TNA Impact Review – June 18, 2026

Well, we might have had a mass exodus from TNA but I am still here to give you another review of TNA Impact. We’re still in Denver at the Livestock Center CoBank Arena at the National Western Center. Fun factoid, Denver produces more beer than any city in the United States. Hopefully, we won’t need that much to enjoy this episode as Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt will let us know what is brewing, and when we hop to back stage segments we have Gia Miller handle those duties. McKenzie Mitchell will give us grains of knowledge of who is in the ring. Feeling down? I know what can cure whatever ales you. So grab a cold one because the action is red hot and get ready for some Impactful Discourse. Shall we? We shall.

(Note: As always, take time to appreciate the wonderful people who create the other discourse this site. They deserve recognition and optics on their content. They do a masterful job so enjoy their work and leave a comment and feedback. And now…our feature presentation.)

Previously on Impact, we get highlights of the Mike Santana vs. Eric Young match last week with the post-match announcement that it will be Nick Nemeth vs. Santana for the title. We also see Cedric Alexander get the victory for the System over Leon Slater and Fabian Aicnher which cumulated in the post-match return of Moose who announced his match versus Eddie Edwards. We also get the match between K C Navarro vs. Mustafa Ali for Ali’s International title with Ali getting the victory. We get the Order Four beatdown only to be thwarted by Santana and Nemeth. The team is then thwarted by Nemeth superkicking Santana to go off the air.

The singer of the opening credits said that is ready for me. That’s nice.

Hey, June 19, 2026 is the 24^th Anniversary of TNA Impact, Hannifan tells us as we get a aerial shot of the stadium and the head to ringside for Xia Brookside with mic in tow.

Brookside said for the people to listen to themselves because they think she did nothing wrong and committed some unforgivable by turning on Lei Ying Lee. She said the Angel Warriors were supposed to be about Brookside becoming a star, but every week it became about her and she should have done this a while ago.

Her favorite part was the look on Lee’s face – the puppy dog eyes and tears as her world shattered. Brookside loved it. Lee didn’t see it; why? because Lee is a dumba–. At Slammiversary, Brookside is going to take something that should have been hers a long time ago- the TNA Knockouts world title.

Well, in tried and true fashion, that brought out Lee. Lee said she treated her like her little sister. She fought beside her and trusted her. Now, Brookside said she sees what she really is a snake and a runt. Brookside took umbrage with that but Lee continued in Mandarin Chinese. Brookside said she doesn’t know what Lee said (I thought she was her interpreter at times?) because she really doesn’t care (oh, okay.) She reiterated she is done translating for her. Lee said she doesn’t need a translator. What she said was she was going to be her glutes right here in Denver, Colorado (paging Mick Foley.) Lee want after Brookside as Brookside tried to flee. Security hit the ring and separated the two. Despite the ratio of security to wrestler being 5:1, Brookside and Lee managed to escape and stat to beat on each other.

We had a brief respite of equanimity but Lee attacked security and the two started to brawl again. Lee hit the turnbuckles and tried for the twisting blockbuster but Brookside moved a security person in the way and he ate the move as Brookside baled to the floor. Lee threatened Brookside from the ring as Brookside gradually arose and made her way up the rampway.

We go to a backstage interview by Miller with Santana. Tonight Santana, Navarro and Nemeth take on Ali and the Great Hands (Jason Hotch and John Skyler.) The stip is Santana and Nemeth cannot touch each other during the match. Miller asked for his thoughts. Santana said he was going to keep it a buck with her. There’s a reason why he spent a lifetime not trusting people and should have listened to his gut. He knows eventually Nemeth was going to show his true colors. It’s all good, he doesn’t take losses, he learns lessons. Of course, Daria Rae lives to make his life a living hell. She wanted them to co-exist, fine, he’s a pro. But, at Slammiversary, he is going to Spin the Block and rip out his heart.

However, we get a loud “Pardon Me” and Navarro enters the shot. He knows what happened last week sucks but this isn’t about that. This is about Order Four taking advantage of the situation and all the tension.They can’t let that happen. He is looking out for Santana. Navarro tried to be the voice of reason and said the smart thing to do is work together because they have to. Santana said he has known him for a long time. He will do what is best for them tonight but don’t forget who is looking out for him. Santana left off shot and then Navarro followed.

We get a rundown of the rest of the card including that six-man tag match..after the break.

