TNA Impact Review – 07.03.25

We are streaming along to Slammiversary in two-and-a-half weeks. We are still in the Pittsburgh cycle on the campus of Robert Morris University (notable alum include former NFL center Hank Fraley.) And much like the Colonials (the school’s nickname,) let’s do the stately thing and engage in some Impactful discourse, shall we? We shall.

Previously on Impact… We get a review of Joe Hendry’s promo last week and Marella making the announcement that at Slammiversary, it will be Hendry vs. Trick Williams for the TNA title. We also get a highlight package of the Calls to Arms Match between Mustafa Ali and John Skyler, which lead to the return of Cedric Alexander and Order Four standing with him. We also get a highlight package of the AJ Francis vs. Mike Santana street fight – won by Santana. Santana takes the initiative to make it a triple threat match.

We go to Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rewholdt who confirm just that; the main event will be a triple threat match between Williams, Hendry and Santana. Who run down the card tonight.

Indi Hartwell comes to the ring and heads to the announcer booth as the announcing duo becomes a troika for the first match.

The Iinspiration vs. Tessa Blanchard and Victoria Crawford

Jessie McKay and Cassie Lee head to the ring in gear Hannifan said was inspired by Mickie James. Sure. We get a video of an earlier event when the Iinspiraton were signing autographs and the By Elegance Brand (mostly Ash) started to throw their stuff around and threaten the duo. Heather and the Personal Concierge mostly just pointed at them, which is rude because when you point a finger, four more our pointing back at you.

Tessa and Crawford come out next and Hartwell promises to behave. I believe her.

McKay and Crawford start. Crawford pushes McKay to the corner and bad mouths here only to have a kick blocked and turned to a cradle for two. Lee comes in and land stereo kicks before we HIT THE POSE. Blanchard enters and also gets stereo boots and goes out of the ring to the floor. Blanchard is officially tagged and McKay hits Blanchard hard (McKay momentarily lost her balance on the rebound.) McKay does recover for an armdrag.

Blanchard, though, reverses that sends McKay to the ropes. That gives Blanchard the opportunity to hit a running leg to the back of the throat and then a running elbow to the back of the head. Meanwhile, Hartwell does admit that Blanchard did help her when Hartwell first started wrestling.

A quick tag sequence leads to Blanchard to get back in the ring and Blanchard puts the boots to the corner and chokes her with her boot. Blachard hits a chinlock. McKay fights out of it with a kick (and avoiding a Crawford swipe) but Blanchard catches her before the hot tag is applied.

Blanchard throws McKay to the corner. Crawford is tagged but McKay hits a meteora and suplexes Crawford for two.

Lee finally gets the tag and tosses Blanchard to the floor right by Hartwell’s feet and the two immediately start to jaw with each other. That leaves Crawford alone in the ring and the subject of the Iidolizer which gets the win.

Hartwell and Blanchard continue to argue and shockingly, get into a brawl. Security arrives and separates the two. Hartwell gets the mic and makes the announcement that at Slammiversary it will be Blanchard vs. Hartwell.

In the ring, the Iinspirations seem nonplussed by the whole thing and just stand there nonchalantly as we move nonchalantly to commercials.

We return with breaking news from Hannifan and Rewholdt. And, if they’re breaking it, we’re not fixing it because at Slammiversary we are getting the Iinspirations vs. the By Elegance Brand for the Knockout tag titles. Also, with the speed of Barry Allen, Hartwell vs. Blanchard title match is now official.

Order Four, well, actually Order Three come to ringside as Tasha Steelz and the Great Hands are there sans Mustafa Ali. Steelz takes the mic and announces to the citizens of TNA that there has been nothing but chaos and disorder with the ranks and that is why she made the call “Mr. Ali’s best friend,” Cedric Alexander to help sort things. Alexander then comes to the ring.

Soon after, Ali defiantly comes to the ring with extra security in tow. Cedric Alexander then grabs the mic. Alexander wants to cut to the chase. Steelz called him because this bitter, obsessive person Ali has become is not him and not the man he calls his brother. Alexander harkens back to their 205 days. They were the heart and soul of the division and carried the division to the point they had a WrestleMania match where even John Cena stood and applauded.

