Reviews

TNA Impact Review – January 9, 2025

By Kristian Thompson • Published 10th January 2025
TNA Impact Jan 9 Review

The team of Rhino & Joe Hendry took on The Nemeths in the main event of TNA Impact this week.

The show opened with the customary video recap from last week’s show, which kicked off a Moose vs Ace Austin feud and Tessa Blanchard put another beat down on Jordynne Grace after an 8-woman tag team main event. I’m going to go summary style for some of this show because we have just welcomed our fifth child into the family and I am writing this during my very limited down time.

TNA Impact 9.1.25 from Centre Stage: Atlanta, Georgia

Match #1: The System w/ Alisha vs Jonathan Gresham, Steve Maclin & Eric Young

We were straight into the opening contest, after a backstage brawl broke out between these teams last week. I don’t have a lot of interest in the face trio. Maclin should be breaking out by himself and they don’t know how to book Gresham properly. Young is just there because he has nothing else to do and he’s not good enough to push as a singles wrestler anymore. The heel team isolated Young for the first half of the match until he was able to power Brian Myers up for the Death Valley Driver. Maclin and JDC tagged in. Maclin was on fire with clotheslines and a Thesz Press. He took down an incoming Edwards with a Busaiku Knee. Maclin nailed Edwards with an Olympic Slam and took down JDC with a backbreaker for 2. The action broke down with all 6 men in the ring. Maclin nailed JDC with a corner spear and the KIA for the easy win after 7 ½ minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Jonathan Gresham, Steve Maclin & Eric Young

Analysis: *** It was a fine opener but I didn’t expect the System to go down so easily. Continuing Maclin’s momentum is the right way to book it.

Edwards and Myers took out the face team with chair shots immediately after the bell. They kicked Young and Maclin out of the ring, then hit Down with the System on Gresham. They tossed him from the ring, too. The System set Gresham’s neck up in the steel chair and smashed him into the ring post. That usually seems to be a move used to write someone off. Maclin and Young chased them off with chairs then checked on Gresham at ringside.

Analysis: That seemed like a way to continue the feud between the teams which isn’t that thrilling. I am not sure why you booked The System to lose so easily and then want to keep the feud going.

There was a video recap showing how Joe Hendry got to the main event of Genesis. Hendry also talked about his career and they showed highlights from his wrestling in different organisations. I thought it was really well done.

Match #2: Savannah Evans vs Lei Ying Lee

Before the match, Xia Brookside came out and confronted Evans. She wasn’t happy that Evans injured her at Turning Point. Brookside said that she wasn’t cleared to wrestle but there was another wrestler that Evans also injured who was ready to go. Lei Ying Lee made her return. Lee was on fire early with a cannonball to the outside. Back in the ring she hit a few kicks but Evans hit a sit-out powerbomb for 2. Evans tried a neck wrench on Lee, then nailed some clubbing blows against her chest. They traded blows and Evans hit a clothesline. She tried for a Full Nelson Bomb but Lee escaped and hit her Thunder Struck finishing kick for the win after 4 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Lei Ying Lee

Analysis: ** A very basic match to put Lee over on her return. I don’t think Evans is ever going to be booked seriously. At least some depth is returning to the KO division.

Jordynne Grace called out Tessa Blanchard to a fight in the ring later tonight.

The TNA Moment of the Week was Kurt Angle defeating Jeff Jarrett in a No-DQ match from Genesis 2009. Geeze, Jarrett’s entrance music was annoying back then and still is. They showed over 5 minutes of this match!

Match #3: Gauntlet Match: Mike Santana vs The Northern Armory

Mike Santana vs Judas Icarus
There was no sign of Josh Alexander. Santana faced Judas Icarus first. Icarus attacked Santana while he was removing his jacket. He nailed an enziguiri kick Santana no-sold some clothesline attempts. He chopped Icarus down and hit a running senton. Santana climbed to the top but Icarus’ quickness allowed him to know Santana down to the mat. Santana rolled through and hit Spin the Block to eliminate Icarus.