We get another “Relive Ultimate X” highlight that was shown last week with Moose, Slater, El Hijo de Vikingo, Kenny King, Navarro and Matt Cardona. We also get hype for the return of TNA Impact Lockdown on August 23 from Chicago.

Unlike the Bears, Rehwoldt said they can’t wait to be in Chicago for Lockdown. Hannifan officially welcomes us and gets us ready for the next match.

Six-Man Tag Match: Order Four (with Agent Zero and Tasha Steelz in tow) vs. Mike Santana, K C Navarro and Nick Nemeth

Order Four heads to the ring first to a decent number of boos. They STRUCK THE POSE in the ring. Navarro is out next, makes a motion to Ali and then slowly headed to the ring to a decent pop. Hannifan went over the match last week between Navarro and Ali and the death of Navarro’s uncle. Nemeth is next to a decent pop. Nemeth does the Shawn Michaels strut down the rampway and brought his “Call Your Shot” trophy with him. Hannifan went over the stip between Nemeth and Santana and said if either of them fail to comply, Ali will join the main event for the title (if Santana initiates it, he is stripped of the title.) Speaking of, here is Santana through the concourse and the crowd to a huge pop.

Skyler and Santana start the match but Nemeth instantly tagged himself into the match. Nemeth did a sequence of amateur takedowns and grabbed the arm. Navarro tagged and continued to work the arm until he saw Nemeth and Santana jawing at each other and went to make peace. That gave Order Four to attack the faces from behind. Ali hit the ropes but Navarro backdropped him out of the ring. Skyler hit the ropes and hit Navarro with a forearm but was then met with a Nemeth superkick. Hotch and Santana squared off in the corner. Hotch hit the ropes but Santana caught him and delivered a powerbomb to the floor on top of Skyler and Ali. The crowd chanted “this is awesome.”

Navarro tried to keep the peace but Ali snuck on the apron and grabbed Nemeth’s hair, only to be slugged back to the floor by “the Wanted Man.” Santana slugged Skyler back to the mat and Navarro did the same to Hotch. Soon, all six were brawling on the floor as the schmozapalooza started to take shape. In the ring, Skyler threw Navarro to the ropes but Navarro responded with a tilt-a-whirl headscissor to send the Hand to the corner. Navarro got a two count from a dropkick but Skyler got the momentum back by kneeing Navarro and tagging Hotch.

Hotch threw Navarro into the corner but Navarro evaded a Skyler charge and slugged Ali. He backdropped a charging Hotch to the apron but Skyler grabbed him and gave Hotch and Ali a chance to hit a double rolling neckbreaker through the ropes. Ali taunted Nemeth with his gyrations and got a two count on Navarro. Ali choked Navarro on the ropes. When the ref tried to stop Ali, Steelz got in the act and choked Navarro. She did it again but the referee saw it and immediately sent Steelz and Agent Zero to the locker room. Santana taunted the two from the corner.

In the ring, Navarro tried for a surprise rollup for a two count before Ali regained the advantage with a clothesline and then but the boots to Navarro to the corner. Hotch tagged and did the same. Skyler tagged and the two hit a body punch and knee lift off the ropes and punctuated with another Hotch neckbreaker. The crowd, meanwhile, sang off Steelz and Zero with Steam’s obligatory classic “Na, Na, Hey Hey (Kiss him Goodbye.)”

Navarro tried to rally but Skyler clotheslined him down for a two count. Skyler continued to beat on Navarro and tagged Hotch as we tag out to another commercial break. We come back to Hotch and Skyler beating on Navarro and tagging Ali. Ali went to the top turnbuckles. In an innovative spot, The Great Hands grabbed Navarro and hoisted him skyward. Ali caught him on his leap and landed a powerbomb for two-and-a-fraction.

Navarro started to rally and slugged Ali and the Great Hands. Ali caught a charging Navarro and hoisted him to a Death Valley Driver but Navarro reversed it into a stunner. Ali tagged Hotch as Skyler ran around the ring and dropped Nemeth. However, Navarro hit an enziguri on Hotch and got the hot tag on Santana.

Santana was a house of fire and dropped all three heels. He caught Hotch’s boot and hit the enziguri in the corner. The two hit the ropes and Santana caught Hotch and hit a Death Valley Driver. The champ hit the ropes again and hit a dive between the ropes to drop Skyler and Ali. Back in the ring, Santana signaled for the Spin the Block but Nemeth again tagged himself into the match. He hit a Fame-Asser for a two count as Santana started to bicker with Nemeth.

