Reviews

TNA Impact Review – June 12, 2025

By TJR Staff • Published Jun 13, 2025 09:33 EDT
TNA Impact June 12

The build to Slammiversary began on this week’s episode of TNA Impact, as the unique 8-4-1 match made its return and The Hardys faced First Class.

The opening video focused on the events of last weekend’s Against All Odds show. It was a strong show in my view, with a weak main event. Some surprise returns on the women’s side were very welcome.

TNA Impact 12/6/25 from the Mullett Arena, Tempe: AZ by Kristian Thompson

There was footage of Mike Santana trying to enter the building, but Santino Marella let him know that he had been suspended for two weeks. He said he would be fired if he went into the arena. Santana was frustrated but complied. Robert Stone tried to enter the building but was kicked out by security. Good!

Analysis: Apparently, Santana was suspended for putting his hands on a TNA doctor. I must’ve missed that at Against All Odds because the last thing I remember was he was getting KO’d by an AJ Francis champagne bottle.

Let’s Hear from Santino

Marella defeated Stone at Against All Odds to keep his job. He thanked the fans for their support and was glad to be the undisputed authority leader in TNA. Marella said we were on the road to Slammiversary. He said it was going to be the biggest show in TNA history. Marella said Moose would defend the X-Division title at Slammiversary against Leon Slater. He told the fans that the 8-4-1 match would return to crown a #1 contender for the Knockouts title. Marella said he needed someone to step up and face Trick Williams at Slammiversary. He told the fans the next few weeks were going to be exciting, fantastic and…inspirational. Here come Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay, the Iinspiration, for the first match of the night.

Match #1: The Iinspiration vs Missa Kate & Brittany Brooks

It’s the Aussies’ first match in TNA in 3 years. I had to look up their opponents because the commentators did a lousy job of introducing them. McKay knocked down Kate with a shoulder block and an arm drag. Lee tagged in and focused on Kate’s left shoulder. Kate hit a cheap shot and tagged in Brooks. McKay tagged back in. They hit a double team kick on both opponents. McKay rolled up Brooks for a 2 count, then hit a facebuster on her knee. She nailed a double knee strike in the corner and a suplex for 2. McKay avoided a roll-up, but Kate got another cheap shot in on the apron to give Brooks a chance to stomp her down in the corner. Kate tagged in again and continued the beat down. There was another quick tag in and out again. McKay avoided an elbow strike in the corner and sent Kate to the outside, then made a tag to Lee. Lett came in with some clotheslines and hip attacks in opposite corners. She hit a neckbreaker on Brooks and a jumping kick on Kate. Lee hit a Fisherman’s suplex with a bridge on Kate but Brooks broke up the pin attempt. Lee sent Brooks to the apron and McKay kicked her off. She tagged in and they hit the Idolizer for the win after 4 ½ minutes.

Winners by pinfall: The Iinspiration

Analysis: ** It was just a quick match to get The Iinspiration started on the road to challenging The Elegances in the near future. They looked a bit cleaner in their offense than I remember. It would be nice for TNA to do a better job at introducing new talent, even if they are just there to lose. They have done really well lately with Harley Hudson and Myla Grace, so they should’ve done the same with the heel team tonight.

The Hardys cut a quick pre-taped backstage promo. Matt said it was the time to get back on the path to regaining their tag team titles. That starts tonight against First Class.

Analysis: Another match between The Hardys and The Nemeths would be great.

They showed highlights of First Class being pests on NXT, which led to a 6-man tag challenge for next week’s episode.

First Class Penthouse w/ Trick Williams

First Class helped Trick retain his TNA World Title for a 2nd time, this past weekend at Against All Odds. They took a kid out of the crowd to try and give some money away. AJ Francis wanted him to give him a hearty ‘Money, Money, Money’ phrase like he does. The kid, Pedro, was pretty bad. Francis didn’t give him any money. He said he’s not giving away any of his money and then introduced Williams. Francis ran down Joe Hendry. They asked if Williams wanted to fly First Class. Williams said they were alright with him. Francis said the only thing that would make Trick’s title look better, was if First Class added some gold of their own. He said after they beat The Hardys tonight, then they’re gunning for the tag titles. Francis proposed a toast to Trick. The crowd booed. That was the least painful Penthouse so far.

Analysis: A solid segment to get more heat on the heels. They’re all slimy and easy to dislike so they all did well.

Oh no, it’s Alisha Edwards talking backstage. The System walked up to Jason Hotch. JDC and Moose wondered if he would be better suited to The System than Order 4. Eddie Edwards wanted him to take out Leon Slater for Moose, and they would make a spot in the group for Hotch. Mustafa Ali and friends walked by. Ali was back in a suit. He did not look pleased. Matt Cardona was standing next to a door on his phone. What an odd place to be standing; not script at all. They have beef with him for some reason. Edwards challenged Cardona to a tag match next week. Cardona and Brian Myers had a stare off for old times’ sake.

Analysis: Are The System annoyed with Cardona because he didn’t screw Santino? They didn’t really address why they have a problem with him. Odd.

