TNA Impact Review – 07.31.25

Once again we are at the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI. Fun factoid, Kingston was known as “Little Rest” until 1826. And much like 199 years ago, there’s no time for a little rest now as we engage in some Impactful Discourse, shall we? We shall.

Previously on Impact: We got Order Four vs. the System replay with the giant Serviceman making his presence felt. We also get the Santana vs. Hendry highlights with Santana getting win the sportsman handshake and turn to the camera.

We got Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rewholdt on announcing, Gabby LaSpisa on backstage interviews, Bootsy Collins on the one (a little funk for the kids) and Cedric Alexander on the way to the ring for this week’s opening match.

X-Division Title Match: Leon Slater vs. Cedric Alexander s. Jason Hotch

Jason Hotch is next with John Skyler and Tasha Steelz in tow (but not Ali and the Extra servicemen.) Slater is next as the announcers talk up Slater and his history with Hotch when Slater first arrived in TNA. All three lock up , but Alexander gets a go behind on both Slater and Hotch and gets a roll up on both for two. Slater tries to get a kick on Hotch but ducks: Slater gets the rebound enziguri on Alexander. Hotch tries to take advantage and sends Slater to the ropes but Slater comes back with a handspring back elbow. Alexander takes advantage of a preening Slater for an attempted lumbar check which Slater reverses. We get a humorous spot as both Slater and Alexander attempt a kick but catches the others’ foot. Slater, true British gentleman, puts Alexander’s foot down but Alexander holds on to his. Slater boots him down but Hotch hits a kick on Slater and a Pele Kick on Alexander. Hotch then thrown Alexander to Slater. Slater flips him over but Alexander lands on the apron. Slater drops Hotch but Alexander re-enters the ring with a between the ropes DDT on Slater and a German Suplex on Hotch.

Alexander throws Hotch to the ropes, lands an elbow and rolls Hotch out and hits a sitting dropkick on Hotch. Alexander threw Hotch out but Slater re-enters the ring. Alexander and Slater do a series of reverses until Alexander hits a tilt-a-whirl Falcon’s Arrow for two. Alexnader chops away at Slater. Alexnader heads to corner to be stopped by Hotch. Alexander escapes. Alexander eats a kick by Slater who heads to the top but Alexander moves out of the way and the champ is met with a jumping knee strike by Hotch.

Hotch hits German Suplexes on Alexander and Slater who bail from the ring. Hotch leaps the ropes and hits a moonsault from the ringpost. Hotch threw Slater back in the ring and was going to leap over the ropes into the ring but Slater caught the “Great Hand” and hit a Tower of London. Slater headed to the top and hit the 450 Swanton for the victory.

Post Match: Slater and Alexander meet in the middle of the ring and jaw at each other with Slater holding the title high. Alexander heads up the ramp as Slater celebrates on the turnbuckle

We go backstage with LaSpisa and Masha Slamovich. Slamovich talked about invoking her rematch clause. Slamovich said weakness awaits and she doesn’t. Jayne will be sorry that she has to face her again. Slamovich made this division violent and made the title mean something. Jayne better be ready for the fight of her life as we get ready for commercials.

We return backstage to Slater relaxing with his title as Alexander walks into scene and sits next to him. Alexander congrats him on sneaking away with the title. Slater said he didn’t sneak away but he does not like loose ends. However, he knows what Alexander wants, he knows what the world wants and that is an X-Division match between the two. The two banter about who pinned who in the match. Alexander agrees to match and walks off screen. Slater said he is still the champ until Alexander darts and said Slater didn’t pin him and leaves again. Video doesn’t lie.

We head back to ringside and we get

Women’s Tag Match: Indi Hartwell and Dani Luna vs. Jody Threat and Arianna Grace

Hartwell is out first followed by Dani Luna. Both get moderately decent pops. Jody Threat is out next pulling a Warrioresque run to the ring and then we are graced with..well, Arianna Grace. Grace learned from her dad how to great over the top humorous nonverbals.