Nemeth and Santana stated to bicker as Hotch grabbed his leg and Nemeth fell to the mat. Ali and Skyler brawled with Santana. Santana and Ali headed to the floor whilst the Great Hands set Nemeth up for the Favor (A fireman’s carry into a flipping neckbreaker off the second turnbuckle.) Hotch got a two count but Navarro interrupted the pin. Ali grabbed Navarro but Navarro threw Ali through the ropes and to the floor. Ali landed on his feet but Navarro dove between the ropes and hit a Tornado DDT on the floor.

In the ring, the Hands grabbed Nemeth for a double suplex but Santana caught Nemeth and put him on his feet. Santana hit the ropes and hit a dual Rolling Block 50 on the hands. Nemeth hit the double Danger Zone. Nemeth pinned Skyler and Santana pinned Hotch for the victory.

Post-match: Nemeth and Santana instantly jawed with each other as Hannifan went over the stip once again that Nemeth and Santana couldn’t touch each other during the match which was null. Navarro ran into the ring and tried to be the cooler head. BUT HOLD EVERYTHING, Ryan Nemeth hit the ring and dropped Santana. Navarro took umbrage and started to square off with Ryan. Santana started to stalk Ryan and charged Ryan for a clothesline but Ryan moved and Navarro took the shot. Navarro crumpled to the corner mat as Santana looked apoplectic. This gave Nick a chance to recover and hit a superkick. Nemeth hovered over Santana and started to taunt Santana. Nemeth looked at the title for a moment but headed to the floor and up the rampway with his trophy and Ryan in tow as we head to another edition of the King’s Speech…after the break.

We get another ad for the “Relive Ultimate X” on TNAPlus and another replay of the Knockouts Ultimate X match with Brookside, Dani Luna, Jody Threat, Steelz, Alisha Edwards and Gisele Shaw (pour two for Luna and Shaw) from the Hard to Kill PPV in 2024 (won by Shaw.)

Hey, cue the Dropkick Murphy knockoff riff and show the stars as we get hype for Slammiversary on June 28 from the Agganis Arena in Boston.

We go backstage to see Navarro recovering as Nemeth enters the shot and checks on him. Navarro said he is fine. Nemeth said he told Navarro that you can’t trust anyone here and get eyes on the back of his head. Nemeth said Santana should not have done that to him whilst Navarro defended his friend and said he didn’t mean to. This brought Ryan into the shot laughing and that it was so funny and Navarro deserved it. Navarro naturally took umbrage with it and bowed up to Ryan. Ryan said you get involved in people’s business and you get kicked. Santana was heard and entered the shot with a bevy of security trying to keep the peace. The Nemeth’s left and Santana tried to apologize to Navarro. Navarro forcibly said forget about it but focus on Slammiversary. He reiterated he was good.

Now, we head to ringside and see Frankie Kazarian head into the ring and get another version of the King’s Speech. A decent “Frankie” pop emerged. Kazarian welcomed us all to the “King’s Speech” and introduced himself. Since tomorrow is TNA’s 24^th birthday, it is fitting that at Slammiversary, they bring back the Ultimate X match (Kazarian had that embroidered on a t-shirt.) He wanted to give a history on the match since everyone in Denver are morons who are trapped up in the mountains and don’t get a lot of information.

The Ultimate X match was created by him. He was in – and won – the most Ultimate X matches than anyone. So, when we watching the match and throwing our fat, grubby hands in the air, we can thank Kazarian. Kazarian introduced his two guests for the segment – Slater and Cedric Alexander. Slater is out first and happily heads down the ramp and shakes hands with the crowd. Alexander is preceded by the obligatory warning buzzer and Alisha Edwards telling us that “you can’t beat the system.” This is Slater’s rematch clause which Rehwoldt questioned given there are other participants to take place in the match (yet to be announced.)

Kazarian welcomed them both but before he started talking about the match; he went over Slater’s near brush with the longest X-Division championship record. He knows Slater is a big Kazarian fan and wanted him to break the record. But, Alexander beat him. So, how does Slater feel?

