wrestling / TV Reports
Himanshu’s TNA Impact Review 4.17.25
Image Credit: TNA
Loading...Hey there, TNA fans! It’s Thursday and that means it’s time for another episode of TNA iMPACT! I’m Himanshu (you can follow me on Twitter @Himanshu_Doi) and you know how this works. Tonight on iMPACT, Leon Slater faces Brian Myers, Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Heather By Elegance teams with TNA newcomer Maggie Lee as they take on NXT’s Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley, Xia Brookside squares off against NXT’s Jazmyn Nyx, Jason Hotch faces the high-flying Laredo and more. So, let’s jump right in!
As a reminder, the GoFundMe for Larry’s daughters is still active and if you can make a donation, that would be awesome. Thank you so much to everyone who’s done so thus far.
TNA iMPACT!
Date: April 17th, 2025
Location: St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Missouri
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matt Rehwoldt
Match 1: Jason Hotch vs. Laredo
Hotch whips Laredo into the corner and Laredo reverses. Laredo hits a neckbreaker and hits a Missile Dropkick off the top turnbuckle followed by a suicide dive to Hotch on the outside. Laredo hit a driver followed by a twisting senton for two. He goes for a moonsault but Hotch moves out of the way and Hotch hits a neckbreaker for two. Laredo hits a Michinoku Driver from the top rope for two. Laredo goes for a crossbody, but Hotch reverses it into a backbreaker for two. Hotch goes to the top rope and Laredo hits a Spanish Fly for the win.
Result: Laredo def. Jason Hotch by pinfall
Rating: ***½
Reaction: Solid match that allowed both Laredo and Hotch to show some of their stuff. Pleasantly surprised that we’re in a timeline where Laredo is winning again.
Gia Miller is backstage with Leon Slater. Leon says he’s got to beat the arse of Brian Myers. He reminds the time Myers beat him with the System ring and says that’s not going to happen again and he’s a completely different animal now. He says he’s going to beat Myers’ ass and only then is his focus going to be on becoming the youngest X-Division Champion.
Cody Deaner walks up to Santino Marella and talks to him about his contract coming up on May 5th. Santino Marella says the board is about wins and losses and he’s not won a lot of matches. He books Cody Deaner vs. KC Navarro in an Ultimate X qualifying match and if he wins that then he has a good case. Cody thanks him and leaves.
Match 2: Jazmyn Nyx vs. Xia Brookside
Xia goes for a test of strength, but Nyx kicks her. Xia hits a dropkick followed by a crossbody for two. Nyx drops her face first onto the turnbuckle and chokes her in the corner. Nyx hits a knee for a two count. Nyx hits a Fisherman Suplex for two. Nyx with a bulldog onto the middle turnbuckle for a one. Nyx locks in a sleeper hold and Xia fights out of it. Nyx and Xia knock each other down with kicks to the head. Xia hits elbows and hits a clothesline followed by a headscissors. Xia goes for Broken Wings but Nyx counters it into a pin for one. Xia hits a jawbreaker followed by a crossbody off the second rope for two. Xia hits the Broken Wings and Jacy Jayne gets up on the apron and Rosemary mists her. Nyx looks for a suplex and Xia reverses her into an inside cradle for the win.
Result: Xia Brookside def. Jazmyn Nyx by pinfall
Rating: **¾
Reaction: Nyx looks surprisingly good in the ring for someone that doesn’t have experience working the indies before getting to WWE. Rosemary helps Xia Brookside out which is going to be an interesting story going forward.
Match 3: KC Navarro vs. Cody Deaner
Deaner gets on the mic and says he’s fighting for his job tonight. He says if he has the people of St. Joseph, he can beat KC Navarro. Navarro asks if he thinks he is going to beat him. He says Cody hasn’t won in a year. He asks if he thinks they want to see Cody in the Ultimate X and the fans cheer. He offers Cody $500 for his wife and kids to let him win the match. Cody says it’s not his choice whether he leaves, it’s the people’s choice. He asks the people if he should leave or stay and kick Navarro’s ass. The fans cheer for the latter and Cody says the people have spoken and punches Navarro. Cody with 10 punches on the corner turnbuckle for two. Navarro with a neck snap followed by a running double stomp for two. Cody hits a clothesline on Navarro followed by a bulldog. Cody takes Navarro up for a helicopter spin followed by a TKO for two. Navarro hits Cody with his chain while the referee wasn’t looking for the win.
