Reviews

TNA Impact Review – February 6, 2025

By Kristian Thompson • Published 7th February 2025
TNA Impact February 6

The NXT Tag Team Titles are on the line as Nathan Frazer & Axiom defend the gold against TNA’s Nic & Ryan Nemeth in the main event of this week’s Impact.

The show opened with the regular recap of last week’s show which saw Eric Young turn on Josh Alexander and the Nemeths defeating First Class in the main event.

TNA Impact 6.2.25 from the Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas

There was a new opening video which showcased some of the new and returning TNA talent.

Joe Hendry Live in Concert

They showed Hendry’s entry into the WWE Royal Rumble. Hendry was the first active TNA Champion to be in the match. He didn’t last long and got tossed out easily by Roman Reigns. Michael Cole couldn’t even be bothered to learn the name of his finishing move. Hendry had a guitar and microphone, as well as a stand for his TNA World Championship. He had a nice white guitar. Hendry started with his own rendition of ‘Hendry is the Champion’, based on Queen’s famous song. He did another song called ‘Joe Hendry won the belt’, singing about nothing else mattering now that he is the champ. The crowd was having a lot of fun. Hendry told the crowd not to clap yet because this is usually the part of the concert where an upcoming challenger interrupts and he was right as here comes Jake Something, who I thought was on the shelf for a while. I’m glad he’s not. Something reminded Hendry that he said he would defend his title against anyone at any time. He told Hendry that Santino Marella booked Hendry vs Something for the TNA World Title next week. Hendry accepted and signed off.

Analysis: That was a bit of fun but he’s done better songs where he was teasing heel opponents. There’s a fresh match for next week that Hendry will obviously win. Something is a credible opponent so it should be a decent match.

Gia Miller chatted with TNA Knockouts Champion, Masha Slamovich, about tonight’s Battle Royal. Miller reminded her about the impending threat of Cora Jade. Slamovich said she was always up for the challenge. She addressed Jade personally.

Analysis: I like a Battle Royal. Hopefully there’s a surprise or two.

Match #1: NXT’s Tyson Dupont w/ Tyriek Igwe & Wes Lee vs Ace Austin

There’s been some wrestler’s names over the years that haven’t seemed very marketable but Dupont and Igwe stand out as two that could certainly have better ‘wrestler’ titles. NXT have another tag team of Blade and Enofe, which are instantly forgettable names. Dupont had the obvious size advantage. He used a couple of shoulder tackles to assert his dominance. Austin landed on his feet after a hip toss attempt. He took Dupont’s legs out and rolled him up for 2, then nailed a dropkick. Austin tried a crucifix pin and got another 2 count. He avoided a suplex but ran straight into a pop-up powerslam from Dupont which looked impressive. Dupont nailed a running upper cut for 2. He tried to lock in the Full Nelson but Austin went to a knee to try and break free. He backed Dupont into the corner and hit a knee strike to escape the submission. Dupont tried a pop-up powerbomb but Austin connected with a dropkick as he was tossed into the air. He hit a Russian Legsweep and legdrop combo. Austin went for another Legsweep but Dupont dumped him on his back. Dupont missed a splash and Austin took advantage with The Fold for the win after 6 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Ace Austin

Analysis: ***1/4 I really enjoyed that. Maybe it was because it was a fresh match or I hadn’t seen anything of Dupont in the ring before but they just worked well together. The opening 15 minutes of Impact have been more interesting than last week’s entire broadcast.

Lee and Igwe predictably beat Austin down after the bell. The Rascalz ran down with steel chairs for the save. The 6-man tag team match is coming!

Tessa Blanchard cut a pre-taped promo. She said she wouldn’t be in the Battle Royal because she wasn’t going to be taking out by 9 other women. Blanchard said no one can touch her.

Analysis: I guess she will get a title shot another way.

Match #2: 10 Knockout Battle Royal for the #1 Contendership for the TNA Knockouts Championship