Slater said he would be lying to him if he said it didn’t hurt. This gave Alexander a chance to loudly laugh at Slater at .82 Henry Rollins “Liar” laugh. He said he’s glad it hurts. Slater said for Alexander to shut his “a—clown” mouth before he smacks it off his face. Kazarian tried to regain order by saying they are all gentlemen (at least, he is.) Slater continued, though. Slater said Alexander doesn’t know that pain and hurt of having his mom and his sister watch from 1,000 miles away and seeing him fail. He doesn’t know the pain of having a whole country on his back and failing. He doesn’t know the pain of having every fan here and see him fail. There are no excuses, Alexander beat him.

Alexander loudly exclaimed that Slater was darn right he did. Alexander said he needs to face facts; since day one, Slater had everything handed to him and told him he was special. What happened at the mountain top is the air got thin and he choked and now Alexander is X-Division champ. Keep in mind, he had said that Slater was not on his level and proved it. Every time they talk about Slater and his monickers, what will they remember; that he was one day short. Alexander stole his dream.

Slater and Alexander got physical and Slater shoved Alexander. Slater tried to rake swipes at Alexander and picked up the title. Kazarian tried to regain order but Alexander kept egging Slater. Kazarian said we don’t give those matches away for free (well…..) but hyped the Slammivesary Ultimate X match. Speaking of which, Kazarian said Rae gave him some inside information about another competitor in the match (wait for it..wait for it…) and that man is Kazarian (surprise….) At Ultimate X, the King will reign supreme. He ended the segment by asking for his sexy music to play.

It’s not sexy but healthy, it’s time for the Biooo….sorry, Zone.ify Injury Report. Free TV shouldn’t have to feel free. Navarro is in evaluation to look after his left knee. Lee suffered a chipped tooth during the incident earlier with Brookside. And, despite the injuries suffered in the “Wicked Garden” match, The Hardys are cleared to wrestle (which is good because they are in the main event tonight.)

We get some hype for the rest of tonight’s action including the return of a young star…after the break, During the break, it’s another “Relive Ultimate X” ad for TNA plus with a replay of the match between Ace Austin, Mike Bailey Alan Angels, Zachary Wentz, Rich Swann and Samurai Del Sol.

We come back to vignette for one of the greatest stories in music – A J Francis. It’s a story of success, triumph and vision. We get a look “Inside the Music” (complete with VH1 styling.) Francis goes over his childhood in Pioneer City, Maryland. Some people want to be successful athletes; some want to be successful pro wrestler and wrestle in Madison Square Garden. He was talented enough to do both. But, his real dream was music, like his idol, Suge Knight, who overcame the odds to become a music mogul. Francis realized that he was put on this earth to make sure people who didn’t deserve the rights to their music never got access to them. That is why God put him on this earth.

When Elijah spurned his collab offer it hurt him in his heart. He was able to accomplish a dream and now he is a real music mogul and owns the music from the guy who doesn’t deserve it. He wants to be the inspiration to future music moguls to know the value of owning other people’s right that don’t deserve them. If being a music mogul is wrong, he doesn’t want to be right.

Hannifan acted incredulous as we went back to the ring for the next match.
Ricky Sosa vs. Dak Draper

Hannifin and Rehwoldt went over Sosa’s absence thanks to the person joining them at the announce table – Eric Young. Hannifin knows Young is upset but could be civil? Young said he would be justified to do what he wants. He will decide to be that. Draper got the already in the ring. Hannifan said Draper referred to himself as the “Mile High Magnum” and a person who only exists in the minds of beautiful women (wait, I’m a ruggedly handsome guy and I see him. what does that say about me?) Draper has been in the business for 14 years.

Sosa and Draper traded go behinds as Hannifan asked Young about his strategy against Sosa. He said this is very personal. Young said everyone has to learn. Meanwhile, in the ring, the two traded leapfrogs off the ropes but Draper sent Sosa to the mat by grabbing his leg and but missing a handstand twisting knee drop. Sosa responded with a double stomp on the back. Sosa chopped way on Draper in the corner and hit a moonsault as Draper sent him to the corner. Sosa hit a series of uppercuts but Draper blocked a suplex with a boot to the abdomen. Draper started to stomp away on Sosa and clubbed him with a series of forearms. However, Sosa reversed a hip toss and landed on his feet and came off the ropes with a dropkick. Sosa signaled and hit a leap over the ropes onto Draper on the floor. He and Young eyed each other but Sosa regained focus and threw Draper on the mat.