Result: KC Navarro def. Cody Deaner by pinfall
Rating: **¾
Reaction: Decent match for what it was. I guess they’re working a real situation into the show, but it was good to reinforce the importance of wins and losses in kayfabe the way that Santino did.
KC Navarro is backstage and he says Deaner is a loser all his life. He says he’s in the Ultimate X. He says he was in the Super X Cup and didn’t win it. He says after he wins, the X Division becomes the Bless Division.
We see highlights of Maggie Lee vs. Savannah Evans from Xplosion and a Digital Exclusive of Maggie Lee cutting a promo. She says Maggie Lee in TNA will be unstoppable.
The Personal Concierge comes out and says he has been elevating their presentation and has been working on their new project and introduces Maggie Lee.
Match 4: Heather By Elegance and Maggie Lee vs. Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley
Maggie chokes Gigi Dolin in the corner. Gigi ties her up against the ropes and Paxley hits a dropkick followed by an elbow for two. Heather refuses to tag herself in. Gigi kicks Maggie in the face. Maggie with an assisted wheelbarrow suplex for two. Heather tags herself in and hits a corner dropkick. Dolin tags to Paxley who hits a step-up enzuigiri and a neckbreaker. Paxley hits a half and half suplex and Paxley tags out and they hit the Cemetery Drive for the win.
Result: Gigi Dolin & Tatum Paxley def. Heather By Elegance and Maggie Lee by pinfall
Rating: **¾
Reaction: Maggie Lee is not off to a good start with the Elegance brand and Heather loses while Ash isn’t there. Solid match.
Heather is backstage and says Ash is going to be mad about this. The Meta Girls says they deserve the titles. Spitfire says they need a rematch. Fatal Influence talks about defeating them. They all argue amongst each other, and Heather says they’ll face each other in a 4-way match. The Personal Concierge isn’t happy.
We see a video package on the X-Division match at Unbreakable 2005.
We see a promo on location in Las Vegas by AJ Francis. He says he’s buying property because he’s not worried about who he faces. He says at the end of the match there’s going to be a Down Payment and he’s going to be the first TNA International Champion.
Backstage promo by Joe Hendry and Masha Slamovich and Joe says they come from different backgrounds, but they’re tied by being the absolute best. He says they will not Surrender them to Frankie Kazarian and Tessa Blanchard. Masha says Tessa is trying to take everything from her. She says Tessa comes into her ring and spits onto the place that made her. She says she does not break, and tonight is going to be a little taste. She says she wants to hurt Tessa. Hendry says the only thing that is Unbreakable is their grasp on the titles.
Match 5: Jakara Jackson vs. Dani Luna
Luna hits a Blue Thunder Bomb off the ropes on Jackson for two. Jackson hits a tornado DDT off the ropes for two. Luna hits a back elbow followed by a clothesline and the Luna Landing for the win.
Result: Dani Luna def. Jakara Jackson by pinfall
Rating: **½
Reaction: Solid win for Dani Luna before the 4-way match for the Knockouts Tag Titles. Dani is fantastic and showed how good she can be in a singles match as well here.
Gia Miller introduces Elijah. Elijah plays on his guitar and asks if they walk with Elijah. He sings that in TNA they “walk this way”. He announces that at Rebellion they are going to have the “Who Wants to Walk with Elijah Open Challenge”.
Promo by Ethan Page who says he’s excited for Kazarian to get his hands on Joe Hendry. He asks why Hendry is making so many bad decisions. He asks how he is going to walk into Los Angeles to defend his title against him.
Match 6: Brian Myers vs. Leon Slater
Slater hits a handspring back elbow. Slater pulls Myers into the ring post shoulder first. Myers hits a spear on Slater on the outside as we go to commercial. Back from commercial and Myers whips Slater into the corner. Slater hits an enzuigiri off the ropes followed by a running boot to the face. Myers goes for a Roster Cut but Slater hits a superkick for two. Myers hits an Impaler DDT for two. Myers goes to the top rope, but Slater takes him down with a an enzuigiri. Slater hits a Swanton onto Myers on the outside. Myers looks to hit Slater with his System ring, but the referee notices it and Slater hits a low blow and a Roster Cut for the win.
Result: Brian Myers def. Leon Slater by pinfall
Rating: ***½
Reaction: Another one in the series of matches that Leon Slater has been having on IMPACT. This time, he comes up short, but only after a low blow by Brian Myers. They’ve really been pushing Leon Slater possibly becoming the youngest ever X-Division Champion all throughout this show, and it would be really cool if that happened.
Brian Myers celebrates to end the show.