The winner will receive a title shot at Masha Slamovich next week. Cora Jade was on commentary. She had a very monotone voice that fit her character. Jade said she wasn’t in the match because she deserved a title shot automatically. The competitors were Rosemary, Heather and Ash-by-Elegance (their intro was in between a SDL and Mance Warner promo), the returning Jazz, Tasha Steelz, Savannah Evans, Dani Luna, Alisha Edwards, Jody Threat and Xia Brookside. None of those women really pose a threat to Slamovich except Steelz but we have been there before. I wonder where Lei Ying Lee is. Jazz was the WWE Women’s Champion 23 years ago and that makes me feel old. She easily dealt with Alisha as the match began. A big brawl began. Ash and Heather went to the outside to avoid the other women. Alisha tossed Steelz out early. The best wrestler in the match was eliminated first. Alisha ran into Spitfire so they tossed her over the top easily. Spitfire went out to floor to find Ash and Heather, who were under the ring. If I was in this match I would just sit at ringside until I was in the final two. Luna pulled them out from underneath the ring and her and Threat tossed them back into the ring. Threat took down Heather with a snapmare. She put her onto the ring apron. Threat moved out of the way and Ash knocked Heather into George Iceman’s arms so he saved her from elimination. Luna hit a big boot to knock Heather and George down, eliminating Heather. Ash took advantage of the distraction and eliminated Luna. Rosemary hit a spear on Threat and eliminated her. We were down to 5. Ash wanted Rosemary and Evans to team up against Jazz and Xia. Ash sat back and let the other two do the work. Jazz and Xia took Evans down. The crowd wanted Jazz to throw Ash out but Rosemary cut her off. Xia and Evans battled in the corner. Rosemary and Ash tried to toss Jazz out via the corner turnbuckle. Rosemary got her to the apron, so Ash went under the bottom rope and pulled Jazz out to eliminate her. That was sneaky. Xia ran up behind Rosemary and Ash and tossed them both out! It’s down to Evans vs Brookside. Evans missed a splash in the corner. They kept cutting to Tessa Blanchard watching but it would’ve made more sense for Slamovich to be watching. Xia had Evans on the ring apron but Jade walked up close to try and distract her. Evans tried lifting her up but Xia started biting her fingers. Evans hit a headbutt and that was enough to eliminate Xia and win the match.

Winner and #1 Contender: Savannah Evans

Analysis: **1/2 No one is going to remember that as an all-time great Battle Royal but they tried to make some interesting eliminations. Evans makes sense as the winner because she is a heel and hasn’t had a proper singles push before. She won’t win the title but it’s a fresh match for Masha next week.

Let’s Hear from Eric Young

Young turned his back on Josh Alexander last week which I thought was a good move as Young is a much better performer as a heel. His heel title run is some of the best stuff that TNA has ever done, in my opinion. He came down to ringside with The Northern Armory, who joined in the attack last week. Young said in the ring stands Canadian greatness. He is taking on their stable name. Young said The Northern Armory run TNA. That’s a little far-fetched. They don’t even have merch! Their ring attire looked very plain tonight. He said he wasn’t going to let Alexander quit and leave Williams and Icarus out in the cold. Young said no one has done more for TNA than him. He had those crazy heel eyes back. Young said he was above everyone in TNA, even the TNA Champion. He called himself a great leader. Steve Maclin cut him off. Maclin and Young worked as a tag team for the last few months. He said Young was the first man he trusted in TNA and that was a mistake. Maclin questioned how Young can tag with two guys who tried to end their careers. Young stared him down, emotionless. Maclin said he has shared many personal things with Young and now Young has crossed the line. He said he couldn’t stand with Young whilst he was with The Northern Armory. Josh Alexander’s music hit and he is here! So much for selling last week’s beating! He stared Maclin down and Maclin walked to the back. Alexander said Young can’t get rid of him that easily. He said that even though his time in TNA is up, he still loves TNA. Alexander isn’t leaving with any regrets and will fight Young next week in his final TNA match.

Analysis: I thought Young’s promo was very good, explaining why he turned on Alexander. He had that crazy, maniacal look in his eyes which made his heel character so good many years ago- better than his more recent Violent by Design work. I don’t think there was a need for Alexander to appear this week, however, if he’s telling the truth and next week is his last match then rushing it does make sense. Next week has this match and both World Titles being defended!

Sami Callihan was backstage trying to find Mance Warner. He interrupted Frankie Kazarian who didn’t even know who Warner was. That made me laugh. Kaz called Santino stupid and told him to make his workplace safer.

Analysis: They’re not doing enough with Kaz, who is just sitting in the background with his title shot in hand.

Match #3: The System w/ Alisha vs The Hardys & Leon Slater

It was cool to see JDC on NXT this week. Even with his stupid Fandango music. Brian Myers is their non-wrestler in this match. Slater and JDC started off. Slater had some Hardy face paint on. He hit a hip toss on JDC, who tagged Edwards in. Matt made a tag for his team and hit an axe handle off the middle rope. He wrenched down on Edwards’ left arm then tagged in Jeff. Jeff took down Edwards with a dropkick. He tossed him into the corner and tagged Matt back in. The Hardys double-teamed Edwards in their corner. Matt did his Delete face smashes on the turnbuckle pads and made another tag back to Jeff. They hit Poetry in Motion. JDC tried to interfere so they whipped him into Edwards. Slater took Moose off the apron. He did Poetry in Motion onto both Edwards and JDC in the corner.