Sosa was on the apron and slugged Draper. He attempted a springboard leap but Draper shoved Sosa and the “Young Savage” fell to the apron. Draper hit a slingshot guillotine in the ropes and started to put the boots to him. Draper slammed Sosa for a one count as Young went over the people that he eliminated from TNA Impact (well, that and management.) Draper attempted another slam but Sosa reversed it with a series of chops but Draper hit a tilt-a-whirl powerslam for a two count.

However, a gutwrench powerbomb attempt was reversed and Sosa hit a spinning kick and a German Suplex and the rally commenced. He hit a series of running uppercuts in the corner. Draper attempted to curb the tide but Sosa hit a hurincanrana whilst Draper was on the second turnbuckle. Sosa followed it with a nice missile dropkick and then hit the Blue Thunder Bang (Blue Thunder Bomb variation) for the victory.

Post-Match: Young arose and sarcastically clapped and stared at Sosa as Sosa got the crowd riled and did his chant and dance. He stood on the turnbuckles and glared at Young.

We go backstage as the By Elegance Brand (with Ash) tried to hype the Personal Concierge to forcibly knock on Rae’s “office door.” The PC did just that and Rae opened the door. The mood changed as they were all glad to see her. The PC said he heard Kazarian say that there were some spots open in the Ultimate X match at Slammiversary. Rae said there were. The PC has an amazing idea and that Mr. Elegance should be entered in the match. Mr. Elegance extolled the virtues of Mr. E and Ash said what PC was trying to say is that Mr. E is literally perfect (the other Brand ambassadors chimed in with their claim of “perfect.”) Rae she based her decisions not on what wrestlers want but on business, numbers and statistics. She did say Mr. E does draw and that he is in the match.

They start to celebrate but bump into Indi Hartwell walking in the aisle. Hartwell verbally accosted them but Ash just wanted to tell her (sarcastically, naturally) good luck. Hartwell said maybe she should watch and learn something. Hartwell headed down the aisle as the Brand mocked her and M said they would learn absolutely nothing form her. Ash said maybe being a loser as they head off shot and we head to commercials.

It’s another replay of another “Relive Ultimate X” collection on TNAPlus. This one is the Motor City Machine Guns vs. Ace Austin and Chris Bay from TNA Rebellion 2023 (won by ABC.)

We get the same hype ad for Slammiversary and then head to back to ringside for Knockouts action,

Elayna Black vs. Indi Hartwell

Black is out first to a decent number of boos. She goes through her standard heel gestures as Hartwell comes out next. We go back to the announce table with another guest of Hannifan and Rehwoldt – Mara Sade. Hannifan asked Sade about the match and Sade said Black has a problem running her mouth and Hartwell has been doing what she needs to do – put her in her place. When asked about Black’s comment that she has run circles around the division, Sade said that was laughable and brought up the match at Sacrifice when Sade beat Black.

In the ring, Black stated to jaw with Hartwell and tried to strike her but Hartwell blocked it. Black tried to throw Hartwell into the turnbuckles but Hartwell reversed it, leapt over Black and it a knee to the abdomen. Hartwell hit a series of uppercuts. Black tried to curb momentum with a big boot during a Hartwell charge but Hartwell regained the offense with a running big boot of her own as Black hit the ropes.

Hartwell ran Black into the turnbuckles and put the boots to her in the corner. However, Black avoided another running boot in the corner and Hartwell got caught in the corner. Black hit an elevated knee strike for a two count. Black started to taunt Hartwell and hit the rope assisted double stomp for a two count. Now, Black put the boots to Hartwell in the corner and hit the chinlock.

Hartwell escaped with a hip toss but Black got back on offense with a clothesline for a two count. Black taunted Hartwell and choked her on the ropes. However, Hartwell avoided a sliding back elbow and started her rally with a series of punches and clothesline. A spinebuster got a two count.

BUT HOLD EVERYTHING, Ash by Elegance and the Personal Concierge appeared on the rampway and started to jaw with Hartwell. Hartwell turned her attention from Black (YOU FOOL!!!) and NOW Black hit the sliding back elbow strike. Ash and the PC made their way to the ring and taunted Hartwell in front of the announcers. Ash got on the apron but Sade had enough and pulled Ash to the floor. However, Ash slugged Sade and got on the apron. The commotion distracted Black, though, and Hartwell managed to get a backslide for the victory.

