Himanshu’s TNA Impact Review 9.19.24

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. This week, Jody Threat and Dani Luna will defend their titles, Joe Hendry will address the TNA faithful, Rhino goes head-to-head with Cardona, First Class face newcomers Sinner & Saint 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: September 19th, 2024
Location: Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, TX
Commentators: Tom Hannifan, Matt Rehwoldt

Alisha comes out and says she is no longer a tag champ in TNA and she knows the fans are really upset about it. She says if it wasn’t for Masha, she would still be champion. She says if Masha thought she could embarrass her in front of the world, she has another thing coming. Masha Slamovich comes out. Alisha says Masha can’t do anything because Alisha is under concussion protocol. She says Masha doesn’t understand a word she’s saying as she doesn’t even speak English. Masha speaks in Russian and says she understands everything that she’s ever said. She says she’s sick of hearing her voice and she’s sick of her. Tasha Steelz attacks Masha from behind but Masha pulls her by the hair and beats on her but Alisha hits her with Kendra the kendo stick. Jordynne Grace’s music hits and Tasha tries to hit her with the kendo stick but Grace blocks it with her belt. The System come running down and surround Grace but the Hardy’s music hits and The System bail. Santino Marella’s music hits and he says if they want to fight so bad, they’re going to get their wish. He books a 6-person tag match for tonight. Arianna Grace’s music hits and she says she books her with a mystery tag partner from NXT against Wendy Choo and Rosemary next week.

Reaction: Fun segment. There were big pops for Jordynne Grace and the Hardy’s entrances and it set up the main event really well.

Josh Alexander is backstage and Eric Young walks up to him. Eric says he’s been in the position Josh has been in. He says it’s about respect and there’s a lot of young guys looking at his every move. He says Josh is a leader here and it’s time to take it serious.

Jordynne Grace is backstage with Masha Slamovich and says she’s been holding open challenges hoping Masha would accept it and maybe they can do it now. Masha says she has got other things to do for now. Masha knocks on the Hardy’s door and shows them a picture of a younger her with Matt Hardy and says that as a young wrestler from Russia, she never thought that she would ever team up with them. Matt Hardy says that’s the beauty of pro-wrestling.

Reaction: Masha Slamovich has completely dropped the Russian accent now and is speaking normally, which is interesting. Her talking about how she met The Hardys when she was young went some way into establishing her as a babyface.

Match 1: AJ Francis and KC Navarro vs. Sinner and Saint

KC chops Icarus and hits a double stomp for two. Tag to AJ and he whips KC into Icarus but he flips him over to the outside of the ring and hits a DDT to AJ and tags to Travis Williams. He hits a Missile Dropkick to KC and hits a Suicide Dive to KC outside the ring. He turns him inside out for a facebuster for two. AJ launches Icarus into Williams and hits the Down Payment with a splash from KC for the win.

Result: AJ Francis and KC Navarro def. Sinner and Saint by pinfall
Rating: **¾
Reaction: I was surprised at how short that was. Sinner and Saint are really good and they could be one of TNA’s top tag teams, but I understand why they were used the way that they were here.

We see Santana with a barbed wire bat. He says they don’t realise how comfortable he feels in this world. He said he’s going to baptise JD in his own blood. He says they’re locked in this world with him.

Gia Miller is backstage with Mike Bailey and says it feels great and says the X-Division is the most competitive division in all of wrestling. Gia says Santino Marella booked him, Leon Slater and Kushida against Zachary Wentz and ABC. Mike Bailey says he can’t wait for it.

We see footage of Steph de Lander and PCO after Victory Road. Steph tells PCO needs to be patient.

Match 2: Matt Cardona vs. Rhino

Rhino suplexes Cardona on the ramp. Matt Cardona hits a Missile Dropkick for two. Cardona punches Rhino in the corner but Rhino catches him with a powerbomb for two. Rhino looks under the ring and pulls out a steel chair. Matt Cardona hits Rhino with a steel chair and the referee calls for the bell.

Result: Rhino def. Matt Cardona by disqualification
Rating: **

The lights go out and when they come back, PCO hits a chokeslam and goes for a PCOSault but Cardona moves out of the ring. PCO hits a PCOSault onto a steel chair and hits hammer fists onto the chair.

Reaction: We get to see how insane PCO is with him pretending the steel chair is Matt Cardona and taking out his anger on it. It’ll be interesting to see how long they go with this feud with Steph de Lander out of action.

Spitfire come out for their match. Arianna Grace comes out and congratulates them and says she would like to see them defend their titles against some new competitors. She introduces Kendal Grey and Carlee Bright.

Match 3: Spitfire vs. Kendal Grey and Carlee Bright

Spitfire hit Kendal Grey with a delayed vertical suplex for two. Dani hits goes for a powerbomb but Kendal pushes Dani and tags to Karlee Bright. She hits a headscissors on Dani and hits double knees followed a hurrancanrana off the second rope and moonsault for two. Jody tags herself in and hits a moonsault and they hit the Pressure Drop for the win.

Result: Spitfire def. Kendal Grey and Carlee Bright by pinfall
Rating: ***¼
Reaction: Solid showing by the NXT duo and good win for Spitfire. It’s fun getting to see some of these NXT talent on IMPACT.

