It was a harsh homecoming for Matt and Jeff Hardy on Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact Wrestling, when they were put through a table by the System in their home state of North Carolina. Though the brothers were able to hold on to their Tag Team Championship, it was small comfort when they were put through a table by the challengers. Though, with the later announcement that the two teams will face each other again at Final Destination – in a Tables Match – it’s possible the Hardys may get their chance at revenge.

The mid-show match was a highlight on a match-heavy show that was all about building towards Final Destination.

 

Match 1: Trent Seven vs. Ace Austin vs. JDC vs. KUSHIDA vs. Leon Slater

The winner of this match will become the number one contender for the X-Division Championship, and will face Moose on December 13th at Final Resolution.

Qucik action early on in this one, with everyone getting a chance to shine with big moves. Austin hit the biggest one with a big Fosbury Flop to the floor, taking out a few of the others. But then he got beaten down by Seven and JDC who formed an alliance – or, rather, a temporary one, as JDC tried for a sneaky rollup on Seven at one point.

Austin hit an Art of Finesse, a-la his injured partner Chris Bey, on Seven for a near-fall.

But then Austin got caught by KUSHIDA who hit a Spanish Fly and then locked on an Armbar – which was broken up when Slater hit both of them with a Top Rope Splash. Slater followed that up with a huge Somersault Leap over the ringpost that took everyone out on the floor.

Bodies started flying all over – and were even used as weapons – leading to a “This is awesome!” chant. After Austin and JDC were dispatched – with Austin hitting the floor hard – Slater and KUSHIDA were left in the ring. KUSHIDA thwarted a Handspring move attempt with a kick, then picked up Slater and hit Back to the Future to get the pin.

Lots of action in this one. KUSHIDA against Moose is a fresh match, but don’t think KUSHIDA has much of a chance.

Winner: KUSHIDA

In the back, Gia Miller was with Tasha Steelz, who faces Jordynne Grace tonight. Tasha was confident she would win the match.

 

Match 2: Sami Callihan & PCO vs. The Good Hands (Jason Hotch and John Skyler)

The Good Hands trash-talked the North Carolina fans during their entrance. They paid for that with a pretty one-sided beating by PCO and Sami. The Good Hands got a little bit of offense on Sami through some dirty tactics, but they had no answer for the monster that is PCO. PCO hit a Double DDT and a Sami-assisted Somersault Dive to the floor that flattened both Hands. And then PCO ended things with a Sami-Assisted PCO Bomb off the top rope onto one of his hapless opponents.

This was a fine TV match, though not as much of a spectacle as many involving PCO.

Winners: Sami Callihan and PCO

After the match, the lights went out and a video played on the jumbo-tron. The video was kind of like Sami’s old hacker videos, ending with a long shot of the number 23 on-screen. There’s no TNA event scheduled for December 28th, which would be 23 days from today. The letters BC are the 2nd and 3rd letters of the alphabet – so maybe this is teasing a wrestler with the initials BC? Or someone from BC?  Hey, Johnny Devine was born in BC.  Hmmm…. Let the speculation begin.

 

In the back, TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth was cutting a promo when he was interrupted by First Class (KC Navarro and AJ Francis). Francis laid down a challenge, saying that he wanted to head into 2025 as World Champion. It looked like they were going to throw hands, when Director of Authority Santino Marella walked in and intervened. He booked Nemeth vs. Francis for the World Title at Final Resolution.

 

Match 3: The Hardys (Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy) (c) vs. The System (Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers) (w/ Alisha) – for the Tag Team Championship

The Hardys took control early, buoyed by their fellow North Carolinians in the crowd, but a cheap shot by Myers allowed the System to turn the tide. They isolated Matt for a while, until Matt blocked a Roster Cut attempt by Myers and hit a Side Effect.

Matt tagged in Jeff, who was on fire, hitting some of his vintage moves, including his Straddle Double Legdrop on Eddie and a Whisper in the Wind onto both challengers.

Eddie escaped a Twist of Fate attempt, and then he and Myers hit Jeff with a double-team Body Block for a two-count. The System looked to put Jeff away with the System Overload, but Jeff escaped, leading to all four men to start fighting in the ring. And out of it, as Jeff hit a Double Clothesline off the apron onto both System members.

The teams brawled on the floor, and the Hardys got the advantage. They were setting up simultaneous Powerbombs onto a table that had been set up outside, but before they could hit the moves, Alisha smacked both of them with a Singapore cane, saving her faction members. This was in plain sight of the referee, who immediately called for the disqualification.

After the match, the System went on the attack, hitting Jeff with the Boston Knee Party and then whacking him again with the Singapore cane. They then put Matt on the table and drove Jeff through Matt through the table. The System celebrated the beat-down as the Hardys lay there in the pieces of the broken table.