Mike Santana vs Travis Williams
Williams hesitated to get into the ring. He avoided a Death Valley Driver and hit a knee strike to the back, then a dropkick for 2. Williams hit a big boot in the corner.

(Commercial break)

William was still in control with a running uppercut in the corner. He countered a rolling cutter by holding Santana’s left arm in an arm bat. Santana used his strength to power Williams up into a Buckle Bomb. Santana sent Williams face-first into the mat then nailed a sit-out powerbomb for another easy win.

Mike Santana vs Josh Alexander
Alexander sauntered down to the ring. Icarus and Williams jumped Santana from behind and the referee called for the disqualification. Alexander hit the C4 Spike and reclaimed his headgear. That was the most obvious thing in wrestling since Cody Rhodes beat Roman Reigns last year.

Winner by disqualification: Mike Santana

Analysis: ** It’s hard to rate that as a match because the third match was about 2 seconds long. The entire thing was about 6 minutes. Santana took care of the side-kicks easily and Alexander used his match to weaken Santana. You can lock Alexander vs Santana in for Genesis.

George Iceman said he would have a must-see pre-launch Championship celebration for Heather and Ash next week as they eye off the TNA Knockouts’ Championships.

Analysis: I don’t understand half the stuff this guy says but he’s so goofy that I am entertained.

Rosemary cut a backstage promo on Masha Slamovich. She said she could see the cracks forming in Slamovich’s game and that she’s scared. Raven was with her. He questioned whether Rosemary was ready for a World Title again. Rosemary grabbed him and had a knife. He suggested a Clockwork Orange match which would give Rosemary an edge at Genesis. She sounded happy with that.

Analysis: It’s a good idea to make it a stipulation match as Rosemary is usually carried through her singles matches nowadays.

Match #4: The Rascalz vs The Good Hands

The Rascalz are challenging for the Tag Team Titles so they weren’t going to lose to TNA’s resident-jobbers. The Good Hands did get a fair bit more offense than I expected but Wentz put Skyler away with the top rope Meteora for the win after 5 minutes. This has not been a show for quality wrestling matches.

Winners by pinfall: The Rascalz

Analysis: **1/2 Steve Maclin and Eric Young were angry about being taken out after their match earlier in the night. Young said they would hand out their own brand of justice but First Class walked in for the interruption. They made jokes and Maclin wasn’t impressed. Maclin took a shot at AJ Francis losing the World Title match at Final Resolution. Francis said they had their eyes on tag team gold and if they had to run through Young and Maclin, so be it.

Analysis: That could be a tag match for next week. First Class as challengers to The Hardys or Rascalz would be fine. Get Maclin out of the tag division, please!

Alisha & Moose Want to Talk

Moose put himself over as the greatest X-Division Champion ever. He said Ace Austin would find this out at Genesis. Moose said he was embarrassed at the design of the X-Division Championship. Andrew Everett, a former X-Division competitor, came out to no reception. His ring attire belonged in the 1980s. He berated Moose for his disrespect. The crowd still wasn’t reacting. Moose didn’t know who he was, which at least got a reaction. He told Everett to get out of the ring or get put down. Everett stood his ground and I think he forgot the rest of his promo because there was a long pause and he stuttered through the rest. Moose took him down with a big boot. He said Everett had earned an X-Division title match.

Match #5: TNA X-Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Andrew Everett

Moose tossed Everett across the ring. Everett broke free from a powerbomb attempt and hit an enziguiri kick and a Tornado DDT. He nailed a springboard Swanton to the outside which looked cool. Everett tried to springboard back into the ring but Moose caught him and choke-slammed him from the top rope onto the ring apron. My goodness. Moose nailed a powerbomb on the ring apron. He rolled Everett back into the ring and nailed a powerbomb to retain his title after 3 minutes.

Winner by pinfall AND STILL TNA X-Division Champion: Moose

Analysis: *1/2 It was a glorified squash match but those two apron bumps looked painful, so kudos to Everett for taking those.