Post-Match: Hartwell immediately arose and slugged Ash. The two started to brawl before Black recovered and joined the melee. Sade also recovered and joined the fracas. The PC managed to grab Ash and drag her to the floor. Sade grabbed Black and threw through the ropes to the floor. Sade and Hartwell stood in the ring and gave each other the thumbs up. Hartwell celebrated with a souvenir from the battle – one of Ash’s shoes.

Meanwhile, backstage, Santino Marella is checking his phone whilst Aichner entered the shot. The two shook hands and talked. Aichner said when he got to TNA, he wanted to show that he was one of the best wrestlers in the world. With Slammiversary in a couple weeks, he wanted to make history and in one match in particular – Ultimate X. With everything he had to deal with The System, he said he proved he should be in that match. So, from one Italian to another, can he should be the match. Marella agreed and made it official. This brought Nick Nemeth into the shot as he hyped Navarro and said he should be in the match. Marella agreed and we have us an Ultimate X match.

Speaking of competition, our six-man tag team main event is next..after the break. During said break, we get a replay of another “Relive Ultimate X” on TNAPlus collection from Slammiversary 2022 with Bailey, King, Austin, Trey Miguel, Andrew Everette and Alex Zayne (won by Bailey.)

When we come back, Miller said this is the first match back since the Righteous tried to poison Hardy with “lily of the valley.” However, Santana entered the shot and grabbed the camera. He said he is tired of Nick Nemeth’s games and said they should meet in the ring prior to Slammiversary.

Main Event Six-Man Tag Match: The System (Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers and Bear Bronson with Alisha Edwards in tow) vs. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) and Moose

We get the warning buzzer and verbal warning prior to the System’s entrance to a rousing chorus of boos as the System components taunted the crowd. We get the “yeeesssssss” and the piano music as “Broken” Matt Hardy and “Brother Nero” Jeff Hardy emerge. The lights go dark and we get the Moose entrance as he joined the Hardys. Moose was adorned in Broken adjacent gear (he looked good, I can’t lie.) We get the piano interspersed with the Moose chant and Hannifan wondered if we had a “broken Moose.”

Moose and Edwards started the match but Edwards instantly tagged Myers. Myers teased the lock up but pulled away and Myers said he wanted Matt Hardy. The two locked up and Matt got the upper hand by working the arm with a series of chops and ramming the arm into his shoulder repeatedly. Myers tried to stem the tide and run Matt into the turnbuckles but Matt reversed it to the “descending 10-count turnbuckle ram” spot.

Matt tagged Jeff and the two hit the fist drop and body splash spot for a two count. The Hardys also double suplexed Bronson and then hit the Poetry in Motion on Bronson in the corner. Edwards tried to interfere but Moose jumped into the fracas as the System components thought better and regrouped on the floor.

When they got back in the ring, Jeff and Myers fought with Jeff getting the upper hand with a series of punches and elbow strikes to the arm of Myers. Matt tagged and hit the flying elbow smash to Myers’ arm. Jeff retagged and did the same. Not to make him feel left out of the fun, Jeff tagged Moose and he hit a flying elbow on the arm of Myers (with Hardys’ pose prior to that.) Moose also slugged Edwards on the apron.

Matt tagged again and ran Myers into three turnbuckles. The Hardys hit the guillotine neck snap and leg drop on the apron. Jeff got a flying elbow smash for a two count. Jeff got Myers in the corner and hit the 10-punch corner spot until Alisha interrupted the procedure. Jeff and Alisha started to jaw with each other and that gave Myers a chance to recover and drop Jeff. Eddie Edwards tagged and immediately started to pound away on Jeff in the corner. With the referee trying to restrain Eddie, Bronson did the same with Jeff on the apron until Moose evened the odds.

Eddie threw Jeff into the ring as the crowd chanted they wanted tables. Eddie continued to beat on Jeff. Eddie choked Jeff on the ropes with his boot and, once again, when the referee tried to restrain Eddie, Alisha choked Jeff on the ropes until Matt evened the odds. Bronson tagged into the match and he and Eddie hit a double back elbow. Eddie accosted Moose and Moose had enough. He and Eddie brawled and Moose threw Eddie through the ropes. Moose followed him and hit a powerbomb on the apron.

