TNA Impact Review – May 2, 2024

This week’s TNA Impact featured a Jordynne Grace Knockouts Title defense, a memorable song from Joe Hendry, and plenty more action on the road to Under Siege.

The recap video from last week’s show focused on The System beating down Nic Nemeth after his win over Eddie Edwards, so Matt Hardy stepped into his place for the 6-man tag at Under Siege. This card has been put together over just 2 Impact episodes (last week and tonight) with the 2 major singles titles not being defended, and the main event potentially being a 6-man tag that would be just a regular main event on a weekly show. My excitement for Under Siege is not high.

TNA Impact 2.5.24 from The Palms, Las Vegas: Nevada

The X-Division Champion, the great Mustafa Ali, is in action first as we kick off Impact with a match straight away.

Match #1: Non-Title Match: Mustafa Ali vs Chris Bey w/ Ace Austin

Bey’s tag team partner, Ace Austin, is in a #1 contender’s match later on in the show. Ali trapped Bey in the corner with chops early on, but went for one too many so Bey struck back. He gave Ali the 10-punch routine in the corner and a clothesline. First Class was shown looking on from high up in the arena. Bey hit a DDT on Ali for a 2 count. Ali tossed Bey into the middle ring rope, throat-first. He stomped away on Bey and tried for a suplex but Bey put him on the top turnbuckle. Bey hit a kick and set Ali up in the Tree of Woe. Bey jumped from the opposite corner and nailed a coast-to-coast elbow drop on Ali! That was unique. Bey covered Ali and scored a 2 count. Ali nailed a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker for 2. He tried to whip Bey into the corner but Bey reversed it and sent Ali hard into the bottom turnbuckle. Ali whipped Bey off the ropes but Bey came back with a clothesline. He hit a splash in the corner and went for a knee from the top but Ali avoided it. Ali ran into a spinebuster for 2. Bey ran at Ali who sent him to the outside. Ali went for a rolling neckbreaker but got caught with a kick to the head. That was great. Ali rolled Bey up with his feet on the ropes but Austin swept his feet away. The Secret Service members came down to confront Austin, so Ali did a suicide dive on him on the outside. Bey nailed Ali with one of his own, then did a flying crossbody back in the ring. Ali escaped a powerbomb attempt and hit a superkick. Bey hit a knee to the jaw and nailed a Vertebreaker. He covered Ali again but only got 2. Bey set up Ali on the ring apron and got the crowd going. Ali popped up and hit a German suplex on the apron. Bey rolled back into the ring and avoided a 450. He nailed a running cutter in the centre of the ring. One of the Secret Service members distracted the referee, whilst another cracked Bey over the head with a flag pole. Ali climbed to the top and nailed the 450 for the win 11 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Mustafa Ali

Analysis: ***1/2 That was a great match to open the show. Bey is more than capable as a singles wrestler and I wouldn’t mind him and Austin going back to simply singles stars. I hope Ali vs Austin/Miguel is just as good as this.

Match #2: Dani Luna w/ Jody Threat vs Alisha Edwards w/ Masha Slamovich

Kaz threw his jacket in Alexander’s face to get an advantage early. Alexander was in a tracksuit and not his wrestling gear. Lars Fredriksen from Rancid was on commentary. It’s a Tag Team Title feud not involving Decay so I’m not sure how to feel other than at least this is watchable. Luna went for an early cover but Alisha kicked out. Alisha tossed Dani into the middle ropes and then Slamovich choked her out whilst Alisha distracted the referee. Luna wasn’t impressed and got in Alisha’s face. Alisha hit some forearms but Luna slammed her down with ease. Luna hit 2 clotheslines and hit a springboard Blue Thunder Bomb for 2. Luna went for the Luna Landing but Slamovich got up on the apron for the distraction. Threat got in her face so Alisha hit her with a baseball slide. The referee was dealing with that, so Slamovich snuck in the ring and nailed Luna with a roundhouse kick and the Snow Plow. She rolled out of the ring so Alisha made the cover and won the match after 4 minutes.

Winner by pinfall: Alisha Edwards

Analysis: ** That was short but it did what it needed to do and that’s establish Alisha and Slamovich as a threat. I don’t think we need another title change so soon, in my opinion.

DMTV with Sami Callihan

There was as short segment recorded by Callihan on him righting some wrongs. The camera was absolutely headache-inducing and the phoned in audio was also annoying.

Analysis: This was as bad as the first episode of Alan Angels’ Sound Check. Please be a serious character Callihan because at the moment I have no interest at all in you.