Grace and Luna start the match. Long lock up to stat as Grace got the better of it eventually. Grace gets a go behind but Luna reverses it to the arm. Obligatory flip and roll escape as Grace goes over the top celebrating her achievement. This gives Luna time to go behind and grab the side headlock. Luna locked in the head lock despite Grace’s attempts to escape. Luna hits a snapmare and then a shoulderblock to drop Grace.
BUT HOLD EVETYTHING…We cut to the ramp and see Victoria Crawford standing and gives a high sign to the wrestlers. Meanwhile, Hartwell is tagged and grabs an armlock and slugs away at the arm. A FULL BODYSLAM gets two on Grace. Luna tagged in and grabs an arm lock, too.

Grace tried to reverse but gets pushed off the ropes. However, meets a charging Luna for a rollup for two. Grace moves to her corner and Threat tags herself into the match. We get the awkward stare but a show of sportsmanship. Luna gets a go behind which is reversed to a takedown by Threat. Threat gets a headlock. Oth charge the ropes but Luna catches Threat into the ropes but Threat counters with a Tornado Code Breaker and a crossbody for one. Threat hits the ropes but eats a back elbow. Threat hits a clothesline into the ropes on Luna.

We get a test of strength with no winners until Threat throws Luna into the ropes. Threat misses a clothesline but on the rebound, Luna goes sprawling through the ropes for what appears to be no reason. Luna didn’t hit her with anything. Threat looks concerned. Rewholdt said Grace was sitting on the rope (she was, to be fair) and that gave just enough of an opening for Luna to go sprawling. I don’t know; that rope didn’t move but good on Rewholdt to magic hand wave it.

Meanwhile, Grace hits the floor and starts to attack Luna. Grace threw Luna in the ring and Grace gets a neckbreaker for two. Grace launches Luna to the turnbuckle and hits a back elbow. Grace reaches for the tag and Threat reluctantly makes it. Grace missed a back elbow charge and Luna moved out of the way and Luna booted Threat. Luna makes the hot tag and is a flat on fire. She slugs away at Threat and hits a shoulderblock an then gets a spinebuster on Threat for two. Hartwell gets Threat on her shoulders but Threat fights out of the Death Valley Driver.

Hartwell tags in Luna who threw Threat to the turnbuckle but gets booted on the charge. Hartwell gets booted to the ring as Threat flips over Luna on the leap and puts Luna into a driver for two-and-a-fraction. Threat put Luna on her shoulder s for the Pop Shove It. But gets pushed buy Luna into Grace who wanted the tag. Threat and Grace collide and, on the rebound, Luna got Threat into the Luna Landing for the win.
Post Match: the camera catches Crawford approving of the performance and giving Luna and Hartwell a 10 with her fans (a secret alliance with Ty Dillinger?)

We then go backstage to Jake Something who talked about going to war with Mance Warner and got him out of way. Now he is ready for his International Title Match with Steve Maclin and the title is made for him. Maclin wanders into the scene and the two stare at each other as we stare at commercials.

When we return, we hear the zipper undoing and we get to see the Nemeths for their tag match

Tag Match: Rascalz (Zachary Wentz and Myron Reed) vs. the Nemeths

Ryan gives horrible, creepy intense eyes as Hannifan and Rewholdt talk about their rematch clause with the Hardys. The Rascalz are out next. The prance to the ring and pose with fans.

The Nemeths take advantage of the posing Rascalz but are met with moonsaults. Ryan in the ring the Rascalz throw him to the ropes, catch him halfway through a hip toss and hit the High hopes slam. They then hit the opposite ropes and land stereo kicks on Ryan. They hit the ropes for stereo dives between the ropes but Nick nails Wentz mid dive (Reed connected on his dive.) Reed threw Ryan into the ring but Nick grabbed Reed to thwart his entrance and threw him to the floor. It wasn’t much but it gave Ryan a chance to recover and when Reed came back into the ring, he was met with a hard clothesline.

Nick is tagged and a double team back suplex/neckbreaker get two. Nick gets a boot scrape on Reed and Ryan is tagged. Ryan hits a series of elbows and grabs a sleeperhold and then hits a series of elbows for one. Nick tagged and boots Reed. The Nemeths hit a double elbow drop for two. Nick grabs a chinlock on Reed. Reed tried to stand up and fight through it but Nick kicks the knees. A standing neckbreaker hit by Nick and Ryan is tagged. Ryan is tagged in and gets a quick series of two count.