Sami Callihan was backstage with Santino Marella. He wanted to be back in the Tag Title race with his partner, PCO. Marella suggested team names, like Death Meat, for them but Callihan wasn’t a fan. He said that if PCO & Callihan can beat The Hardys next week, they will be added to the Tag Team Championship match at Genesis.

Analysis: I like stipulations like that. It gives matches on the weekly show more meaning.

Jordynne Grace Calls Out Tessa Blanchard

Grace said Blanchard should be terrified that she has a microphone right now. She’s no CM Punk, that’s for sure. Grace said if Blanchard wanted to reclaim the KO division, then she would have to go through her. Blanchard ran through the crowd and they brawled in the ring. Security flooded the ring and tried to separate the women. Grace broke free and tossed some of the security out of the ring. The security backed them both into a corner and that was it.

Analysis: That segment fell flat at the end and just ended. They’re not booking Tessa as a cowardly heel which is the right way to go.

The commentators ran through the Genesis card, which you can see at the bottom of this column.

Match #6: Rhino & Joe Hendry vs The Nemeths

Frankie Kazarian was on commentary. Rhino and Ryan Nemeth started the match, but Ryan tagged out straight away. Nic took down Rhino with a leg sweep and told his brother to get back in there. Ryan tagged in but Rhino sent him back to the corner and chopped him hard. He tagged in Hendry who continued the chops. Hendry nailed a shoulder block and a stalling suplex for a 2 count. Rhino tagged in and worked on Ryan’s arm, then Ryan used an eye poke to tag Nic back in. Nic ran into a clothesline. He whipped Rhino into the ropes and Ryan grabbed him by the hair to pull him to the mat. Rhino was getting a bigger reaction than the World Champion. Nic hit a jumping elbow for 2. He tagged in Ryan. Ryan choked Rhino out against the middle rope and scored a nearfall. Nic tagged back in and hit another elbow drop for 2. He kept Rhino grounded to the mat with a sleeper. Rhino got to his feet with body strikes. Nic fought back with right hands. He tried for a Fame Asser but Rhino turned it into a sitout powerbomb. Both men made a tag. Hendry hit a clothesline and an Attitude Adjustment on Ryan. He nailed the Fallaway Slam on Nic; sending him out of the ring. Hendry wanted the Standing Ovation but Ryan hit a thumb to the eye. He sent Hendry against the ropes but Hendry hit a running cutter. Nic interrupted the pinfall. Rhino came back in and hit an overhead throw on Nic. Kaz stood up with the trophy, looking to cash in. Rhino set up for the Gore in the corner and nailed Ryan with it. He ran into a superkick from Nic. Hendry sent Nic out of the ring with a clothesline and hit the Standing Ovation on Ryan to win the match after 9 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Rhino & Joe Hendry

Analysis: **3/4 It was the simplest of tag team matches that was easy to book because you have one of the wrestlers in there that’s nowhere near the level of the others so he takes the pinfall. It’s always good to see the Gore, too.

Hendry celebrated after the match and Nic looked on with concern on his face.

Final Rating: 5.5/10

Last week we had 3 matches and that sounded ridiculous, but I’d take that over a show like this week which had 6 matches and the longest was the main event of 9 minutes. They tried to cram too much into this show and the in-ring work suffered. Thankfully, the card for Genesis is looking great and I feel like it should be a great show. No matches this week were great and I highly doubt that any show that I have reviewed had a 3-star match as the highest rated match on the card. It was a night that they focused on stories for Genesis and so the match length and quality were down. That’s okay sometimes, but obviously, the wrestling quality will be lower.

The next TNA PPV is Genesis on January 19th. Here’s the card so far:

* TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs Joe Hendry
* TNA X-Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Ace Austin
* TNA Knockouts’ Championship: Clockwork Orange House of Horrors match: Masha Slamovich (c) vs Rosemary
* TNA Tag Team Championships: The Hardys (c) vs The Rascalz
* TNA Knockouts’ Tag Team Championships: Spitfire (c) vs Ash and Heather-by-Elegance
* Jordynne Grace vs Tessa Blanchard
* Josh Alexander vs Mike Santana

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!