Match #3: Hammerstone vs Cody Deaner

One good thing (and there’s not too many, to be fair) about having a very short turn-around between events is that you can throw together a feud like Hammerstone vs Jake Something and see how they go. There’s barely any title matches on the card and these type of singles feuds without titles attached wouldn’t make a PLE card so it’s a good opportunity for them to try and steal the show. At least it’s an intriguing matchup as Something rarely looks weak and Hammerstone needs a win now after losing the feud with TNA’s Super Cena: Josh Alexander. Deaner proposed a stipulation before the match. Hammerstone wanted an arm wrestling match. Deaner wanted a Sin City Street Fight. He said it wasn’t up to Hammerstone, it’s what the people wanted and they cheered so we are having a Street Fight now! Deaner attacked Hammerstone with right hands and a dropkick. He went under the ring and grabbed a trash can lid. Deaner smacked it over Hammerstone’s back to no effect. Hammerstone nailed him with a Pump Kick. He stomped a mudhole on Deaner in the corner. Hammerstone hip tossed Deaner half way across the ring and then sent him to the outside. He sent Deaner into the ring post and levelled him with a forearm shot to the chest. Hammerstone went for a powerslam but Deaner sent him bouncing off the ring post. Deaner grabbed a steel chair and hit Hammerstone over the back. The crowds chanted for one more shot so he went back into the ring but Hammerstone cut him off with a kick. Hammerstone nailed a big backbreaker and then a shot to the back with the steel chair. He choked Deaner out in the corner and then pummelled him with right hands. Hammerstone hit a Fallaway Slam then a shot to the ribs with the chair. He thrusted the chair into Deaner’s throat but Deaner fought out of it. Deaner went for a slam but Hammerstone was far too big and overpowered him. Hammerstone nailed a forearm to the back and then began clubbing Deaner across the face. He tossed Deaner onto the chair from the press slam position. Ouch. Deaner tried to fight back with right hands but his ribs were restricting him. He tried for a scoop slam but collapsed under the weight of Hammerstone. Hammerstone pummelled Deaner with right hands on the mat. This was going on far too long with barely any weapon use. Hammerstone went for the Nightmare Pendulum but Deaner finally got his scoop slam onto the steel chair. Deaner covered and got a 2 count. He went under the ring to get a table because that’s what the people wanted. Deaner tried a forearm but Hammerstone just tossed him over his head with a T-Bone suplex. Hammerstone destroyed Deaner with a chokeslam through the table. He locked in the Torture Rack and Deaner tapped out. The match lasted 10 minutes.

Winner by submission: Hammerstone

Analysis: **1/2 That probably went 5 minutes too long and Deaner got way too much offense in but I guess he’s getting some decent reactions as a new babyface so that’s positive. I think a monster like Hammerstone should be demolishing little Deaner in a few minutes.

After the match, Hammerstone refused to relinquish the submission. Jake Something came down to the ring and hit a jumping clothesline over the top rope. They hammered away at each other with their right hands until security intervened. Something tossed the security off but Hammerstone backed down out of the ring and up the ramp.

Analysis: A quick physical encounter to build the interest for the Under Siege match up. Good stuff.

There was a Digital Exclusive from last week where the doctors ruled Nic Nemeth out with a neck injury. Santino was funny there as he misheard ‘neck’ for ‘Nic’ (“I know what his name is!”). Matt Hardy stepped up to take his place. Hardy made the doctor almost jump off the screen when he shouted: “Delete”.

Analysis: Last week I thought it was a bit heelish how quickly Hardy jumped in to take Nemeth’s main event spot. He might not be hanging around for very long but it was just an observation I had.

There was a quick backstage promo between Hardy, Mike Bailey and Trent Seven. There was lots of yelling and deleting. You could tell that Bailey was trying to keep his laughter in. I think I’d struggle with Hardy talking in his ridiculous voice, too.

Santino Welcomes Back Jonathan Gresham

Santino Marella was sitting down with Jonathan Gresham. He welcomed him back to TNA and shook his hand. Afterward, Marella had black ink (octopus ink) on his hand. The Octopus came in and sat down across from Gresham. Marella was shown washing his hands in the bathroom, later.

Analysis: They were building up this Gresham return really nicely until I saw they added Gresham vs Kushida randomly without any build up. Gresham should be on the show doing a random attack to set up a feud or cut a creepy promo but this just seems rushed (match will be awesome though!).