Meanwhile, Hannifan has a spot of fun with a metaphor regarding cornered dogs. Hannifan said you have the pitbull of Nick and the chihuahua of Ryan, which raises the ire of Rewholdt in a funny moment. Rewholdt doubles down on the humor as Hannifan complimented Ryan on his aggression in the match. The topper is a Michael Scott reset as this dialogue happened.
“Thank You. Was that so hard?” “It was.” “That’s what they said.” (I laughed.)

Back to the match. Ryan tagged Nick who continued to pound away on Reed. However, a series of back suplexes by both Nemeths is reversed but nick stops the escape attempt with an elbow drop for two-and-a-fraction. A suplex is reversed to a stunner.

Reed makes the hot tag as does Ryan. Wentz chops away and grabbed the leg during a leapfrog attempt. However, a handspring elbow into the ropes is met with a kick by Nick. Ryan then hits a jumping DDT by Ryan and a Fameasser by Nick for two.

Nick holds Wentz in the ropes as Ryan comes off the ropes on the other side. However, Reed meets him with a huge kick and then Reed hits a Flame On over the ropes on Nick to the floor. This sets up Wentz to go to the top and hit the Spiral Tap for the victory. The Rascalz celebrate up the ramp as we celebrate the arrival of ads.

When we come back, the Nemeths are still in the ring and Ryan announced they aren’t leaving because Nick has something to say. The tag titles were stolen and it was a fluke. No one can beat them. Nemeth harkens back to his pre-law classes and said all contracts have rematch clauses and they are invoking theirs at Emergence . Ryan said the Hardys won a stunt match with a magic ladder. The heat was served cheap as Ryan digs into Rhode Islanders saying Rhode Island sucks (I mean, it’s not bad. It has beauty on the coasts.) They don’t even have any pro teams and everyone there is ugly including a kid and some lady with bad teeth. The Nemeths, however, are sexy bros.

BUT HOLD EVERYTHING… Here comes the Home Town Man in a Blue Hawaiian shirt and University of Rhode Island basketball jersey. He was in the back enjoying his Rhode Island Stuffies. Pops will also be served cheap, too. He was offended by the Nemeths insulting his hometown. He shouts out Kingston and Rhode Island and the people are proud and beautiful (well, let’s not go that far..) The Nemeths need to apologize. The Nemeths refuse to apologize and run down the HTM. The HTM said he is the HTM and the crowd sings along with the chorus.

Nick calls the whole situation crazy and everyone as idiots. More affordable pops are offered as HTM mentions this is the home of the URI Rams and he is going to Rhode Island Ram this mic down Nick’s throat. The Nemeths set upon HTM and beat him down. The Nemeths make the gesture and start to pull the mask of HTM. They succeed but security (?) comes down and puts a towel over the HTM. Nick starts to superkick security but finally (!!) the Rascalz arrive to chase off the Nemeths as we get chased off to commercials.

We come back and Mike Santana’s music hits. He comes from the corner of the arena and again then heads to the stands to be with the people. However, he stays there and delivers his promo. Everyone was buzzing at Slammiversary. However, he has to keep it real – he lost. He stepped into the arena, with city, family and culture on his back but, despite being cheated, the reality is he lost.

If we have been on this journey with him, they know his lows. Even losing his father, Santana continued to fight. He took his career and bet on himself but was doubted. He fought and fought not to get to the main event of Slammiversary but to stand here with the people. A loud “Santana” gets going.

Santana starts to walk around the fans for a bit and continues. One of the hardest things he had to deal as his world came crumbling down and the air drained out of the room he had to look across the ring, look at the front row and watch the tears of his daughter. At that moment, he had to be a father to his daughter.

As he held her and said everything is going to be okay. She said it’s okay because HE WILL get him next time. He lives a half-hour away and that was the longest 30 minutes of his life but looked in the rear mirror and saw her face he knew what had to be done. Like his daughter, he promised the crowd that it is a matter of when, not if, he come through the ropes and stand in the ring and mark his (for unlawful carnal knowledge)ing words, he will be TNA champ.