In the ring, Bronson mauled Jeff with a corner and a sit-down splash for a two count. Bronson tagged Myers. Bronson hit a running corner splash (with extra push from Myers.) Bronson returned the favor by throwing Jeff into a Michinoku Driver by Myers for a two count. Myers grabbed a chinlock until Jeff got to his feet and hit a jawbreaker to break the hold. Myers regained the momentum by hitting a back elbow off the ropes that sent Jeff crashing to the apron. He was met with Bronson mauling him. The crowd turned its ire to the ref and told him he sucked (that’s not nice..)

Myers got to a corner and attempted a clothesline but Jeff had the same idea and the two hit a simultaneous clothesline as they slumped to the canvas. Myers managed to tag Eddie, who grabbed Jeff’s foot to prevent a tag. Jeff managed to fight off Eddie and tagged Mosoe. Moose dropped Myers and Eddie with a headbutt and a big boot – he also chopped Bronson off the apron. Moose dropped Edwards with a dropkick off the ropes. He hit the urinagi and senton spot on Myers and got the crowd riled until Bronson slugged him from behind.

Moose regained the upper hand by avoiding a charging Bronson and sent him to the floor. Moose leapt over the ropes and dove on Bronson. In the ring, Edwards got to his feet and met Bronson with a back elbow as Moose charged. Edwards got on the turnbuckles but Moose recovered and hit the Go To Hell Powerbomb for a two count until Myers and Bronson interrupted the pin. The tag champs dropped the Hardys from the apron as all three System opponents took turns hitting Moose in the corner. Bronson hit a Bossman Slam on Moose and Myers climbed to the top rope and hit a flying elbowsmash for a two count. Edwards attempted to set up Moose but the Boston Knee Party was reversed to a powerbomb. However, Bronson hit a chokebomb of his own on Moose. Matt recovered and hit the Side Effect on Bronson. Myers got back in the ring and hit the spear. The schmozapalooza continued as Jeff grabbed Myers and hit the Twist of Fate.

All six men were writhing on the mat until the camera panned up the rampway and HOLD EVERYTHING, here are the Righteous (Vincent and Dutch) with a large ladder set. Vincent climbed the ladder. This got the Hardys attention but the Hardys recovered enough to hit the Plot Twist on Myers. However, Matt charged Bronson but Bronson backdropped Matt over the ropes. Jeff clotheslined Bronson over the ropes but Bronson grabbed Jeff and the two brawled on the floor.

In the ring, Moose set Eddie for the spear in the corner but Alisha got on the apron to distract him. Moose blocked Alisha’s slap. Eddie tried to charge from behind but Moose avoided him. Eddie stopped just short of hitting Alisha but when he turned around, Moose hit him with a big boot. Moose charged Eddie but Eddie avoided it and Moose went full speed into a kendo shot by Alisha (the referee was distracted by the other fracas with the Hardys and the tag champs.) Moose turned around and walked into a Boston Knee Party and the System scored the victory.

Post-Match: We get highlights and cut back to the System celebrating in the ring and the Righteous standing on the ladder.

We don’t go off air, though. Per request, after commercials, we get Santana in the ring like he asked earlier. We get Chryon and another Santana entrance through the concourse and the fans. Santana got a mic in the ring and asked to cut the music. He asked Denver what’s good (well, not the Rockies, that’s for sure.) He is not going to waste time because the people of Denver want to see a fight. He asked Nick Nemeth to head to ring so they can fight.

We get the chryon and music and we get…..Ryan Nemeth. He said everyone knows that his big brother is the best wrestler in the world and will be the next TNA world champion. Santana said his big brother is a big female dog. Ryan said his big brother is not as the crowd started to boo Ryan mercilessly and chanted that Nick is a female dog. Santana said he rests his case and is still waiting.

Nick did join the proceedings and said for Santana to look at his face – he is too emotional. He liked to feed off these people as they feed off him. He gave Santana props for his 15 minutes and had a heck of a year. In fact, he should get a blimp (in New York, Danhausen gets irked) because he had a good year (ha ha..) Now, that he is done feel sorry for him and root for an underdog, he is living on borrowed time because you’re looking at the best wrestler. Call him whatever you want, at Slammiversary, you will call him a champ.

Santana said he is still standing at the top of the rampway and Santana is still in the ring waiting to kick his butt. So, he asked the fans what does that make Nemeth? One can envision what the crowd chanted. He rests his case, if he wants to stand there, that’s fine. At Slammiversary, he will Spin the Block and be the TNA World Heavyweight Champion.

NOW, we go off the air….