Ash by Elegance is in the make-up room with her Personal Concierge. Heather Reckless comes up and says she’s been calling Ash and she wants to fix her style. The Personal Concierge says they’re busy and they’ll think about it. She asks them to watch her match next week and make their decision. Ash says they’re busy right now.

Match 4: JDC vs. Santana in a Texas Death Match

Santana sets up steel chairs in the middle of the ring. He punches JDC in the corner but JDC powerbombs him onto the chairs. JDC pulls out a trash can and puts it on Santana and hits him with a kendo stick. JDC goes to the top rope and hits a leg drop onto Santana in a trash can. Santana is busted open and JDC pulls him up but Santana hits him with the barbed wire bat.

Back from commercial and Santana hits a piledriver on the stage for two. JDC hits a tornado DDT off the stairs for two. JDC runs into Santana but Santana flips him over onto the barricade. Santana gets an equipment cart and drives it into JDC. Santana climbs onto the stage and looks to dive onto JDC but then he finds a ladder and sets it up and climbs it and hits a splash to get a three count. The referee counts to 10 and Santana wins.

Result: Santana def. JDC
Rating: ****
Reaction: Really good match. They didn’t disappoint with the stipulation of the match and made it as violent as it needed to be. JDC worked hard here as well.

After the match, Moose comes out and attacks Santana with a steel chair.

Sinner and Saint are backstage and Josh Alexander walks up to them and he says they have a lot of potential. He says if they need any help or advice they can reach out to him.

We see a vignette for Lei Ying Lee. She says she will be reborn as a stronger self that will never be extinguished. She will debut next week.

Joe Hendry comes out. The fans chant “We believe”. Joe Hendry says this year has been a roller coaster. He says Victory Road was special and he made a statement when he beat Josh Alexander. He says that makes him pretty important in TNA Wrestling. He says when he came to TNA, his goal was the TNA World Championship. He says there are a lot of people back there that don’t want him to be successful. He says that doesn’t matter because the audience lifted him up and he has a feeling that they will lift him up to the TNA World Championship. Kazarian’s music hits and he comes out. He says the only reason Joe beat Josh is because he had a loaded weapon in his crotch. He says people become sick on one-hit wonders and he’s sick of Joe. He says Joe sounds like a cross between Shrek and Groundskeeper Willie. He says if anyone deserves a shot at the TNA World Championship, it’s Frankie Kazarian. He says if Nic Nemeth is any kind of Champion, he will come out and grant Kazarian his title shot. Nic Nemeth’s music hits. He tells Kazarian to shut up. He tells Joe that he expects big things from Joe Hendry in the future. He says Kazarian calls himself the King of TNA, but there’s only one crown that matters here, the TNA World Championship, and this is the closest Kazarian will get to it. Santino Marella comes out and books Kazarian vs. Joe Hendry for next week and the winner will face Nic Nemeth at Bound For Glory.

Reaction: Joe Hendry is undoubtedly the hottest star in TNA right now, so it makes perfect sense that you’d want him fighting for the World Title at Bound For Glory, but I can’t say that I’m not a little disappointed in the way that they set this contendership match up. You think they’d want to build to the match over a few weeks and have more wrestlers involved in trying to compete for it considering it’s their biggest show of the year. But maybe they want to confirm the No. 1 contender first and then put their creative efforts into the build for Nic Nemeth vs. the challenger. We’ll have to see in the coming weeks.

Match 5: Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards and Tasha Steelz vs. The Hardys and Masha Slamovich

Matt Hardy hits a back elbow and a scoop slam on Myers. Matt Hardy bounces Myers’ head against the turnbuckles and does the same to Eddie Edwards and hits the Side Effect on Myers for two. He goes for a Twist of Fate but Myers pushes him and Alisha grabs his leg. The referee sees it and ejects her from ringside. Ace and Bey pick her up and take her her the back. Myers hits Matt Hardy from behind and poses. Masha chokes Myers. Masha hits a Suicide Dive onto Tasha on the outside. Matt Hardy hits a Twist of Fate into Brian Myers. Jeff Hardy hits the Swanton Bomb for the win.

Result: The Hardys and Masha Slamovich def. Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards and Tasha Steelz by pinfall
Rating: ***¾
Reaction: The Hardys are having a great run in TNA and the fans are eating up everything that they do. It was interesting to see Masha Slamovich drop a lot of elements of her Russian character, be herself more and work the match as a babyface and there’s few better to do that with than The Hardys.

The Hardys celebrate with Masha Slamovich to close the show.

7.3

The final score: review Good

The 411

It feels a little random that TNA would determine the No. 1 contender for the main event of the biggest show of the year like they would for a regular TNA+ special but here we are. The expectation would be Joe Hendry wins to set up Joe Hendry vs. Nic Nemeth. You wonder how John Layfield would have to play a part in that as a face vs. face might make make it hard for Nic Nemeth. Masha Slamovich is a babyface now. Will they book Jordynne vs. Masha for Bound For Glory? From an in-ring standpoint, that's the best match they could have on the show and it also helps that the two have been kept apart for so long. I'm glad that Sinner and Saint seemingly will be given more direction working with Josh Alexander. Santana and JDC had a really good match and the main event with The Hardys was fun.