and hit a forearm. She tried to suplex her back into the ring. Steelz floated over, looking for a Sunset Flip Bomb. Grace blocked it but Steelz drilled her with a forearm and hit a suplex from the middle rope for 2. Steelz tried for a sleeper hold on the back of Grace. Grace backed her into the corner but then Steelz shoved Grace’s head into the middle turnbuckle. Grace blocked an Irish Whip. She blocked a Blackout attempt but Steelz hit an enziguiri. Steelz bounced off the ropes but ran into an Electric Chair Drop. Steelz and Grace exchanged chops and forearms, respectively. Steelz popped off the ropes but ran into 2 scoop slams. She avoided a third but ran into a backfist. Grace hit a running Vertebreaker which looked great. Steelz kicked out at 2. Grace had Steelz on her shoulders. She tossed her into the turnbuckle pad. Grace blocked Sliced Bread. She missed the Vader Bomb so Steelz connected with Sliced Bread for 2. Steelz hit a really awkward clothesline that did no damage. That was weird. Grace avoided the Blackout and hit a rolling DVD for 2. She clubbed her with chest shots and a hard clothesline for 2. Grace set up for the Juggernaut Driver but Alisha ran down with the kendo stick. Steelz rolled up Grace for a close 2 count. She hit a superkick that sent Grace to the corner. Grace had Steelz up for the Muscle Buster but Alisha held her foot and pulled her back to the corner. The referee just watched the whole thing. Steelz rolled Grace up with her feet on the ropes to win the match after 15 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Tasha Steelz

Analysis: ***1/2 They wrestled a pretty safe match and I’m sure they’ve had better ones. It was an easy way to write Steelz into the title picture, whilst making Grace look okay because Steelz cheated so much. The ineptitude of the refereeing is a problem. She was looking right at Alisha when all the cheating was happening. It has to be a DQ or send her away. Consistency, please!

Grace was annoyed and took Alisha down after the match. Steelz dragged her off and sent her into the corner for a beat down. Masha Slamovich ran down to make the save. She looked like she was hobbling a bit. Masha hit a superkick on Steelz. Alisha got in her face. She turned around so Grace hit a spinebuster. Grace was bleeding from the nose but I’m not sure where that came from.

Analysis: At this point, it’s just nice to have Jordynne on TV before she leaves for WWE soon. It won’t be long, now.

Next week:

– Leon Slater & Laredo Kid vs. Rascalz

– Rosemary vs. Xia Brookside

– Jake Something & Hammerstone vs. PCO & Sami Callihan

– Heather By Elegance vs. Dani Luna

– First Class & Tasha Steelz vs. Nic Nemeth, Joe Hendry & Masha Slamovich

Match #5: Frankie Kazarian & The Northern Armory vs Eric Young, Steven Maclin, Jonathan Gresham & Mike Santana