Impactful Ruminations:

Ordinarily, I would start with a breakdown of what happened but I do want to talk about what has transpired over the last few weeks with TNA Impact regarding releases. Last year seemed like a magical time in TNA Impact with record crowds and two massively over and marketable champions. You hoped they would avoid the “LOLTNA” stuff and could really capitalize on that momentum with that and the news that AMC would be the new home of TNA.

I don’t think it was a leap forward this year. It was not a complete step back but more of a lateral move. However, the firings really put them behind the eight ball. Dreamer’s impact (no pun intended) as a producer and creative source has been debated. If it is Armstrong and Delirious who do the booking. They have to really find talent to fill in the blanks of a suddenly dwindling talent roster.

It’s one thing to do it in say, World Class, where you only had a dozen to dozen and a half wrestlers but found ways to use them ( and a rabid fan base never hurt.) However, that was 40-plus years ago and times changed. Talent that could have been used have been released or left and it is the retread of wrestlers with no new arrivals really causing a stir. I know Francis has gone on record that we should focus on the additions as much as subtractions to TNA but the additions (aside from Aichner) have been underused and stymied.

The partnership with NXT was fresh but nothing has truly happened this year (aside from Arianna Grace who, well, is not great in the ring.) I get weary now of speculation on who is coming from other promotions since they new folks are invariably lost in shuffles (see AEW and WWE.) TNA needs to find good, young talent and don’t let them fall (see Grace, Myla and Hudson, Harley.) There is room to flourish, they just need that consistent and adroit touch which was missing – by and large – there. Take the young talent that is there and give them something to do beside nonsensical angles and being put on back burners for emeritus service veterans. This is a very critical time and can’t botch this.

For example, I was really looking forward to last year’s Slammivesary to see how they develop the Trick Williams, Joe Hendry and Mike Santana triangle feud for the TNA Impact World Title. There was a lot of buzz about new story angles and who cold fit where. Now, Slammiversary just feels like another card. I am sure the quality will be there but it doesn’t captivate me like last year’s card did.

One: I am going to give a compliment to someone who got a lot of face time today and is being worked into some intriguing angles – K C Navarro. The battle for him between Santana and Nemeth is a curious undercurrent in their feud. One can throw Ryan Nemeth as another variable to handle Navarro. I am curious how Navarro does in Ultimate X and how this plays into this storyline. Navarro handled his role really well as both a source of equanimity and appreciative of both.

Two: Glad to see Sosa back. The blowoff of the feud with Young should be quick and brief. Like Navarro, it is a young guy who can pack around with other talent – the same could be said for…

Three: Slater. He is someone one could build a promotion around going forward in the future. He turned out another great promo against Alexander (more later.)

Four: Conversely, I really don’t need to see Young or Kazarian in the matches they are slotted for Slammiversary. Kazarian is a good name for nostalgia but is this the torch you want to carry? You have five good solid young wrestlers. I guess if you want someone there to guide the proceedings – okay. But, the last time we said this, they gave a TNA World title reign (I know, I know, it was to pop the AMC debut – still.)

Five: That woman’s division just got really thin on talent. Brookside is doing her best and carrying her weight and then ??? The By Elegance Brand? I guess with Ash (still think it should be M but…) Crawford and Moore cannot carry that weight without Blanchard giving it gravitas and just being who she is. Elayna Black might have hit her ceiling.

Six: The mind games are nice to keep it seemingly up in the air, but it really does seem like fait accompli that the Hardys regain the titles. Although, it would be a fresh idea to have the Righteous carry the belts.

Seven: Draper reminded me so much of a wrestler as a kid in the 1980’s. I really did expect to walk to the ring with the Louisiana Heavyweight Championship in tow and about to face Tiger Conway Jr in Houma.

Eight: Not everything has to be screamed, Cedric, it doesn’t. You can be authoritative without sounding like Sam Kinison doing a set at the Rainbow Bar and Grill (kids, ask your parents.)

Nine: I actually did get a bit of a chuckle from the VH1 “Behind the Music” graphics and voice over in Francis’ segment. Luckily, we just one act because the old docs -the band starts to break apart due to drugs and greed by the third segment.

Lastly: Back to Alexander, go to YouTube or music streaming source of your choice and go to Three minutes, forty seconds of Henry Rollins’ Liar. You’ll see what I meant by the laugh scale.

Fight the Good Fight.