Match #2: Leon Slater vs Jason Hotch w/ Order 4

Slater cut a picture-in-picture, pre-taped promo saying that he was coming for Moose and going to become the youngest X-Division champion at 20 years of age. Slater hit a dropkick to start the match. Hotch fought back with one of his own for a 2 count. He sent Slater into the ropes and hit a blow to the back, then a ropes-assisted backbreaker for a 2 count. Hotch focused on the back of Slater with knee strikes. He wrenched at Slater’s neck, whilst having him in a chin lock. Slater got to his feet but ran into a hip toss. He got back up and nailed a clothesline then a spinning back elbow off the ropes for 2. Hotch avoided a back suplex and hit a kick to the head from the apron. He rolled back in with Ali’s neckbreaker for 2. Hotch chopped away at Slater in the corner. Slater reversed an Irish whip and hit the Blue Thunder Bomb. He went to the top rope and avoided a charging attack by Hotch. They fought on the apron and Hotch hit a double stomp. Nice. Slater avoided a reverse suplex. They traded pinning attempts. Slater hit the sling blade and the Swanton 450 for the win after 7.5 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Leon Slater

Analysis: ***1/2 A high-energy match between two of TNA’s best young talents. Hotch is 28 but because he hasn’t had much singles action in TNA he feels like a fresh talent in the division. Good to see a clean match, too.

Gia Miller interviewed Tessa Blanchard ahead of the big women’s match series tonight. Blanchard said you could put the whole locker room out there and the result would be her winning. She said everyone else is just in the way.

Analysis: She should’ve won the title at Rebellion, in my view. Her facial expressions are still ridiculous, though

Match #3: 8-4-1 Series: 8-Woman Tag Team Match: Rosemary, Dani Luna, Tessa Blanchard w/ Victoria Crawford & Xia Brookside vs Jody Threat, Tasha Steelz, Killer Kelly & Indi Hartwell

The winning team faces off in a 4-way and then the winner of that faces Masha Slamovich in 2 weeks’ time. Good to see Kelly return at Against All Odds. All of a sudden, this is a very good division. Blanchard is still the standout but it’ll be fun to see what Indi, Luna and Kelly can do on their own for the rest of 2025. Luna and Steelz started out but Steelz tagged Threat straight in, so it’s the former Spitfire team mates to face-off. They traded quick nearfalls. Threat tagged Steelz back in. She wasn’t thrilled with that. Steelz ran into a back body drop. Brookside tagged in but Steelz gave her a thumb to the eye. Steelz teed off on Brookside in the corner. Brookside bounced off the ropes with a crossbody for a 2 count. She tagged in her opponent from last week, Rosemary. Rosemary started biting Brookside in the corner! Steelz attacked Rosemary from behind. Rosemary sat up so Steelz tagged in Kelly. They had a face-off. Kelly hit some nice knee strikes and a neck breaker for 2. Kelly tagged Threat back in. She hit some scoop slams on Rosemary. Rosemary tossed her into the middle turnbuckle and tagged in Tessa. Blanchard flew in with a splash for 2. Crawford knocked Threat off the top rope. Blanchard took out Indi with a cheap shot. Threat rolled up Blanchard for 2. Blanchard tagged in Luna. Luna immediately tagged in Rosemary. Rosemary missed a spear in the corner. Blanchard tagged herself in and hit a dropkick on Threat. Threat kicked Blanchard off and tagged Indi in, who got a big ovation. Rosemary got the tag too but ran into a spinebuster. Kelly and Luna ran in to join the brawl. Steelz hit a Codebreaker on Luna and a springboard cutter. Brookside hit her own Code Breaker on Steelz. Threat ran in with Pop Shove It on Brookside. That’s probably the worst finisher name of all time. Indi nailed her finisher, Hurts Don’t It (okay that finisher name might be even worse) to win the match after 8 minutes.

Winners by pinfall: Jody Threat, Tasha Steelz, Killer Kelly & Indi Hartwell

Analysis: *** It was chaotic at times but a fun match that intertwined a few feuds and past friendships. I thought Blanchard’s team would win for sure but maybe Indi will win the title shot now. They went straight into the Fatal 4 Way match.

Match #4: Fatal 4 Way #1 Contender’s Match: Jody Threat vs Tasha Steelz vs Killer Kelly vs Indi Hartwell

Steelz and Kelly brawled to the floor so Indi and Threat battled inside the ring. Indi blocked a corner attack but ran into an Exploder suplex for a nearfall for Threat. The crowd was right behind Indi. She launched Threat into the ropes and hit a sidewalk slam for 2. Threat ran the ropes but Kelly took her from the ring and tossed her into the steel ring steps. Steelz came back in with a step-up knee in the corner. Kelly came in and joined in the beatdown. They hit a double suplex on Hartwell. Ridiculously, Kelly tried to a pin in front of Steelz. You can guess what happened. Kelly trapped Steelz’ arms and gave her some headbutts. She tried for the Angels Wings but I don’t think she hit it correctly. Threat went up top and took Kelly down with a crossbody. Hartwell and Threat hit clotheslines in the opposite corners on their opponents. They faced off again and clotheslined each other. Steelz took Threat down from behind. Threat tossed her off from a bulldog attempt. She suplexed Steelz but Hartwell rolled her up straight away for a 2 count. Threat hit a German suplex. Steelz nailed her bulldog on Threat for 2. Hartwell hit Hurts Don’t It on Steelz but Kelly came in with a running boot on her, then covered Steelz to win the match after 5 minutes.

