TNA Impact Review – July 25, 2024

The Nic Nemeth era of TNA begins while a six-man tag headlines the first show following Slammiversary.

Slammiversary was this past weekend from Montreal. It was a decent show, but not as great as I hoped. The global Microsoft shutdown may have meant that some surprise debuts/returns did not happen as scheduled. Nic Nemeth winning the TNA World Title was unexpected, but not as surprising as the awesome Josh Alexander heel turn. I rated the show a 7.5/10

The show opened with some Slammiversary highlights, including ABC winning the Tag Titles, PCO winning the Digital Media Championship and of course Nemeth beating 5 other guys to become TNA World Champion. All the champions in TNA are face wrestlers now, apart from the Knockouts’ Tag Team Champions.

TNA Impact: 25.7.24 from the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal, Quebec: Canada

Nic Nemeth World Championship Address

Nemeth made his way to the ring looking sharp. He had his new World Championship around his waist and the crowd was very receptive and chanted “You deserve it” as he grabbed a microphone. Nemeth said he was proud to be TNA Champion and thanked the fans around the world. He said he promised to be a fighting champion and put the title on the line anytime, anywhere against anyone. Nemeth said it was surreal to hold the championship and would make this title run special. Here comes Campaign Singh with the interruption and introduced the former X-Division Champion, Mustafa Ali. Ali and Bailey were having TNA’s match of the year when the bookers decided to ruin it. The fans chanted something in French at Ali and he ignored them because he doesn’t understand French. He wanted to shake Nemeth’s hand but Nemeth was a bit wary. Ali shook his hand anyway. The fans started chanting “You tapped out” at him. He started going on a diatribe about his loss to Mike Bailey. Nemeth looked concerned for Ali and thanked him for all he did to put the X-Division title on show for the fans. He then said that Ali tapped out to Bailey and it was all over for him. Ali said he was screwed out of the title by Earl Hebner. The fans told him that he deserved it. Ali started ripping the fans and screaming about everyone screwing him. He then turned his attention to Nemeth’s World Title and said it was time to make that title great again. Nemeth told Ali to take a step back before he dropped him on his head. He said Ali doesn’t need a campaign for a World Title challenge. Nemeth said let’s do it now. Ali undid his jacket and said that next week would suit him better. He tried to cheap-shot Nemeth, who sent him over the top rope. Nemeth nailed Singh with a superkick. Ali’s security held him back from going back into the ring.

Analysis: That sets up a big match for next week. I’m looking forward to that. The fighting face champion is an easy story to write. I am a fan of the camera work tonight as you can clearly see the full arena and the lighting helps a lot. Good for TNA.

There was a promo for the wedding of PCO and SDL next week. Oh my.

Gia Miller was with the ABC and Matt Hardy ahead of their main event 6-man tag with The System and JDC. Chris Bey asked Matt for advice because he had taken on The System so much as of late. Hardy said that there’s someone we can believe in, if we need help.

Analysis: A little nod to Joe Hendry there. There wasn’t much to that promo

Ryan and Nic Nemeth were backstage. Frankie Kazarian walked by and wasn’t impressed by Nic’s proclamations because he is the one king of TNA. Kaz said Nemeth’s nickname was the Wanted Man because he stole the title at Slammiversary. Nemeth said he would deal with him after Ali. Ryan got in Kaz’s face and said they had unfinished business. Santino Marella stepped in between them and made the match for next week.

Analysis: Nic has enemies everywhere now so it makes him look like a credible champion who wants to take on everyone.

There was a clip of The System arriving earlier in the day. They looked dejected after losing their titles (except for Alisha). None of them were willing to speak to the interviewers.

Match #1: Steve Maclin vs Cody Deaner

Maclin cut a quick promo before the match began trashing the fans. He was the first one eliminated in the main event on Saturday. We were almost 25 minutes into the show before the first match had begun which is rare for TNA. Deaner came to the ring with a mic, too. He asked the fans if they wanted him to shut Maclin up, which of course they did. Deaner took down Maclin with a Thesz Press. He clotheslined Maclin over the top and followed up with a crossbody to the outside. Back in the ring, Maclin hit the Busaiku Knee and a backbreaker for 2. He took down Deaner with a back elbow for 2. Maclin hit another backbreaker but held the move and wrenched at Deaner’s neck. Deaner rolled free and hit an arm drag. He connected with a bionic right hand and an Atomic Drop. Deaner hit a clothesline in the corner and a bulldog. He went to the top rope for a crossbody which scored him a 2 count. Maclin countered a DDT and hit an Olympic Slam. He clotheslined Deaner in the back in the corner and put him in the Tree of Woe for his diving spear. Maclin nailed the KIA for the easy win after 5 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Steve Maclin

Analysis: ** That was a simple way to get Maclin back a win after bowing out quickly at Slammiversary. It was fine for 5 minutes.

