At this past weekend’s Rebellion event, The System worked against Nic Nemeth, as the faction – led by TNA World Champion Moose – worked together to screw Nemeth out of the win. On Thursday night’s episode of Impact Wrestling, they upped their campaign against Nemeth. Not only did they cheat to help Eddie Edwards beat Nemeth in the main event. But, then they took things further, attacking him after the match with intent to take Nemeth out of the picture permanently. It was a strong capper to a strong overall show.

 

Nic Nemeth promo

Nic Nemeth came to the ring, noting that he had hoped to come there as the new TNA World Champion. He said he had no excuses for what happened at Rebellion where he lost to Moose. He said he doesn’t know what’s to come next, or what he should do.

He was interrupted by Broken Matt Hardy, who came to the ring. Hardy said that he had hoped that Nemeth would have won the title at Rebellion. Hardy asked for the final moments of Nemeth’s loss to Moose be shown on the jumbotron, and it was noticeable that Nemeth’s shoulder was up before the ref’s hand hit the mat for the third time, but the ref missed it. Hardy said that Nemeth should get another chance at the title, but when he does, it’s likely that Matt Hardy will be champion and not Moose, because winning the World Title is why Hardy is back in TNA.

 

This brought out Moose with his faction, The System. The System trash-talked Nemeth and Hardy, and this led to Nemeth throwing out a challenge to Eddie Edwards for a match tonight.

The audio during this segment was awful, with what seemed to be fake crowd noise pumped in throughout – this was distracting and annoying.

In the back, “Director of Authority” Santino Marella was adjudicating the secret ballot voting for who would be the next contender for Mustafa Ali’s X=Division Championship. Jordynne Grace dropped her vote into the Ballot Box and then asked for a private word with Marella. Ali and his Secret Service team left while Grace and Marella talked. The audio issues continued here. This could be a long night.

Backstage, Gia Miller interviewed Jordynne Grace, who said that she was glad that PCO was watching her back at Rebellion, and that she was glad to see Sami Callihan make his return to the company during the match as well. Gia noted that Grace takes on Miyu Yamashita in a non-title match next week, but Grace said that’s what she had discussed with Santino earlier – because Grace wants to be a fighting champion, so is the Knockouts Championship on the line in that match. Yamashita walked in and said she would beat Grace and take the title.  Hopefully at some point tonight they show some clips of this person from wherever it is that she wrestles so people have a clue who she is and why they should care about her.

 

Match 1: Mike Santana vs. Myron Reed (w/ the Rascalz)

Reed got in a sneaky attack at the bell thanks to distraction by Wentz on the outside, and then was able to use his speed and agility to land a couple of hit-and-run attacks. But Santana was finally able to catch Reed in a flippy attack attempt and nailed him with a big Cutter on the entrance ramp.

 

He then leaped off of the ramp to flatten Wentz and Miguel on the floor. Back in the ring, Santana hit a Spin The Block and that was all she wrote.

After the match, Steve Maclin came out and tried to instruct the Rascalz to join him in a post-match attack on Santana, but they abandoned him, remembering the last time they allied with Maclin, which ended badly. Alone, Maclin bailed as well, barely escaping an STB by Santana.

This was a good showcase for Santana. Reed had some good moments as well, but really this was all about continuing to establish Santana as a singles star.

Winner: Mike Santana

In a pre-taped promo, Steph De Lander and Kon complained about Steph’s loss to Jordynne Grace at Rebellion. She challenged Grace and PCO to a mixed tag team match against her and Kon at Under Siege.

 

Josh Alexander addresses the crowd

Alexander said that after beating Hammerstone at Rebellion, he was the Last Man Standing. But he said that he would rather be called, once again, the TNA World Champion.

This brought out Frankie Kazarian who came out to the ring. He said that Alexander wasn’t the only one who won their match at Rebellion: he did, too, beating Eric Young. Kaz said that he should get a title match, not Josh. Alexander suggested they have a match to determine who should get the next title shot.

Kaz said that he was too tired and beaten up after his Rebellion match and Josh trying to exploit that, taking advantage of him while he wasn’t 100%. Alexander said that he was beat up as well, but was willing to have a fight right then and there. Kaz declined and backed out of the ring.

But then a referee came out and announcer Jade Chung said that she’d gotten word from the back that the match was on and it was happening immediately.

More audio issues here as Josh’s promo started off with the mic echoing, and when that was fixed, the audio track seemed about a half-second delayed from the video, and that problem persisted for the rest of the live mic segments for much of the show. This kind of stuff never happened with D’Amore in charge… just saying.