Winner by pinfall and #1 Contender: Killer Kelly

Analysis: **1/2 They didn’t get a lot of time so it was a bit rushed but they got a lot of action in. Kelly winning was a bit of a surprise, but I then learned that the match won’t happen at Slammiversary (in fact, in 2 weeks), so there’s still potential for a bigger match at the PLE.

Gia Miller interviewed Masha Slamovich straight away to get her thoughts on that match. She said she would put Kelly back in her place in two weeks’ time.

Steve Maclin had a pre-taped promo recapping his victory over Mance Warner at Against All Odds. Maclin said he was coming for Trick Williams and his TNA World Championship, as well as keeping his eye on future challengers for his TNA International Championship.

Analysis: Apart from Hendry and Santana, Maclin is the most over face in TNA and would be a good choice for Trick’s opponent at Slammiversary.

Mance Warner and SDL were on the stage and Warner was going crazy at a production assistant. Tommy Dreamer stepped in and Warner suplexed him on the stage. Warner hit a running knee.

Analysis: Not another Dreamer match. Please. That’s the worst security I’ve ever seen. They just stood there and pleaded with Warner not to hit Dreamer!

Sami Callihan was cutting a promo when Eric Young interrupted him. They had words and Young walked off, then clocked him with a right hand shot. That was all a bit random.

Next week:
* Sami Callihan vs Eric Young
* Masha Slamovich & Lei Ying Lee vs The Elegance Brand
* Champions Challenge 10-man tag match: The TNA Champions vs Joe Hendry, Elijah, The Rascalz & Mike Santana

Analysis: That’s not a bad lineup. They still have 5 weeks to Slammiversary, so there’s time to build some decent feuds.

Match #5: First Class vs The Hardys

This will be another very short Impact main event, as there are only 9 minutes to go when the bell rings. Jeff and KC started the match. Jeff hit some arm-ringers and tagged in Matt, who did his axe handle from the middle rope. Matt focused on the left shoulder and tagged out again. They hit a double back elbow for a 2 count. Francis slid back in but Matt clotheslined him in the corner and then they hit the Poetry in Motion. The Hardys tossed Francis to the floor.

(Commercial break)

Jeff had KC isolated as we returned to the action. He tagged in his brother and they hit a double suplex on KC. Matt scored a 2 count. He nailed KC with a hard forearm shot then slingshot him into the bottom rope. Jeff tagged in with a splash for a 2 count. Francis grabbed Jeff’s leg, so Jeff tossed a running KC over the top rope into Francis’ arms. Francis distracted Jeff so KC hit a running dive through the ropes to take him out. Francis tagged in and took Matt off the ring apron. He choked Jeff out using the middle rope. Francis tossed Jeff hard into the corner and hit a running splash. He hit his Tennessee Whiskey running knee strike. Francis mouthed off to Matt and he confronted him on the floor. He went back into the ring and ran into two Twist of Fates from Jeff. Matt tagged in and went to work with right hands on AJ. He did his Delete corner turnbuckles strikes. Matt avoided a running splash in the corner and hit the Side Effect for 2. Trick Williams ran into the ring and attacked Matt, which caused the DQ after 8 minutes of action.

Winners by disqualification: The Hardys

Analysis: **1/2 It was an odd tag match as the heel, KC Navarro, was isolated for about a third of the match which is kind of heel tactics by The Hardys. The ending was lame but it adds to next week’s 10-man tag match build, I suppose.

Williams stomped on Jeff in the corner until Joe Hendry and Elijah made the save. The System ran down to join in the brawl. They aren’t scheduled for anything next week but they’ve joined the fight. It was out of control in the Impact Zone and the face team stood tall after Leon Slater did his ridiculous corner dive over the top to take out all the heels. That closed the show.

Analysis: That was a fun last 60 seconds to end the show.

Final Rating: 6.5/10

That felt like a pretty decent episode of Impact this week. It had nearly all the major players, in some capacity, involved in the show. Some only made an appearance in the final 60 seconds for the brawl but it shows a bit more promise that Slammiversary will be treated as a bigger show when you involve as many big names as possible on the weekly shows. Only one match is official for that show so far. That might also be the case because TNA is having some of their talent on the AAA show soon, so more exposure is better. Slater vs Hotch was the best match of the evening and the only singles match on the show, which is a rarity. I enjoyed the return of the 8-4-1 as well as The Iinspiration returning to the ring. The main event was a short match that was used to further some stories. TNA is a little unpredictable at present, which has its positives and challenges, but tonight felt like a fresh show and that they are heading back in the right direction.

The next TNA PLE is Slammiversary on Sunday, July 20th. Here’s the card so far:

* TNA X-Division Championship: Moose (c) vs Leon Slater

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