Joe Hendry’s ‘Apology’ to First Class

AJ Francis told the fans how great the show was so far. He said he didn’t care what they thought and introduced Hendry. They showed a guitar set up in the ring. This isn’t going to go well for Francis and Rich Swann. Hendry said he started this feud with a song and it’s time to end it with a song. Hendry said his first song to First Class mocked Francis brutally. He decided to sing the song again and was more than handy on the guitar. Francis and Swann were livid on the balcony. Hendry said if he left it there, he would’ve owed him an apology. He played his second song for Francis, which was the one about him botching his dive on SmackDown last year. That was very funny. Francis was now standing up and fuming on the balcony. He and his cronies were booing. Hendry said it was now time for the apology song. It was to the tune of ‘Higher’ by Creed. The main line was ‘Can you please get fired?’ and there was a photo of AJ and Swann celebrating a win, but AJ’s hands were on Swann’s backside. Hendry got the whole crowd to sing along and ended with ‘I’m sorry’ with a big grin on his face.

Analysis: It’s not easy to recap a singing segment but that was extremely entertaining. I thought I was getting over the goofy version of Hendry but he played and sang quite well here. I don’t know if this character can get to the main event level but these kinds of segments are just great.

Gia Miller interviewed The System on the stage. I like this new format for interviewing. It’s not all just backstage or taped earlier, but happening on the show (still taped, I know). It just feels like a bigger deal out in front of the crowd. Miller asked about the 6-man tag at Under Siege. We know Brian Myers is dealing with an injury so he won’t be involved in the match all that much. Eddie Edwards said it was going to be the night that his wife Alisha brought gold to The System. Edwards says that the Under Siege poster only features The System because as much as TNA hates them, they need The System. Myers said they have already dealt with Speedball Mountain and now they’re riding on Matt Hardy’s coat tails. Moose said that TNA were billing this as the return to the ring of a TNA legend (Hardy) but since Hardy has been gone, Moose has become that legend. He said The System can’t be deleted.

Analysis: Short and very simple. Basic heel stuff, here. There’s not much you can do to get me excited for this one. Please don’t let Alisha talk anymore. Her voice gives me a migraine.

Match #4: #1 Contendership for the X-Division Championship: Trey Miguel w/ Zachary Wentz vs Ace Austin w/ Chris Bey

I think whoever wins this will have a great match against Mustafa Ali tomorrow night but it makes more sense for a face, in Austin, to challenge the heel champion. There were plenty of counters early on. Miguel hit a slap which Austin didn’t appreciate so they brawled on the floor. Both Bey and Zachary Wentz got onto the ring apron so the referee was keeping an eye on that situation. Austin rolled Miguel through for a 2 count. Miguel was holding his knee so the referee checked on him, allowing Wentz to toss Austin into the guard rail. He hit a big chop that sent Austin to the mat.

(Commercial break)

Miguel whipped Austin hard into the middle turnbuckle as we returned to the action. He choked Austin out in the corner and hit a rolling body scissors for a 2 count. Austin fought back with the Click Click Boom and some clotheslines in the corner. He nailed a springboard kick from the middle rope for 2. Wentz caused a distraction so Miguel rolled Austin up for 2. He hit a stomp to the back for another 2 count. Miguel set up Austin in the corner with a kick to the face. He was slow to climb to the top rope so Austin cut him off. Austin couldn’t get the superplex so Miguel boxed his ears. He flew through the air with a Sunset Flip roll through for 2. Austin recovered with a double stomp and the Fold for the win after 10 minutes.

Winner by pinfall and #1 Contender: Ace Austin

Analysis: *** That was a good match, despite the interference and Miguel’s knee problem. The finish seemed very rushed but I think that puts over the Fold as a deadly finisher, which is okay.

Josh Alexander and Eric Young were backstage discussing their Under Siege tag team match against Frankie Kazarian & Steve Maclin. There wasn’t much to it.

Analysis: Putting two feuds together for a tag match is easy and clever. It doesn’t mean it belongs on a monthly special show though.

Match #5: TNA Knockouts’ Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs Miyu Yamashita