More importantly, when Alexander was at his lowest and wanted to quit, Ali talked him down from the edge and kept him thriving. He finishes his opening statement saying “he is not here for hostility but to help.”

Ali then grabs the mic and said he does not want his expletive help. Alexander is more than glad to bring up the past because he took everything from him, including the cruiserweight title. If he wants his WrestleMania moment. In 205, it was Cedric and Ali not vice versa. Ali also deftly screamed down a sole fan trying to start a “what” chant.

If Alexander truly wants to help, he will give Ali want he wants – a WrestleMania rematch between Ali vs. Alexander at Slammiversary.

Alexander grabs the mic again and reiterates he is not here for hostility but if you do want hostility, Alexander will beat his glutes again. Ali decides to leave but it’s a ruse for a sucker punch. However, he misses and goes to the floor. The extra security makes their way in the ring and attack Alexander but the Great Hands come in to even the odds, hitting The Favor on one of the detach and Alexander hits the Lumbar Check on another one. Ali walks back to the ring furiously, stopping to yell at Steelz and then stands on the ramp to yell at Alexander.

The anticipated chain match between Killer Kelly and Masha Slamovich is next as we are chained to our corporate overlords for more ads.

We return to a review of the recent promos Kelly and Slamovich cut on the other. Slamovich talked about knowing your place. Kelly talked about how Slamovich won the title and turned her back on Kelly.

Killer Kelly vs. Masha Slamovich – Chain Match

Kelly is out to the ring first. Hannifan and Rewholdt review the dominance the two had in the tag division and as individual champions. Hannifan also alluded to last week’s cameo of NXT Champ Jacy Jayne last week….hmmmm..Slamovich enters next. After both are properly bound. Kelly drops to her knee and crawls over to Slamovich. That look at each other, somewhat longingly, and then start to slug away with forearms.

Slamovich gets three chain-assisted snapmares and two kicks for a two count. Slamovich goes to the second turnbuckle but Kelly knocks her to the floor. Kelly follows and using the chain draped over the turnbuckles, hoists Slamovich up and slams her to the ringpost. Kelly puts the puts to Slamovich and wraps the chain around her neck and on the turnbuckle and starts to choke and beat her down as we go to break…

We come back and Masha is back in control and dragging Kelly up the ramp for a sleeper. Kelly kicks out and starts to strangle Slamovich with the chain and then makes it a suplex on the ramp. Kelly drags Slamovich back to the ring and gets a two count.

Both wrestlers are on their knees and start to slug away at each other again. They get to their feet to continue slugging but a double clothesline drops them again. Both slowly get to their feet simultaneously but Kelly eats a boot from a charge into the turnbuckle. Masha follows it with another boot, a running knee and a rolling kick for two-and-a-fraction. Slamovich gets ready to set up the Requiem but Kelly backdrops out, Kelly charges at Slamovich but goes face first into the turnbuckle. Slamovich misses a charge and Kelly puts the boots to her. Kelly puts then hits the Angel’s Wings for two-and-a-fraction.

Kelly puts her on her shoulders puts Slamovich reverses it to a Snow Plow for two-and-a-fraction. Slamovich measures up Kelly but missed a kick and is reversed to a DVD and a kick to the face gets another two-and-a-fraction. Kelly again tried to strangle Slamovich with the chain but Slamovich reverses that into her own strangulation via the chain and Kelly taps.

BUT HOLD EVERYTHING…Fatal Influence hits the ring and beats down Slamovich. Jacy Jayne hits the running knee strike to knock out Slamovich. Jayne picks up the Knockouts belt, ogles it and then throws it down on a prone Slamovich. They feign leaving but put the boots and fists to Slamovich, but now Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside come in to clear the Influence. Jayne threatens to take over TNA women’s division, too.

Meanwhile, in the back where they stack the palettes, Eric Young is berating the Northern Armory for their failures. Young took the Armory but they are acting like lambs, not wolves. They have to make a decision if they’re with him or against him.