The crowd ate every word of this; as I did, too. That, gang, is how one delivers a face promo.

Santana exits and we go straight to some hype for Emergence. And, quickly after that, we get our next match.

Masha Slamovich vs. Jacy Jayne

The crowd loves Slamovich, for the record. Jayne comes out with Fatal Influence in tow. We get seductive teasing poses from the Influencers. Jayne taunts Slamovich during the introductions.

We get right to a series of quick rollups and reversals for two. Slamovich blocks a kick but Jayne ducks a clothesline into a hurincanrana for two. Slamovich recovers and knocks Jayne to the ropes. Slamovich leaps over the ropes to the apron and hits a running kick and a clothesline.

Jayne reverses a whip to the ropes but Slamovich lands another kick as Jayne goes sprawling. However, Fallon Henley grabs the leg of Slamovich. The distraction is enough for Jayne to recover and hit a superkick and a guillotine drape on the second rope. Slamovich falls to the floor and Jayne hits a running kick of her own.

Back in the ring, Jayne hits a running neckbreaker for two. Jayne hits some knee strikes and then hits a rear chinlock. Slamovich muscles out and hits a series of clothesline and a superkick. She hits a running knee and a boot in the corner and a rolling kick on Jayne.
BUT HOLD EVERYTHING….here comes Ash…By Elegance and hits Slamovich with her tag title. The Influencers didn’t appreciate the help and take umbrage with it. This draws out the rest of the Elegance Brand to back up Ash. Yelling ensues but here comes Xia Brookside and Lei Ying Lee to help Slamovich and clear the ring.

Post match: Fatal Influence and the By Elegance Brand yell at each other from opposite sides of the ring.

Bioflex Medical report: Gia Miller is cleared for return next week. She is good spirits. Moose is competing with a hip injury but is clear to compete (which is good because he is in the main event.) Elijah is still out with torn triceps but recovery is well. Jake Something and Mance Warner are bruised from the match last night but will still compete.

Speaking of medical staff, we go backstage as the medical staff looks at KC Navarro’s leg. Navarro wants to compete but the trainer ixnays it. AJ Francis and Trick Williams walk into frame and Navarro gives them the bad news. Wiliams is incensed and has Francis talk to him as he heads out of the shot. Francis said Navarro told him he was ready. He wanted the trainer to give him a crutch so he can be ringside.

So, we get a slightly altered main event with Moose and Eddie Edwards vs. Williams and Francis as we get the unaltered commercial break.

When we return, we get a promo from Mara Sade. She is from New Mexico (I did not know that) and she is a multi-talented star. She excelled at basketball, bowling(!) and loved fitness competition. She landed on the Titan Games and noticed by Dwayne Johnson (whom she called the Rock. She knows we know who he is, right?) That got her a tryout in wrestling. (NXT not mentioned.) She considers herself a masterpiece and art should be seen by the masses. She sees herself as a bomb-glutes knockout but someone who is generational talent and inspire the masses influencing generations. TNA is the place where she can do that and unlock her potential.

We head back to ringside and we get the Order Four Victory Rally (Hotch’s loss earlier notwithstanding.) NOW, we get the extra Servicemen and Ali. Note, the giant Serviceman from last week follows Ali down the ring.

John Skyler gets the mic and asks the Citizens of TNA please rise, shut their stupid mouths, and put their hands together for Ali. Ali is aglow and asks the fans to give him their ears and their hearts. TNA is filled with chaos and disorder because of outsiders have infiltrated the locker rooms. They take away opportunities from people like the fans and him. They have taken their prestigious titles. Ali said no more. Ali said that’s enough. Ali said it is time for change. Change lies with the Order Four. He will go to war with Order Four and Steelz will make sure his words our heard around the world. And his personal weapon of mass destruction, the head of his secret service, Agent Zero (not Gilbert Arenas but the giant Serviceman.) He will ensure no one will oppose him.

The fans are not receptive to Ali becoming TNA champion. He drops the Rick Sanchez line of their boos mean nothing because he sees what they cheer, addicts like Santana, degenerates like the System and a Fraud like Joe Hendry.