Sami Callihan did his Death Machine TV shtick, complete with extreme close ups, yelling and camera shaking. He had a weather report with him dressed in a rain coat. Callihan said there was a 98% chance of him beating AJ Francis tonight.

Analysis: This guy has just fallen so far since 2020 when he was awesome. I don’t see any evolution in character and his ring work has got worse.

They hyped Joe Hendry’s Live Concert for this week’s NXT show. That will be fun.

Match #2: AJ Francis w/ Rich Swann & Josh Bishop vs Sami Callihan

There’s always an entourage in any First Class match and tonight it’s Bishop again. Callihan knocked Swann off the ring apron immediately. He sent Francis over the top rope and then tied him in the ropes, beating him over the chest repeatedly. Francis ordered Bishop and Swann to surround the ring. The distraction allowed AJ to knock down Callihan with a shoulder block. He choked out Callihan with the ropes and then scored with a big right hand. Callihan blocked an attack in the corner and fought back with chops, but ran into another shoulder block. Francis nailed a headbutt and choked Callihan against the middle rope. Swann hit a cheap shot and then Francis continued the choke. Swann knocked Callihan off the apron with a kick. Francis distracted the referee so Swann started stomping all over Callihan. Bishop tossed Callihan back into the ring and AJ scored with another big right hand. Callihan fought back with right hands of his own but his comeback was short-lived. Francis bounced his head off the top turnbuckle and used the middle rope as a choke assist again. He whipped Sami hard into the turnbuckle then stomped him on the mat. AJ whipped Callihan hard into the turnbuckle again. They squared off with duelling right hands and AJ went for his running knee but went tumbling over the top rope. Callihan ran the rope but Swann tripped him up so AJ nailed his knee strike. AJ stretched out Callihan’s shoulder against the steel ring post. He called for the chokeslam but Callihan broke free with an eye rake. Callihan tried for a scoop slam but collapsed under the weight of Francis who almost scored a 3 count. Francis went for the chokeslam again but Callihan bit him to break free. He sent AJ into the ropes and nailed a scoop slam. Callihan ran into a big boot then Francis missed a leg drop so Callihan nailed a diving clothesline for 2. Callihan wanted the Cactus Driver but Swann jumped up on the apron so Bishop ran in for a clothesline. Francis hit the Down Payment chokeslam for the win after 8 ½ minutes.

Winner by pinfall: AJ Francis

Analysis: ** That was really slow and went on too long. The work of the referee was not great in this match. He just watched blatant cheating occur throughout. Be consistent. I like AJ but he needs a nimbler opponent to work with, or a brawler/stipulation wrestler like PCO.

Rosemary cut a promo with an evidence board in the background. It was about failing and getting redemption. She used a knife to cut up pieces of the board.

Analysis: At least it wasn’t a Decay match. I don’t find Rosemary interesting at all but maybe a serial killer gimmick would work.

Match #3: Eric Young & Jordynne Grace vs Ash-by-Elegance & Hammerstone

This match has combined two singles matches from Slammiversary. It was easily Ash’s best match that I’ve watched, either from TNA or WWE. It wasn’t far off match of the night for me. The entrances went for over 5 minutes. This feels like a really wasted show, an hour in. Ash and Grace started off. Ash slapped Grace, who returned the favour and chopped her to the mat. Ash broke free of a slam attempt but Grace hit a spinebuster. Ash countered a sidewalk slam with a spinning DDT and tagged in Hammerstone. Grace stumbled to her corner and Young tagged in. He nailed Hammerstone with a swinging neckbreaker for 2. Hammerstone got to his feet and tossed Young across the ring with a belly-to-belly suplex for 2. He missed a corner clothesline and ran into the top turnbuckle. Ash tagged in and knocked Grace off the apron. She hit a running senton on Young! Hammerstone tagged in. George Iceman looked nervous in case Rosemary was lurking around. Hammerstone tagged in Ash and press-slammed her into Young for a 2 count. Hammerstone tagged himself back in and hit a back suplex for 2. Young tired a roll up for 2. They both collided with clothesline attempts in the centre of the ring. The ladies tagged back in. Grace hit a scoop slam and corner clothesline. Grace hit the World’s Strongest Slam and a Vader Bomb for 2. Ash fought out of the Juggernaut Driver attempt and backed into the corner for the tag to Hammerstone. Young tagged in with a jawbreaker. Ash and Grace were still in the ring. Grace hit a rolling Death Valley Driver. Hammerstone hit a spinebuster on Young. Grace wanted a piece of him. Hammerstone laughed it off so Grace picked up on his shoulders but Hammerstone tossed her to the outside. Ash hit a Meteora from the ring apron to Grace on the floor. Young hit a Death Valley Driver on Hammerstone and chased Ash out of the ring. He went up for the elbow drop but Ash pulled him down. Hammerstone put Young in the Torture Rack and he tapped out. The match went just over 8 minutes.