Judas Icarus stops Young, grabs him and said he will do whatever it takes. Young said prove it and walks off frame as Travis Williams seethes ceaselessly.

Bio Flex medical report and much like Weird Al Yankovic, Trey Miguel is Living with a Hernia (all the time, such aggravation.) Ergo, he is out of tonight’s match with Nick Nemeth and Zachary Wentz will take his place.

Brookside re-aggravated her knee and is day-to-day (aren’t we all, RIP Vin Scully.) Francis is clear to go after the injuries from last week’s street fight.

Rewholdt and Hannifan set up the next hour and we set up for ads.

When we return, Mike Santana sitting on a stairwell, he said what we get is what we earn. When the TNA fans spoke out and cheered Santana, it forced the TNA tile match at Slammiversary to become a triple threat match. This more than just a moment, more than a main event, this is more than every struggle and every loss. This is about everything he went through, this is about going home to his daughter and telling her that anything is possible.

He is not going to Slammiversary to lose. He is not going home to explain to his daughter why he is empty handed. If Hendry and Williams want to make their presence go right ahead. But he is walking out as TNA Champion.

“try me, I am the illest and the realist,” he concludes.

.

Eddie Edwards vs. Matt Cadona

The Edwards come out first and making sure we know they are wearing their “System” rings. Cardona comes out next. The two start to slug away to start the match. Edwards gets a knee but a back drop is reversed to a facedrop and a clothesline. Edwards threw Cardona to the turnbuckles but gets a boot for his efforts. Cardona goes up but Edwards pulls him down for two (Alicia Edwards set it up with a distraction.)

Cardona recovered and the two start to slug away again until Edwards hits an eye poke and then Edwards chopped away at Cardona in the corner. Cardona gets back to the feet but Edwards continues to beat down on Cardona but Cardona eventually rallies with a reversal of a whip to the turnbuckles and a backdrop.

Cardona ducked an elbow off the ropes and hit a flap jack. With Edwards in the corner, Cardona hit a running forearm and then a Broski boot. Alicia, though, grabbed Cardona’s boot and distracted him again. That gave Edwards enough time to get his bearings. Edwards reversed a Radio Silence attempt into a Blue Thunder Bomb.

Meanwhile, Alicia beckoned to Eddie and subtly (although in front of the TV Camera, so maybe not so subtly,) took off the System Ring and placed it by the corner, while the ref was distracted. Edwards attempted to retrieve it but Brian Myers comes in to stop Edwards from using the ring. While distracted, Cardona now was able to get his bearings. Edwards returned to Cardona but Cardona knocked him down and then hit a flip bridge for the victory.

The Edwards start to berate Myers who leaves up the ramp. Cardona stayed in the ring to celebrate BUT HOLD EVERYTHING, the lights go out and……

Oh, no…..

Really? Seriously?

(sigh)

Dark State is here with the flashing lights. They hit the ring and beat down Cardona. They finish with the elevated powerbomb and yell random things at the camera and we go to break.

Post-Commercials, Sami Callihan is here with a towel over Deee..The Hometown Man. He is cradling HTM and beckoning for first aid and security to help him and his friend.

And hey, we have a Knockouts title vs. NXT Women’s title match between Slamovich and the winner of the Jayne vs. Jordynne Grace match at Evolution. We also get the Leon Slater vs. Moose match for the X-Division title.

Speaking of Slater, we get an interview with Slater. He started in wrestling when his friends gave him all their wrestling stuff because wrestling was not as cool as it was. Slater viewed TNA as being punk rock and that is why he chose it over some other organization. TNA was different like the UK, which has a king, a queen and the Union Jack. He has been going strong since he was nine-years-old. He kept his head down and basically sacrificed his teenage years (during the promo, footage from his time in Progress Wrestling was shown.)

When his dad passed, he remained focused on wrestling because his mom always took him to matches and picked him up at all hours of the day. They had home footage of him wrestling with his little sister. He wants to prove his mom right and his dad wrong (his dad scoffed at wrestling.) This would be his thank you for all their sacrifices.

He doesn’t want to be forgotten; that’s why he jumps from 20-feet from the ceiling and over the turnbuckles. He wants to be the youngest X-Division champion so he will never be forgotten.