I would’ve preferred this match at Under Siege to the mixed tag team match. As I mentioned last week I am not familiar with Yamashita but I’ll do my best to cover her moves. They shook hands as the bell rang. Grace hit a side headlock takedown and a shoulder block early on. Yamashita fought back with a side kick. Grace caught another kick attempt and nailed a nasty Capture Suplex for 2. That looked rough. Grace went for the Juggernaut Driver but Yamashita fought out and backed Grace into the corner. She nailed a Disaster Kick from the corner for a 2 count. She tried another quick count but Grace kicked out quickly at 1. Yamashita stomped on the spine of Grace. They showed Ash-by-Elegance watching on. Yamashita sent Grace to the outside but Grace tripped her up on the ring apron and hit the Jackhammer on the floor. She tossed Yamashita back into the ring but Yamashita rolled out for a breather. Grace ran the ropes but Yamashita hit her with a kick from the outside. Yamashita nailed some kicks on the ring apron. She tried to lift Grace into a Death Valley Driver position but Grace broke out of it. Yamashita hit another kick and eventually nailed Grace with a DVD on the ring apron. She tossed Grace back into the ring and got a 2 count. Yamashita locked Grace in a submission but Grace used her legs to roll underneath the ring ropes and break the hold. It became a slug fest in the centre of the ring. Grace hit a scoop slam then Yamashita nailed her with a stiff kick to the chest. They both hit a kick/backfist at the same time which resulted in them being both down on the mat. Grace backed Yamashita into the corner for the Muscle Buster. Yamashita shoved her off but they battled on the top rope. She nailed some hard knee strikes to the face of Grace. Grace used her strength to dump Yamashita over her head with the back body drop and score a 2 count. Yamashita fought out of the Juggernaut Driver and nailed another kick to the head. She hit a big clothesline and Yamashita got straight up laughing about it. Yamashita hit a stiff spinning kick to the head for a 2 count. Grace blocked the Skull Kick and hit the Juggernaut Driver for the win after 13 minutes.

Winner by pinfall AND STILL TNA Knockouts’ Champion: Jordynne Grace

Analysis: ***1/2 That was a very good women’s main event, which isn’t unusual for TNA but it was great to see a first-time match up. That’s probably the best women’s match on TNA this year but I’d have to go and check my ratings. It felt like a straight up fight and Yamashita impressed me with her strikes. She went for one too many kicks and that was her downfall as Grace can hit that Driver so quickly. I thought it was the kind of match up that Grace needs more of because none of the other Knockouts are really that physical or intimidating. It’s a very lacking division.

Steph De Lander ran in for the post-match beatdown. Kon was with her. SDL hit a running kick. She called for the neck wrench but we all knew what was coming. The lights went out and PCO was in the ring behind Kon. Grace nailed Kon with a low blow. PCO sent Kon over the top rope. SDL nailed Grace with a clothesline. PCO had SDL by the throat and backed her into the corner. SDL tried to flirt her way out of trouble but Grace sent her out of the ring. They had a stare-off as Impact went off the air.

Analysis: If you took odds of those 4 ending a TNA show in 2024, you’d be a very rich person. It’s just a filler show but at least these 4 are putting in an effort. Grace is put in average feuds and matches and still comes out looking like a star. She’s great.

Final Rating: 7.25/10

I thoroughly enjoyed this week’s show. That surprised me as I am not enthused at all for Under Siege. There were 3 matches that I really enjoyed, and the other 2 were fine (albeit the Street Fight was too long). The main event between Grace and Yamashita was fresh and hard-hitting. It felt just what Grace needed to keep her in TNA. They need to get her some new competition. There’s no doubt she’s fiercely loyal but there are only so many TNA wrestlers left for her to face. I thought the opener between Mustafa Ali and Chris Bey slightly edged Trey Miguel vs Ace Austin. Ali is excellent and he and Bey had great ring chemistry. The interaction between Hammerstone and Jake Something added to their Under Siege match, and I thought Joe Hendry’s singalong segment was really fun. It looks like he’s been thrown into a match against Zachary Wentz which is odd as they aren’t feuding in the slightest. I’ll be back with an Under Siege wrap-up over the weekend. I think it will be a good show but the card isn’t really that interesting. It’s hard to keep the momentum up when:

a) You schedule your shows so closely together

b) You don’t have the big titles defended on these monthly shows. There’s not much incentive for fans to tune in. TNA has got to be better at keeping fan interest, because after Rebellion there was a lot of buzz again (like after Hard to Kill).

I suppose they’ll go with the 6-man tag as the main event (Hardy pinning Edwards or Myers is as big a lock as you can think of) but I’m hoping they put Ali vs Austin at the end of the show. Make the X-Division title great again!

The next monthly-special from TNA is Under Siege, on May 3rd. Here’s the final card with my picks in bold:

* Matt Hardy & Speedball Mountain vs The System
* X-Division Championship: Mustafa Ali (c) vs Ace Austin
* TNA Knockouts’ Tag Team Championships: Spitfire (c) vs Alisha Edwards & Masha Slamovich
* Jake Something vs Hammerstone
* Josh Alexander & Eric Young vs Frankie Kazarian & Steve Maclin
* Steph De Lander & Kon vs Jordynne Grace & PCO
* Jonathan Gresham vs Kushida
* Non-Title match: Laredo Kid vs Rich Swann
* Joe Hendry vs Zachary Wentz

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!