Winners by submission: Hammerstone & Ash-by-Elegance

Analysis: **3/4 That was the best match so far tonight but that’s not a hard ask. TNA do the men/women fighting sensibly and Grace is tough so her facing up to Hammerstone was expected. Hammerstone getting back the win made sense. Both feuds might continue.

TNA Director of Authority, Santino Marella, came out to the biggest pop of the night so far. Marella spoke some French and thanked the fans, then said that he had one more surprise match for the pre-show. There was only 10 minutes left on the pre-show so this won’t be a long match.

The System cut a pre-taped promo backstage. All the men looked completely dejected. Alisha couldn’t even get them to speak.

Analysis: It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

Josh Alexander Explains His Heel Turn

Alexander had new theme music which suited him better than his face theme. I thought his heel turn was the best thing about Saturday’s show. It would’ve made more sense for him to win the title then but he can now go on to have a good feud with Hendry without making it about a title, in case WWE wants to do more with Joe. Alexander had a smug look on his face as he got in some of the fans’ faces and went into the ring. The crowd was booing him which hasn’t happened for a very long time. He gestured for them to be quiet. Alexander motioned to speak but the fans kept booing. He said even though he was a proud Canadian, all of this booing will make it easier to go back to his hometown of Toronto. Alexander asked the fans if they wanted an explanation for his actions at Slammiversary? The fans continued to boo him so Alexander put the mic down and walked away.

Analysis: That’s the heel promo that’s been done so often in the 23 years I’ve watched wrestling. We get no explanation but Alexander gets heat for being a coward.

There were highlights of The Rascalz winning on the main event of this past week’s NXT show. Zachary Wentz pinned Nathan Frazier, one half of the NXT Tag Team Champions, so that might earn the TNA stars a future shot.

Gia Miller interviewed the new TNA X-Division Champion, Mike Bailey. Bailey said this championship represents passion and love of the business. The Rascalz came in to congratulate him. Wes Lee was even there. They wanted to take on Bailey, Trent Seven and a partner in 6-man tag action. Bailey agreed. I guess it’s for next week. That will be fun.

Next week:

* The Wedding of PCO & SDL
* Jody Threat vs Masha Slamovich
* Frankie Kazarian vs Ryan Nemeth
* Rosemary in action
* TNA World Championship: Nic Nemeth (c) vs Mustafa Ali

Analysis: That’s an interesting lineup. Someone should tell those kids, PCO and SDL, to take it slow.

Match #4: The System & JDC w/ Alisha vs ABC & Broken Matt Hardy

There were almost 20 minutes left in the show. JDC got the quick tag to avoid Hardy. Myers tagged in and so did Ace Austin. He hit a quick arm wrench and tagged in Bey. Bey flew in with a double stomp to the shoulder. Hardy tagged back in with a jumping elbow on Myers. Myers ran into a hip toss and then all 6 men started brawling in the ring. The faces tossed the heels to the outside.

(Commercial break)