 

Match 2: Josh Alexander vs. Frankie Kazarian

Both of them were in their street gear since neither had come out expecting to wrestle. As Kaz was taking off his jacket, he threw it over Josh’s head and bum-rushed him. He got in some shots, but Alexander was able to withstand them and throw Kaz to the floor as the show went to a break.

Back from commercials, and Josh was in control. But the wily vet Kazarian had scouted Josh well, and when Josh went for his patented Running Low Cross Body Block, Kaz dodged it, and Josh sailed hard to the floor. Kaz took over then, blasting Josh with hard shots and some dirty tactics, like going after Josh’s ears, exposed since he wasn’t wearing his headgear. A big Spin Kick and a Clothesline hurt Josh, but Kaz elected to not go for the cover and instead dole out some more punishment.

But Alexander fired up, hitting Kaz with a straight punch to the face and following that up with some chops and some power moves. Some back-and-forth action ensued, and they exchanged big moves, including a big DDT by Kaz that nearly got him the win.

 

In a neat sequence, Kaz went for a Springboard Legdrop, but Josh caught the leg and locked on an Ankle Lock, forcing Kaz to get to the ropes to break the hold. Some more big move exchanges, including a Slingshot Cutter by Kaz that looked great, and the crowd really got into this battle.

Kaz went under the ring and got a chair and a chain, which he hid. The ref saw the chair and confiscated it, and while he was disposing of it, Kaz pulled out the chain, readying to blast Josh with it.

But then Eric Young ran to the ring and yoinked the chain out of Kaz’s hands. Kaz, seeing his plan thwarted, hit the mat and made as if Young had clocked him with the chain. The ref didn’t rush to judgment, though, and rather than disqualifying Alexander, simply told Young to leave the ringside area. Kaz still gloated at that turn of events, but while he did, Alexander capitalized and clamped on the Ankle Lock. Kaz was trapped and had no choice but to tap out. After the match, Young raised Josh’s arm in victory.

This was really good, which isn’t particularly surprising given the two talents involved. With the feud between Kaz and Young seemingly escalating with this one, this was a good way to continue that one. And also move Josh back up towards the World Title scene. Effective on both counts.

Winner: Josh Alexander

In the back, Santino Marella told Jake Something that he wasn’t eligible to be voted for in the Mustafa Ali Ballot Box Battle, since he just had a title shot at Rebellion. Hammerstone barged in and demanded to speak with Marella, and this led to him and Something getting into a shoving match. Marella made a match between the two of them at Under Siege. As that unfolded, it looked like the Rascalz were stuffing the Ballot Box behind their backs.

Rich Swann and AJ Francis (collectively known as Fir$t Cla$$) were shown pulling into the parking lot. They were accompanied by Bun B, who is apparently a rapper.

Gia Miller introduced the three of them to the live crowd, and they came out to the entrance ramp to join her. They bragged about being rich, and about Rich Swann’s win over Joe Hendry at Rebellion. Swann dismissed Gia’s comments about the victory being tainted because of outside interference.

But, like the song goes, once they said Joe Hendry’s name, he appeared. Hendry said that he suffered a groin injury at Rebellion thanks to the attack by Shawn Merriman. He said that the loss and the injury humbled him. So he was going to give Fir$t Cla$$ an apology in the ring next week.

Sadly, Hendry’s theme song was interrupted by Ash by Elegance’s super-stooge George Iceman who was in the ring to introduce her for the next match.

 

Match 3: Ash By Elegance vs. Xia Brookside

Xia started off with a fiery start, but Ash doused that pretty quickly, and took over with some hard shots, including a series of Forearms in the corner. The action spilled to the elevated entrance ramp where Ash hit her big Handspring Somersault Elbow. Ash rolled Xia back in the ring and delivered some ground-and-pound and a deep Reverse Chinlock. Brookside escaped and fired back with some big Running Double Knees to Ash’s back and a High Cross Body for a near-fall. But a straight up kick to Xia’s chest sent her tumbling to the floor. As the ref counted, Iceman gave slipped some rings onto Ash’s fingers, potentially to use like brass knuckles. The ref saw the illegal bling on Ash’s fingers and confronted her. As Ash objected, Xia rolled her up from behind and surprised Ash for the three-count.

 

This was fine. Xia showed some good fire in this one and she certainly has something there. Ash played her role well, as she has been doing since her arrival. Safe to say there will be at least another match between these two at some point.

Winner: Xia Brookside

In the back, Santino revealed the results of the Ballot Box voting, and Trey Miguel had won overwhelmingly. So much so that the number of votes cast exceeded the number of eligible voters, an impossibility that was pointed out by a number of the babyfaces. They challenged the voting, suggesting that Ace Austin – who came in second place – was the rightful winner. Rather than face a January 6th reoccurrence, Marella mandated that Miguel and Austin have a match next week, with the winner becoming the number one contender to Ali’s X-Division Championship.