(This was a great face promo. I really got taken into his story.)

When we return Steve Maclin is on his way to the announcers’ table and will be the third man on announcing as we get Mance Warner (with Steph DeLander in tow) vs. Jake Something

Warner is out first with DeLander in a somewhat naughty school girl outfit with public displays of affection aplenty. Something is out next hyping the crowd. The two dispense with a lockup and head straight to brawling. Warner gains an early advantage with a series of chops but Something throws Warner to the turnbuckles. Something capitalizes with two running clotheslines and a short-arm clothesline, which send Warner to the floor.

Something hits the ropes but DeLander grabs his leg (proliferation of that tonight.) That gave Warner a chance to come in the ring and hit a knee (and some PDA.) Warner attempts the Hit the Paywindow but Something reverses it to a throw into the turnbuckles. Something charges but Warner lands a knee and then slugs away and finishes with an eye poke. He blows a kiss to Delander and then attempts the Knee Pad Up,, Knee Pad Down but Something catches it and drops Warner to the floor with Something in pursuit.

While on the floor, Something takes a moment to jaw with Maclin (who didn’t really add anything of note on commentary.) That gave Warner a chance to recover and attack Something and throw him into the ringpost. Now, Warner starts to jaw with Maclin which Something a chance to hit a clothesline. However, Warner ducked and the clothesline dropped Maclin. Maclin took umbrage and started to fight Something. Warner jumped in and now all three start to fight with security pulling all three apart. DeLander grabs Warner and they head up the ramp, licking all the way. Match was declared no-contest.

Something and Maclin continue to brawl as the two continue to brawl with security desperately trying to keep the two apart. Cooler heads prevail as they head up the ramp and we head to commercials.

When we return, all three are in the back still yelling and fussing whilst security continues to separate all of them. I wonder If a triple threat will emerge from this?

Zachary Wentz vs. Nick Nemeth (with Ryan Nemeth in tow)

With Miguel living with a hernia (hurts him bad, in a tender location) Wentz takes over the match and guess graffiti tagger is Myron Reed, an original Rascal. Nemeth is out next in long US flag tights. Hannifan mentions that the Hardys were on a New York radio station and announced a match for Slammiversary with them, Rascalz, Nemeths and First Class in a four way ladders match.

Standard start as Nemeth grabs an armbar but Wentz flips out of it and hits his own arm drag. Nemeth a gut kick and a shoe lace rake. A throw to the turnbuckles by Nemeth is reversed and a twisting corkscrew crossbody gets two for Wentz. Nemeth bails to the floor to confer with Ryan as Wentz attempts to hit a dive between the ropes. However, Ryan pushed Nick away and Wentz took out Ryan. Nick throws Wentz into the ring steps and we throw to commercials.

We’re back and both combatants are in the ring slugging away. Nick gets the advantage but attempts to hit a Frankensteiner which Wentz stops and hits a powerbomb (!!) for two. Wentz attempts the handspring flying knee off the ropes but Nemeth avoids it and hits a Fameasser for two-and-a-fraction.

Nemeth cues up the band for a superkick Wentz catches it and turns it to a rollup for two. Nemeth reverses it for a rollup and gets two. Wentz attempts a sunset flip which gets reversed. However, Wentz reverses that and gets a superkick and NOW we get the hand spring flying knee for two-and-a-fraction. Wentz hits the ropes but Ryan grabs his leg. Wentz obliterates Ryan with a suicida dive but when he gets back into the ring, Nemeth hits a superkick and then the Danger Zone for the win.

Hey, next week we do get the triple threat match between Maclin, Something and Warner. We also get Jayne and Henley vs. Lee and Slamovich next week.

We also get an NXT recap with Hendry fighting Wes Lee whilst Santana took out High Ryze. Hendry hit the Standing Ovation and got the win. Next Tuesday, on NXT, we get Hendry and Santana vs High Ryze.

Main Event…interview???