And, Ali said his name so you know what that means. Hendry appears with a mic none the worse for wear after his loss last week as the fans chant “We believe.” Hendry had one issue with what Ali said. Agent Zero can’t be a secret service because there are no secrets here in TNA. Cameras have picked up embarrassing footage of John Skyler. DO the fans want to see it? Sure…

We get a foam wrestling buddy with a Skyler reproduction on it. They see the figure sitting, scarfing down pizza in catering and he bought tons of Hendry shirts (plugs are also served cheap here, too.) And he dd buy an Order Four shirt but he used it to wipe his glutes as we see the doll sitting on the toiler with the shirt on his lap.

Ali retorts that this is why no one believes in Hendry anymore. The fans are lying to him. Everything is a joke to him and he is pushing his shirt and singing stupid songs. He wishes he could say his name and Hendry would disappear (well, wait until October when contracts are finished.) Hendry said this getting nowhere and we should use actions instead. Hendry wants a match tonight but Ali declines. However, he will meet next week to give order Four and the audience time to prepare for something they can truly believe.

Hendry said the only thing the four should order is four sets of earplugs when the crowd chants “We believe.” We hit the theme and the crowd rejoices. The advertisers rejoice because they try to sell us stuff.

When we return, we go to a sit down interview with Sami Callihan and Tom Hannifan. The focus was his future. Fans are worried about him. Things have been said and seen online regarding Callihan’s future. Callihan said he has never been more embarrassed in his life, not at Moose; he is not mad at Moose but disgusted with himself. Hannifan rehashes what Moose said about Callihan last week. Callihan wonders if it is mean. Maybe, Moose was being a friend trying to get through to him and Callihan touched on the weight gain after his leg injury. He talks about his weight issues as a kid from overweight to bulimia.

He said even as the “death machine,” he was cognizant of his weight issues. Maybe he is a fat piece of excrement. Maybe people are right? Maybe Moose is right? He has not been the same Sami Callihan. Hannifan asked about retirement rumors. He talked about facing Santana to see if he still has it. If he loses, the Death Machine retires.

We get a preview of next week as Brookside and Lee fight the By Elegance Brand, Hendry and Ali face and Ash..by Elegance gets her title shot against Jayne.

We also go to this week’s main event as we trust The System

Main Event: Moose and Eddie Edwards (with Alicia in tow) vs. Trick Williams and AJ Francis (with Navarro in tow.)

The System come to face pops and even Alicia high fives a young fan. Francis and Navarro navigate to the ring (Francis confidently walking and dancing, Navarro hobbling.) Williams comes out and gets a giant pop with a “Whoop That Trick” chant (gang, he’s a heel. Sigh, never mind.) Willams and Francis use the empirical method of paper, rock, scissors to determine who goes first. Rock crushes scissors so we get Francis and Edwards to start.

Francis gets a boot to the midsection and a double axe smash to start. Edwards staggers to the corner and Moose tags in himself. Moose hits a giant boot and the System double clothesline him out of the ring. Williams enters but is met with a series of chops from the System. They then toss Wiliams out of the ring as we get tossed to our last commercial break.

We come back with Francis in control and hitting a running knee on Moose. Francis attempted four suplexes but Moose gets the full reversal on the last one. Edwards get the hot tag and hits a running forearm but cannot lift Francis. Francis clubs away and tags Willams and hits a nice uppercut. Williams throws Edwards to the ropes but holds on and deposits a charging Wiliams over the top rope to the floor. He followed it with a dive through the ropes that hit cleanly.

Edwards threw Williams back in the ring but Francis interferes with Edwards’ entry. This gave Navarro enough time to grab Edwards’ leg and pull back to the floor, hitting his back on the apron. Francis grabbed Edwards but Moose hustled over to the floor to prevent further shenanigans (Navarro again was hilarious taunting Moose and the fans with his crutches.)

In the ring, Willams flattened Edwards with a clothesline and arrogantly gets a pin attempt on Edwards. Francis is tagged in and Francis hits an Avalanche on Edwards and Edwards was thrown into a Willams dropkick. Francis got an elbow drop for two.