 

Match 4: Sami Callihan vs. the Good Hands (John Skyler and Jason Hotch)

The Good Hands explained that Sami had demanded a match against the Good Hands after their confrontation at Rebellion. When asked which one he wanted to face, he said both of them, hence this handicap match.

Callihan dropped one of the Good Hands with a punch and a Powerbomb before using an 8×10 of PCO to give them both papercuts and make their hands not-so-good. He went for an aerial attack, but ate a Spear on the apron and then a Moonsault by Hotch from the second turnbuckle to the floor.

The Good Hands tried to use their numbers advantage to good effect, but Sami was channeling his Death Machine mentality and basically flung them like baby poop (which is a saying that only people from Detroit will get but is the perfect description of what happened). He ended things quickly with a Cactus Driver 97 on one of the Hands for the pin.

 

This was a great showcase for Sami. It’s fun to see him back in TNA, and this seems to be the best place for him out of all the major companies.

Winner: Sami Callihan

In the back, Steve Maclin approached Frankie Kazarian with an offer for a business proposal. Maclin said that they should work together to take out their respective enemies: Josh Alexander and Eric Young for Kaz and Mike Santana for Maclin. Though the two of them don’t like each other and really don’t trust each other, they reached a tentative agreement to a temporary alliance to deal with each other’s problems.

Before the next match, Ryan Nemeth – Nic’s brother – was shown sitting in the front row.

 

Match 5: Nic Nemeth vs. Eddie Edwards (w/ Brian Myers and Alisha)

They started off with a bit of a stalemate when it came to technical wrestling, but Nemeth landed the first big shot with a huge Running Shoulder Block. Interference by Alisha on the outside allowed Eddie to take over, and he dropped Nemeth with a big Headbutt and whipped him hard into the turnbuckles, knocking Nemeth for a loop.

Ryan Nemeth led the crowd in chants for Nic, but every time he tried to mount a comeback, Eddie had an answer – even if it was not particularly a nuanced answer, like when he simply fired a punch directly between Nemeth’s eyes.

Or sometimes the answer came in the form of even more interference by Alisha or Myers, whose efforts saw Nemeth land hard on the floor.

Back in the ring, Eddie continued beating up Nemeth, hitting him with chops, arm smashes, and knees and then locking on a Rear Chinlock to sap the life out of Nemeth. Nemeth finally stunned Eddie with a Neckbreaker, and followed that up with his rapid-fire Elbow Drops for a 2-count.

Nemeth hit a huge Spike DDT, but Eddie kicked out. Nemeth was looking for Sweet Chin Music, but Eddie rolled out of the ring to avoid it. Nemeth chased him back into the ring, but got caught coming back in, and instead Eddie brought him in the hard way with a Superplex and rolled that over into a Tiger Driver for 2.99.

Eddie then tried to hit Sweet Chin Music of his own, but Nemeth beat him to the move. This led to an exchange of strikes in the middle of the ring, an exchange of finisher attempts, and a big collision in the middle of the ring with a Double Clothesline that knocked down both men.

On the outside, Myers took a shot at Ryan in the crowd, so the ref left the ring to deal with that. That allowed Moose to sneak into the ring undetected and smash Nemeth in the head with the World Title. With Nemeth knocked silly, he was prone for a Boston Knee Party and that allowed Edwards to get the pin, giving another tainted win over Nemeth to The System.

After the match, The System put a beatdown on Nic in the ring, forcing Ryan to watch helplessly from the floor as they wrapped a chair around Nic’s neck and smashed it with another chair, nearly decapitating him.

Speedball Mountain – Trent Seven and “Speedball” Mike Bailey ran into the ring and chased off The System, but the damage had already been done. They, and Ryan Nemeth, checked on Nic’s condition as The System headed up the ramp to end the show.

This was a really good, evenly-contested match, and the post-match assault looked really good. That move with the chairs could believably take Nemeth off of TV for a while if that’s the plan. If not, it certainly adds more fuel to the fire for this one. Either way, this was quite effective.

Winner: Eddie Edwards

TNA Impact Wrestling - April 25th, 2024
4

The Palms - Las Vegas, NV

With only a couple of episodes to go before Under Siege, TNA did a good job of expediting the storylines to build that event. Pretty much every segment on tonight’s show was designed to do that, and it was pretty effective overall. A couple of good matches, coupled with some good promos – Matt Hardy’s return promo was particularly fun – and a strong closing segment made this a worthwhile investment of a couple of hours.