(Commercial break)

Slater and Moose were the legal men. Slater hit a hurricanrana that sent Moose to the outside. He nailed a double back elbow on Edwards and JDC who ran in. Slater wanted to dive outside on Moose but Alisha stood up on the apron. He jumped over her but Moose caught him and powerbombed him onto the ring apron. The doctor was checking on Slater but JDC chased him off. The ‘Red Hat Fan’ was there at ringside in the shot. Slater made it back into the ring at the count of 9. Moose tagged in Edwards, who chopped down Slater than tagged in JDC. JDC continued going to work on Slater, then quickly tagged Moose back in. Moose stretched Slater out. He tried a sleeper hold. Slater got to his feet so Moose raked his eyes. Edwards took The Hardys off the apron. The System triple teamed Slater and the legal JDC hit Down and Dirty but Matt tackled Moose down and broke up the pin. Slater hit a leg lariat on JDC. He finally tagged in Jeff and Moose tagged in for his team. Jeff hit a jaw breaker and kicked Edwards out of the ring. He nailed his low leg drop on Moose for 2. Jeff set up for the Twist of Fate but JDC and Edwards ran in. Matt tried to save him but he got tossed to the outside. Slater hit a crossbody to take down all of The System. He nailed an enziguiri on Moose. Matt took down JDC off the apron and Jeff did the same to Edwards on the opposite side. Slater was cut off by a pump kick from Moose. He leap frogged a Moose spear and took out Edwards and JDC with a crazy dive over the corner turnbuckle. The Hardys hit the Plot Twist on Moose. Slater hit the Swanton 450 and then Jeff hit the original Swanton to finish off Moose and win the match after 11 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Leon Slater & The Hardys

Analysis: ***1/2 That was a lot of fun. I think they are building to Jeff vs Moose which would be great. The continued (slow) push and pairing Slater with The Hardys is great.

Mustafa Ali walked in on The Good Hands arguing. He said everyone was yelling but no one was listening. Ali said he believes they could be Great Hands. Ali walked up to Tasha Steelz who was distraught after being easily eliminated by Alisha in the Battle Royal. Ali said this kind of thing keeps happening to her. He said they should put a stop to it now. Ali asked Steelz to join her.

Analysis: Ali is recruiting again. Steelz needs some direction and pairing her with Ali can only help. I like it.

Match #4: Matt Cardona vs Mike Santana

They had a bit of a stand-off early. Cardona had Santana by the hair in the corner. Santana hit some chops and a running senton. Tom Hannifan made a Gunther reference about chops, which was cool. Santana chopped Cardona back into the ring. Cardona bailed to the ring apron and took Santana’s legs out from under him. He nailed a suplex on the floor. The crowd chanted “We want Chelsea” at Cardona. Fantastic. Cardona unloaded on Santana with right hands in the corner. He whipped him hard into the corner turnbuckle. Santana fought back with right hands but Cardona sent him crashing into the turnbuckle again. He nailed a neckbreaker for a 2 count. Cardona used his t-shirt to choke Santana out. Surely that’s a DQ? Santana rolled Cardona up for 2. He hit a kick in the corner but ran into a big boot. Santana hit his rolling cutter for 2. The pace was picking up now. Santana called for Spin the Block. Cardona ducked. He ran into a Death Valley Driver, which looked like a rough landing for Cardona. Santana went to the top rope but Cardona cut him off. He nailed the Reboot and followed up with a Tiger Bomb for 2. Cardona measured Santana for Radio Silence. Santana caught him and nailed a Buckle Bomb. He connected with a Frog Splash from more than half way across the ring. Santana finished off the match with Spin the Block for the 3 count after 9 ½ minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Mike Santana

Analysis: ***1/4 I thought that was an entertaining match, even though it was obvious to me that Santana would win. It was quick and hard-hitting.

Next week:

* TNA World Championship: Joe Hendry (c) vs Jake Something
* TNA Knockouts World Championship: Masha Slamovich (c) vs Savannah Evans
* Eric Young vs Josh Alexander
* Frankie Kazarian vs Sami Callihan
* NXT’s Cora Jade vs Xia Brookside

Analysis: That is an excellent lineup. I wonder if they should’ve saved some of it for the live show which is only a week later.