Francis draped his knee on Edwards back as Edwards was draped on the ropes and then picked up Edwards to over stretch his back on the ropes. Francis locked in a chinlock but Edwards valiantly fought out of it but was thrown to the turnbuckles. However, another Avalanche attempt was met with an elbow. Francis got Edwards on his shoulders but Edwards got out and hit a Blue Thumber Bomb (!) on Francis.

Moose gets the hot tag and chops away at Williams ad gets two running back elbows. He also reversed a clothesline into an urignagi and a backsplash. Francis entered the ring but a Down Payment was reversed into a headbutt as Francis went sprawling out of the ring. Moose grabbed Wiliams but a powerbomb was reversed into a Trick Kick. However, Williams hit the ropes but Moose caught him with a popup powerbomb. A senton splash by Francis broke up the pin attempt.

While Francis was arguing with the referee, Navarro snuck onto the apron with his crutch. However, we get the old tactic of Williams holding Moose but Moose ducks out of the way and Navarro hits Williams with the crutch. Williams goes sprawling into the corner. Edwards knocked Francis out of the ring and Moose hits the Spear for the win.

Post match: The faces stand victorious as Wiliams rolls out to the floor. The System points to the TNA logo on the mat and we go off the air.

Impactful Ruminations:

One, Hannifan and Rewholdt work great together. They work off each other really well and keep the over the top mannerisms to a minimum. Rewholdt did a great job trying to make sense of the Luna through the ropes spot. Hannifan did a great job with the Callihan interview and made his angle somewhat riveting. The Michael Scott drop was funny.

Two, I made the joke earlier but Hendry has really cooled. His promos are generally great, whether he is singing or not. This one seemed paint by numbers and did not have the presentation gravitas his promos usually do. Ali was great, as usual. I am curious how they work the Agent Zero into the storylines.

Three, I was not super stoked about the women’s tag match. Luna is okay and gets the pops from the crowd because..we know her? She is hitting base hits but is being presented as this home run hitter. I am not a Threat fan and Grace is best served in behind the scenes or as a front office character (see GM or liaison.) I still am baffled about the ropes spot but no one was injured, so if we an walk away from it. Aside from Blanchard’s flunky/pin eater, Crawford has generally no purpose.

Fourth, this bothered me. While I get the pummeling of Home Town Man by the Nemeths and the mask removal was easy heat. The Nemeths did fine with it but shouldn’t the faces arrived sooner? Security should not have to cover the face of, well, the face. That is usually the faces in the match’s job.

Fifth, I cannot stress this enough. That was a heck of a promo by Santana. That is how it is done. It seems awfully clear who gets the title when it is time to drop it. Santana was just incredible.

Sixth, I know I said it last week. But, I would like to see the By Elegance Brand mess around with Fatal Influence on NXT. I think the Elegancers are far more talented as a group vs. Influence, where the lion’s share of the talent is centered on Jayne.

Seventh, the interview with Callihan was solid but also paint by numbers. Sadly, I really don’t want to see him in the ring with Santana.

Eighth, it was another solid showing by Slater. I don’t know why we are jobbing Alexander this quickly. But, if you’re going to put the rocket on someone; one could do a lot worse than Slater. His abilities make him more than a flip-a-dip-dip wrestler that one can dismiss.

Ninth, we might have dusted off a lost plot line with First Class. We’ll see where that goes.

Lastly, I am glad we are going full bore with a Mara Sade push. Her promo was interesting but a bit tonally confusing. It made her seem like a big deal and gave some really good backstory (WWE excels at this and AEW desperately needs to do more of this.) However, she vacillated between being a heel and a face. In light of her debut last week, I would think she would be a face but a lot of points in the promo made it feel like a heel and then a face when talking about her impact (no pun intended) she wants to make on the world. Also, as I alluded earlier, it is public knowledge that Dwayne Johnson is the Rock, right? I don’t why she didn’t just say it unless there is some weird legalese behind it. Maybe, Nick Nemeth could use his pre-law classes to clarify that.

Keep Fighting the Good Fight.