Joe Hendry was on commentary. The match began with a big brawl outside the ring. The heels backed up the ramp in frustration. There were 4 referees at ringside for some reason. Oh, now you care about doing something right?! Both teams made it back into the ring and the match began with Gresham and Travis Williams. Williams tried a chop but that just fired Gresham up and he hit a big suplex. Alexander tagged in. He whipped Gresham into the corner. Gresham blocked an attack and rolled up Alexander for 1. He hit a running kick to Alexander’s arm. Williams tried running in but Gresham sent him the the floor. Alexander tagged in Judas Icarus. Gresham chopped him down hard to the mat and tagged in the popular Steve Maclin. Maclin nailed a hard back breaker. He sent Icarus into the corner and nailed a clothesline. Williams ran in so Maclin set them both up in the Tree of Woe positon. He nailed Williams with the corner spear but Icarus moved out of the way. Maclin smashed him with a forearm on the outside. He slid back into the ring but Kaz hit springboard leg drop on him, perfectly timed. Kaz was legal now. Maclin blocked a suplex attempt with an inside cradle for 2. Kaz almost took his head off with a clothesline. He sent Maclin into the corner and his team mates beat Maclin down while he distracted the referee. Williams tagged in and chopped Maclin hard in the corner. There was another quick tag to Alexander. He trapped Maclin in the corner and tagged in Williams again. There was another quick tag to Kaz. He hit a few strikes and another hard clothesline for only a 1 count. Kaz hit a cheap shot on Santana. The referee prevented Mike from entering the ring. Kaz went for the Chicken Wing but Maclin slipped out and tagged in Gresham. Gresham rolled up Kaz for 2. He tried another roll up for 2. Gresham tried another tricky pin for another nearfall. Kaz fought back with a back stabber. He teed off with right hands. Gresham fought back with forearm shots. They slugged it out in the middle of the ring. Gresham’s shot sent Kaz into the corner so he tagged in Alexander. Gresham went over and tagged in Young for the first time in the match. Young hit a dropkick with Alexander bouncing off the ropes. He nailed a scoop slam and went to the top rope for an elbow drop. Icarus knocked Young down hard. Alexander pulled Young over to his corner and tagged in Kaz. Kaz whipped Young into the corner but he did his Ric Flair impression over the top rope and blasted Icarus with a clothesline on the ring apron. Young went to slide back in but Icarus held him down on the ring apron and Alexander dropped his knee down on Young. The heels beat Young down on the floor and sent him back into the ring for Kaz to get a nearfall. Kaz continued the assault with right hands. He hit a suplex for a 2 count. Kaz tried a back body drop but Young blocked it and went for a piledriver. They ran into each other’s clotheslines. Santana and Williams tagged in for their teams. Santana went to town on both Williams and Icarus with chops in the corner. Santana ducked, so Icarus kicked Williams by mistake. He nailed a rolling double cutter on them. Santana covered Williams for 2. Icarus was still in the ring. Santana sent him to the outside. Maclin ran past him and dived on Alexander and Icarus to the outside. Williams rolled up Santana but Gresham broke up the pin. Icarus sent Gresham to the outside. Santana bounced off the ropes and hit a double clothesline. He tagged in Gresham who nailed arm drags on Williams and Icarus. Icarus has been in the ring as the non-legal man for over 2 minutes. He broke up the pinfall. The referee just continued to look at him. Icarus finally made a legal tag. Alexander made a blind tag as Gresham was flipping around the ring. Icarus and Williams hit a double kick on Gresham. Alexander with a discus forearm on Gresham but Young broke up the count. Young with a powerslam on Kaz. Icarus took him down with a lariat. Maclin came in with a Busaiku knee on Icarus. Williams hit a springboard clothesline on Maclin. Santana with the rolling DVD on him. Alexander blocked the Spin the Block with a kick to the face of Santana. Gresham tried a springboard moonsault but Alexander caught him in mid-air and destroyed him with the spinning tombstone for only 2. That should not be kicked out of. Gresham reversed the C4 Spike with a hurricanrana pin for 2. Gresham trapped Alexander in a stretch. The referee then decided to stop Icarus from interfering. Why did he allow interference for 90% of the match but not now? It’s because the writers are too lazy to book a clever finish so they had Kaz run in with the trophy and smashed Gresham over the head with it. Alexander pinned Gresham for the win after 15 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Frankie Kazarian & The Northern Armory

Analysis: ***1/2 The match was full of action but it was equally full of inept refereeing and basic ignoring of wrestling rules, which annoys me. I know it’s a wild 8-man tag with wrestlers who dislike each other but he has a job to do, as a character, and did that poorly. Also, Gresham was just starting to look good as a striker and then they let him go back to his dull character of rest holds and 1000 pins a match. Let him just fight! Alexander winning because he is in the #1 contender match at Final Resolution makes sense. Hendry is winning it though!

Impact ended with the heels celebrating on the ramp.

Final Rating: 7/10

It was a better show this week for quality wrestling that had decent match times. 5 matches on a weekly show just feels better and makes more sense. Kudos to TNA for building a quality card for Final Resolution in one night.

They wrote a World Title feud with a 60-second backstage interaction. Nic Nemeth is that good right now that he will promote that like it’s the biggest match of the year and they’re trusting AJ to just step into the main event spot, which he probably deserves after the year he’s had. I wouldn’t have expected to see Nemeth defending on the show but now you don’t have to waste another feud that TNA had in mind by only allowing a week of build. The rest of the card looks great, too. I love it when they put number 1 contender matches on PPV. It makes the championship seem like such a big deal. It has to be Hendry, doesn’t it? This time? Surely. I believe.

The next TNA monthly show is Final Resolution next Friday. Here’s the card so far:

* TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs AJ Francis
* TNA Knockouts World Championship: Masha Slamovich (c) vs Tasha Steelz
* #1 Contender match for the TNA World Championship: Joe Hendry vs Josh Alexander vs Mike Santana vs Steve Maclin
* TNA World Tag Team Championships: Tables Match: The Hardys (c) vs The System
* TNA X-Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Kushida

Any feedback or comments are welcome. My email address is kristian.l.thompson@gmail.com in case anybody wants to get in touch with me and my Twitter/X handle is @thomok6 as well. Thanks for reading!