 

The match was all right, and the beatdown at the end got a great reaction from the crowd, who despised the System for taking out their hometown heroes. Look for this feud to continue – maybe with a Tables Match, or even a Full Metal Mayhem match?

Winners, by disqualification, and still Tag Team Champions: The Hardys

A pre-taped promo aired from the Knockouts Tag Team Champions Spitfire (Jody Threat and Dani Luna). They dislike Ash and Heather By Elegance, and will look to beat them in separate singles matches next week.

Santino Marella came out to the entrance ramp. He announced that the Hardys will defend their Tag Team Championship against the System in a Tables Match at Final Resolution. Told ya so.

In the back, Sami and PCO were irately trying to find out who was behind the 23 video from earlier. They ran into Hammerstone and Jake Something, who denied being responsible. This led to a challenge for a match, and Sami said he would talk to Santino to make it official.

 

Match 4: Tasha Steelz vs. Jordynne Grace

As the two of them jockeyed for position, the camera spotted Rosemary lurking in the rafters and watching the match with great interest. They cut to her a few times as the commentators speculated on what her intentions were, and noting how unnerving she is.

Steelz was able to counter Grace’s strength advantage with some crafty moves, and neither one was really dominating before the show went into a commercial break.

When we returned, Tasha was in control, even hitting a big Superplex on Grace for a 2-count. But Grace powered up and hit a huge Overhead Throw that sent Steelz flying. A slugfest ensued, ending with Grace hitting a Running Vertebreaker for a two-count. Some back and forth action led to Steelz hitting a Sliced Bread, but this time, Grace kicked out.

They exchanged moves and counter-moves for a bit, with both of them nearly picking up the win. But, as Grace was going for the Juggernaut Driver, she was distracted by Alisha who ran to the ring brandishing a Singapore cane. More distractions by Alisha ultimate led to Grace getting rolled up by Steelz, who used the ropes for leverage on the pin.

 

After the match, Grace attacked Alisha, but Steelz helped Alisha. They were ready to beat up Grace 2-on-1, but Knockouts Champion Masha Slamovich ran down for the save. Grace and Slamovich beat up and dispatched Steelz and Alisha. Grace’s nose was bleeding after this, so not sure if it was busted up or was just a bloody nose.

The match was okay, but seemed to be missing something . The crowd was pretty quiet for this one and that didn’t help matters.

Winner: Tasha Steelz

 

Match 5: The Northern Army (Josh Alexander, Judas Icarus, and Travis Williams) and Frankie Kazarian vs. Mike Santana, Eric Young, Steve Maclin, and Jonathan Gresham

Joe Hendry appeared and made his way to the commentary desk for the main event. During Kazarian’s entrance, he made sure to jaw-jack with Hendry and knocked over his water bottle.

The match started with a bit of a chaotic standoff, but order got restored and the match kicked off in the ring. There, Icarus took a bit of a beating from Gresham and then Maclin. But a distraction by Alexander on the floor allowed Kaz to hit Maclin with a huge Springboard Legdrop to the back of the head when Maclin tried to slide back in the ring.

Frankie beat up Maclin up until the commercial break, and when we returned to action, it was Eric Young who was getting that treatment.

After a while, there was some more chaos as Alexander and his Northern Army distracted the ref and put a triple-beat down on Young on the floor, prompting the crowd to scold the ref with “Ref, you suck!” chants.

Young eventually broke loose and then it was time for Santana to show what he could do – and what he could do was beat up both Icarus and Williams. Until they used another distraction by Alexander to turn things around, and nearly get the pin on Santana after a double-team move.

Everyone got involved again and there was a parade of finishing moves that saw Alexander nearly pin Gresham after a Tombstone, but Gresham kicked out. Gresham responded with an Octopus, and this led to a Pier-Six brawl.

 

As the referee tried to restore order, he missed seeing Frankie Kazarian sneak in with his Call Your Shot trophy and smack Gresham in the back of the head with it, knocking him out. A pinfall was purely academic after that.

This was pretty good, though felt a bit overstuffed at times – given the number of people involved, that’s not necessarily surprising. The ending was well-done, though, with Kazarian really acting douchey after his cheap win.

Winners: Frankie Kazarian, Judas Icarus, Travis Williams, and Josh Alexander

 

TNA Impact - December 5th, 2024
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Crown Arena - Fayetteville, NC

A bit of weird pacing for this episode, as the crowd seemed to peak with the Hardys match – and, as a result, the rest of the show seemed to feel a bit lackluster, even if the matches were all pretty good. Ultimately, this was all about the build for Final Destination, and in that respect, it did a fine job.