Match #5: NXT Tag Team Championship: Nathan Frazer & Axiom (c) vs The Nemeths

The NXT liaison, Arianna Grace, joined commentary. This should be a fun match. Axiom and Nic kicked it off. Frazer made a blind tag and took down Nic with a dropkick. He is seriously quick. Frazer still had his facial protecting mask on. Nic avoided another dropkick and hit one of his own. He tagged in Ryan. At least he’s not talking. They hit a double back elbow then a double elbow drop on Frazer. Ryan scored a 2 count. Frazer hit an enziguiri and tagged in Axiom who scored a nearfall. Ryan bailed to the floor. Axiom took him out with a diving crossbody. Frazer took out Nic with a suicide dive. He tried another one but Nic tossed him into the steel steps. He kicked Axiom in mid-air.

(Commercial break)

It was still Axiom and Ryan in action. Axiom nailed a dropkick and tried to lock in a sleeper but Ryan broke free. He ran into a knee strike. Axiom hit a release German suplex and tagged in Frazer. Frazer took out Nic off the apron. He hit a running SSP on Ryan for 2. Ryan avoided a suplex and rolled Frazer up for 2. He nailed a right hand and tagged in Nic. Axiom tagged in, too. Nic hit a neckbreaker and his 10 elbow drops on Axiom. Nic covered for 2. Axiom avoided the Fame Asser and rolled up Nic for 2. Nic responded with a successful Fame Asser for a 2 count. Axiom blocked a superkick attempt but Ryan kicked him from the apron. He ran into a dropkick from Nic for 2. Ryan tagged in. He targeted the mid-section of Axiom with kicks. Ryan hit a jab to the throat and tagged Nic in again. Axiom broke free of a sleeper hold. Nic stomped on his toes and tagged Ryan back in. Ryan did some disturbing dancing and thankfully Axiom chopped him down. Ryan missed a splash in the corner and Nic tagged himself in. This allowed Axiom to tag Frazer. Frazer hit a slingblade on Nic. He nailed a Frog Splash for 2. Nic avoided the Phoenix Splash and nailed his jumping DDT for 2. He flipped Frazer off the ropes but ran right into a kick. Axiom tagged in. Nic broke free of a chin lock and nailed a super kick. Frazer botched coming into the ring so Nic super kicked him, too. Nic called for the Danger Zone. Ryan made a blind tag. He nailed his own Danger Zone on Axiom for 2. He couldn’t believe it. Nic hit Frazer with the Danger Zone too. He hit an Implant DDT on Axiom. Ryan missed a spear in the corner. Axiom kicked him in the head. They battled on the top rope. Frazer cut him off with a superplex and then they nailed the Golden Ratio but Nic broke it up before 3. Great nearfall there. Ryan looked for something under the ring. Nic dropped Frazer with a super kick. Nic stopped Ryan from using the steel chair. Frazer kicked Ryan into Nic, causing Nic to fall out of the ring. They hit a double-team leg-sweep/top-rope dropkick combo for the finish after 14 minutes of TV time.

Winners by pinfall AND STILL NXT Tag Team Champions: Nathan Frazer & Axiom

Analysis: ***1/2 I thought that was a very good main event tag team match, despite the predictable winners. I don’t see any scenarios (yet) that would have TNA wrestlers holding NXT championships or vice-versa until we are a bit further down the road. It doesn’t feel right, yet. I think Frazer and Axiom are incapable of having even just average matches. I think it was the right call to have Nic spend most of the time in the ring for his team. He is obviously the more talented of the brothers. The story of Ryan causing trouble for Nic continues. I don’t mind the storyline as it keeps Nic relevant and hopefully doesn’t drag him too far down the card. Ryan is good at being an annoying heel so we will see if Nic eventually snaps or maybe gives in and adopts Ryan’s heelish ways. It was a well-booked match.

Impact went off the air with Nic Nemeth looking frustrated at the loss at ringside.

Final Rating: 7.25/10

Thankfully, this week’s episode of Impact was much better than last week. The matches were more important and we saw some fresh match-ups. There was the simple yet effective set up for two World Title matches for next week’s show, we had some great tag team wrestling and more progress in the Nemeth storyline. I’m not sure where certain storylines are headed for next month’s Sacrifice, but there are still 6 weeks until that show. I think we will probably get Cora Jade vs Masha Slamovich and maybe Moose vs Jeff Hardy. Tonight felt like a much fresher show and I enjoyed it a lot.

The next TNA monthly special is Sacrifice on March 14th from El Paso, Texas.

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!