Hardy had Myers in the corner as we returned to the show. He tagged in Austin. Austin hit Myers with a number of strikes and a suplex for 2. Austin was watching closely in case Edwards went for a sneak attack from behind. He nailed a Russian Legsweep and a jumping legdrop for 2. Myers finally got some offense in with a jawbreaker. He tagged in Eddie Edwards, who ran into a dropkick. Austin tagged in Bey again. He nailed Edwards with some left hand strikes and tagged Austin back in. They hit a double-team hip toss and a double dropkick for 2. The System have had virtually no offense almost 5 minutes into the match. Moose walked down to the ring to join Alisha. The distracted allowed Edwards to chop down Bey to the mat. Bey fought back with chops but Edwards poked him in the eye. JDC tagged in. He missed a diving knee and Bey made the tag to Austin. Austin nailed a spinning kick for 2. He tagged in Hardy but JDC tossed him straight out of the ring. Edwards and Myers knocked the ABC down off the ring apron. JDC and The System members surrounded Matt but Joe Hendry’s theme hit! Hendry was dressed in street gear and went down to ringside to provide back up for the good guys. He got right in Moose’s face and did his hand waving. What an odd thing to happen half way through the match but I love Hendry so I’ll allow it. It was like a half time for the main event. The fans were loving Hendry as usual. JDC tagged in Myers. Hardy caught a kick attempt and nailed a clothesline. Austin tagged back in and hit an axe handle. He backed Myers into the corner with a chop, then whipped him hard into the opposite corner. Myers rammed Austin back into his corner and he and Edwards double-teamed Austin with clubbing blows to the head and chest. Edwards tagged in and quickly tagged JDC who hit an upper cut to Austin. He followed up with a thumb to the eye and a hard whip into the corner. JDC hit a nice suplex for only 1. Alisha choked Austin with the bottom rope whilst Eddie and Myers distracted the referee. Myers tagged back in and locked in a sleeper hold. Austin broke free so Myers tried for a scoop slam. Austin fell off his shoulders and made it to his corner for the tag. Bey came in on fire with clotheslines. He nailed a double stomp on Myers from the middle rope. Bey wanted a springboard crossbody but Alisha got up on the apron for the distraction, so Myers knocked Bey down to the mat. Edwards tagged in and hit Hardy with a cheap shot on the apron. He clobbered Bey with a running forearm. Edwards slingshot Bey into JDC’s forearm, who then hit a springboard elbow into the ring for 2. JDC tagged in and targeted Bey’s left shoulder. He grounded Bey to the mat for a 2 count. Hendry tried to pump Bey up and back into the match. He had the crowd behind Bey. JDC hit an upper-cut to Bey and tagged Myers back in. Myers tripped Bey against the mat and tagged in Edwards. They double-teamed Bey and catapulted him into the bottom rope, throat-first. Bey tried a sunset flip pin but couldn’t quite get Edwards down so he tagged in Myers. Myers dragged Bey to the corner and tagged JDC who hit a unique suplex for 2. JDC tossed Bey into the corner for another tag to Edwards. Bey fought back with rights and lefts. Edwards tossed Bey against the ropes and threw him high in the air. He was too slow to follow up and Bey hit an enziguiri then tagged in Hardy. Edwards tagged in JDC and Hardy was all over him. He used the ropes to pull JDC up into a powerbomb for 2. Hardy tossed Edwards to the outside then hit a Flatliner/DDT combo on Myers and JDC. All 6 men then brawled in the ring. The face team used the Hardy Delete face rams on the turnbuckles. Hardy hit a Side Effect on JDC. Austin nailed a twisting Swanton but Edwards broke up the pin by pushing Bey on top of Hardy. ABC hit running knees on both System members, then flew to the outside with suicide dives. Alisha had the referee distracted on the outside, so Moose ran in and missed the spear on Hardy, and nailed JDC instead! Hendry went into the ring and took down Moose with a clothesline. Hardy nailed the Twist of Fate on JDC. He tagged in Bey for the flying splash and the win after 18 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Broken Hardy & the ABC

Analysis: ***1/2 It was a fun but basic 6-man tag that was kind of broken into two parts with the Hendry distraction giving it a bit of a reset. These are the matches that The System have been winning if they were champions, even though they didn’t really need to, so it shows a bit of a shift perhaps away from them as the dominant force in TNA. Hendry showing up always pops the crowd.

Hardy, Hendry and the tag champs stood tall as the show ended.

Final Rating: 6/10

That felt like a step back for me after another big PLE from TNA. It didn’t feel like a well-thought out show. Perhaps they thought that after the success of the weekend, they have a sold out crowd anyway so it won’t matter what kind of show they put on. I hope that wasn’t their attitude but it was a pretty average show. With only 4 matches, you would expect some new feuds to begin but only Ali vs Nemeth was established in a good opening segment. I think Nemeth, in a really big career moment for him, probably deserved a few more minutes of promo time before getting cut off. There was nothing new on any other championship front. I’m not sure where they go now with the Knockouts’ title. I wouldn’t mind another match with Ash because that was a really strong showing on Saturday between her and Grace. Mike Bailey showed up for a 60-second promo, backstage and was not even given a celebration in his home country. They might leave that for next week but he will have lots of new feuds moving forward which is promising. Josh Alexander had some promo time but they had him bail instead of giving an explanation. They should’ve had Joe Hendry interrupt. Surely you would be furious after being screwed out of the title. But he seemed more interested in being back up to the face team in a meaningless 6-man tag? None of the matches were of much significance this week. The last two were fine and TNA over the last few years have the tendency to slip back into the east multi-man tag main event. At least it was a different combination of competitors on this occasion.

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!