We now get something new for Impact. It is time for the King’s Speech (cool name) with Frankie Kazarian. Not sure how I feel about this but away we go. There is one fun visual as there is a front-row fan visibly yawning on camera. Shoot visuals?? We’ll see.

Kazarian is hosting and we have a star-studded debut segment. Our first guest is Joe Hendry who gets a slightly muted pop but eventually the crowd gets into it with a “We Believe” chant. The second guest is Mike Santana (I sense a trend.) Santana comes through the crowd and grabs a Puerto Rican Flag from a fan. Hannifan gets in a good line calling Kazarian “a narcoleptic Jimmy Kimmel.” Kazarian gets in a crack about his “speedy entrance.” Up to this point, Kazarian gave Hendry and Santana very rushed and muted intros.

He picks up his voice and shows excitement to – guess who – Trick Williams. The crowd still chants “Whoop That Trick.” C’mon Pittsburgh, he’s the heel and…never mind. Kazarian said the segment is not for Hendry and Santana but for Williams to break down Anniversary. Wiliams said it is not going to be a feel good sorry for the others.

Williams said he beat both Hendry and Santana and has no problem doing it again. Let’s talk about it. Kazarian wants to talk about it with Hendry but before Hendry can get a word, Kazarian pulls the mic from him (despite another large “We Believe” chant refrain.) Kazarian does the same thing with Santana and again Kazarian pulls the mic from Santana before he gets in a word.

However, Santana grabs the mic back. He said he didn’t get into the ring to sing corny songs (Looks at Hendry.) Nor did he get into wrestling to dress like some whack-gluted rapper (looks at Williams.) He reiterates his line that he is the illest and the realest. He is going to UBS Arena and take the title and we can talk about that.

Hendry then grabs the mic and said that “whoop that trick” now means the fans want to see his butt get whooped. He respects Santana and someday he will be the future but for now the fans still chant “We Believe” (which they do.)

Willims grabs the mic and said everything said by Hendry and Williams were lies. Santana lied to his daughter and he got his butt whipped by a whack-ass rapper. Williams came to TNA and took over the fans and took over the brand and that makes Hendry and Santana sick. Let’s talk about that (well, we kind of did.)

Kazarian grabs the mic once more and said that if it wasn’t him, he is glad Williams has the title. As Kazarian is talking, Williams nonchalantly walks behind Hendry and Santana and jawed at the fans. However, Williams took the opportunity to drop Santana and Hendry with clotheslines. Kazarian joins on the beat down. Hendry recovered enough to fight Williams but Williams grabs the belt and clocks Hendry with it. He then hits a trick knee to Santana and dropped him to the canvas. The show ends with Kazarian and Williams standing tall.

Impactful Ruminations

Forced Laziness There are some who view multiple person matches as “lazy booking.” I see the point; however, TNA forced its hand and muddled its way here, despite the main event looking strong. Most everyone wanted Hendry to be the champ and were stunned when he lost to the interloper Williams. While Hendry is, with real no argument, the most recognized person in TNA, has he been cooled.

Meanwhile, Santana now has become the hot hand. His mic style is believable – people do talk that way. His backstory also resonates with people having go through so much to get here. He is likable.

The WWE had the same issue with Sami Zayn and L.A. Knight. They had the luxury of having Cody Rhodes there and really being the fait accompli for the title change; although the fans clamored for Zayn or Knight. There is no Rhodes in Impact, so let’s see who gets the title.

Just Leave Them here. Dark State was a let down and worrisome when I saw them. They need seasoning and there might be a there there. However, Impact is trying to develop its own stories much less taking the leftovers from a stuffed and stacked NXT and Evolve rosters, not to mention Raw and Smackdown.

How to cut effective face promos Slater’s promo was great. Santana’s promo was really good, too. It was honest and believable and bereft of repetitive cadence. It really can be that simple.

Kelly vs. Slamovich On paper, this match should have been solid. I am a fan of both but something seemed off in the match. I know extreme matches are heavily scrutinized but I needed something more. Also, the Slammiversary match might be the foreshadowing of Grace winning the title and getting the epic rematch with Slamovich. Jayne vs. Slamovich would not be a great match – no where near it.

Keep fighting the good fight.