Leon Slater may be only 20 years old, but on Thursday night’s episode of TNA Impact, he main-evented like he’s been doing that for years. In his match against Nic Nemeth, Slater not only held his own, but could believably have won the match at various times. The match was the highlight of the episode, which also included strong matches involving the TNA Knockouts and the women of NXT.

 

Match 1: Ash & Heather by Elegance (w/ George Iceman) vs. Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley

A couple of Temu-edition Chippendale dancers were at ringside with a cake, which the stooge Iceman said was supposed to be part of the Elegance duo’s championship celebration last week. TNA-NXT ambassador Arianna Grace joined the commentary team for this cross-promotion battle. It was noted that this was a non-title match, but if Dolin and Paxley were to have won, they likely would be awarded a future shot at the Elegance’s Knockouts Tag Team Championship.

During the match, they showed the teams of Lash Legend and Jakara Jackson and the former champs Spitfire watching the match on TV (separately) as both of those teams have their designs on the titles.

Dolin and Paxley were in control when the stooge interfered and this let the Elegances turn things around. The NXT duo were able to come back, but the stooge did it again. With the ref distracted, Iceman shoved Paxley off the top rope when she was going for a move, and Paxley crashed hard to the mat. Ash capitalized and hit Rarified Air for the pin.

Surprising they wouldn’t give Dolin and Paxley the win here, just to add another layer to the storyline of all these teams looking to challenge the Elegances for the belts. Disappointing, too, because the more Gigi Dolin is on TV, the better.

Winners: Ash and Heather by Elegance

After the match, the two Chris Farleys served the cake to the Elegances, but Dolin and Paxley dispatched Heather and shoved Ash’s face into the cake. Based on the terrible acting by Ash, it must have been a cheesecake.

In the back, Gia Miller interviewed Leon Slater. He said that he’s ready to fight Nic Nemeth tonight in the main event and make him pay for Nemeth betraying Leon and the Hardys at Sacrifice.

In the back, the stooge was apologizing to Ash, who was still covered in cake. Ash was so distraught that she said she was leaving on vacation and that Heather and Iceman will have to take back control of the situation in her absence. More cheesy acting ensued.

 

Match 2: First Class (AJ Francis and KC Navarro) and Frankie Kazarian vs. The Aztec Warriors (Laredo Kid and Octagon Jr.) and Chavo Guerrero Jr.

The Texas crowd loved seeing Chavo, giving him a huge ovation. A funny moment saw Matthew Rehwoldt recuse himself from saying anything negative about Chavo, saying that he’s not allowed to say anything negative about a Guerrero Family member (his wife Shaul, the daughter of Eddie and Vicky, is Chavo’s cousin).

Chavo looked good and he and the Warriors showed off some quick skills against their opponents early on, hitting some high-flying moves.

But dirty tactics by Francis – who got some vituperative slurs directed at him by the crowd, but it’s okay because they were in Spanish – allowed First Class and Frankie to take over for an extended beatdown on the luchadores.

Chavo finally got tagged back in and he fared better, impressively hitting the Three Amigos on the plus-sized Francis, earning “Eddie!” chants from the crowd. The Warriors hit stereo High Cross Bodies from the top rope to the floor on Francis and Frankie, leaving Navarro alone with Chavo. Chavo hit a Gory Special and an Eddie-esque Frog Splash on Navarro for the big win.

This was all about delivering some fan service with Chavo, the sentimental favourite, hitting his family’s trademark moves and getting the win. And it worked well in that regard.

Winners: The Aztec Warriors and Chavo Guerrero Jr.

A Rosemary vignette aired. She spoke cryptically and it seems she has her sights targeted on Xia Brookside.

 

Mance Warner and Sami Callihan – War of Words

Earlier, Warner and Sami had a sit-down confrontation, moderated by Director of Authority Santino Marella. They were both seated at a table at opposite ends, with both of them handcuffed, so as to limit their ability to fight.

They yelled about how much they don’t like each other. Then Steph DeLander commented about her holding the Digital Media Championship.

Marella said that these two have to stop fighting so as to not endanger the lives of other people and cause further damage to company property. Neither of them were willing to come to a truce. DeLander threw a drink in Sami’s face, and then Santino threw her and Warner out of the room.

 

Match 3: Jacy Jane vs. Masha Slamovich

Another non-title match here, with Jacy looking to beat the Knockouts Champion in a non-title match to possibly earn a shot at the gold. The commentators noted that Tessa Blanchard – who has been targeting Slamovich as of late – was banned from ringside for this one.

Masha hit the first big move of the match with a Flying Body Attack from the ring to the floor, but when she went for another one later, she ate a big punch, which Jane followed up with a Boot to the Head. Jane delivered some more punishment in the form of various strikes and submission holds.

Masha fought back and hit some of her hard-hitting blasts, including a Rolling Kick that knocked Jane for a loop. A nice exchange of moves and counters saw Jacy hit a huge Knee to the Face for a two-count. But when Jacy went for a Discus Punch, Masha blocked it, leading to a slugfest and an exchange of even more kicks, each one increasing in intensity.

Masha caught Jacy going for an apron move and slammed her on the apron. She followed that up with a huge kick, but Jacy got her foot up on the rope to break the pinfall attempt. After another sequence where they exchanged kick attempts, Masha finally had enough. She hit a Boot to the Head, picked up Jane, and hit the Snow Plow to finally end things.

This was good, and they gave Jacy more offense than most of Masha’s opponents. But, again, you wonder if they might have broke from the usual pattern and given Jacy a win and a potential argument to compete for the title. At some point, this crossover should have someone win one of the other company’s titles. Why not give Jacy a right to try to be the one?

Winner: Masha Slamovich

After the match, Tessa Blanchard ran into the ring and blindsided Masha, knocking her silly and then hitting some furious ground-and-pound. Xia Brookside and Lei Ying Lee ran in to chase Tessa off.

ffr

 

A video aired hyping the feud between Mike Santana and Mustafa Ali.

 

Match 4: Eric Young (w/ the Northern Armory) vs. Ace Austin

In the early moments, Young stared into the camera and gave Steve Maclin a message, telling him that “This is what trust looks like.” He then turned his back on Austin, and when Austin advanced towards him, the Northern Armory both slid into the ring to block Austin’s path. As the ref dealt with them, Young attacked Austin and punished him with strikes.

Austin fought back with some technical moves for a bit. But cheap shots from the Northern Armory from the floor helped Young regain the advantage every time Austin was gaining momentum. The pendulum swung from side-to-side, such as Austin hitting a huge Spin Kick and Young later hitting a Flying Elbow.

In the end, the numbers game was too much for Austin, and after even more distraction by the Northern Armory, Austin got caught. Young threw him shoulder-first into the ring post and then finished Austin off with a Piledriver for the 1-2-3.

This was all about solidifying Young as a dirty heel who needs his faction to help him win, and from that standpoint, it accomplished that.

Winner: Eric Young

 

Joe Hendry / Elijah / Frankie Kazarian – Dueling Concerts

The World Champion Joe Hendry came to the ring and grabbed a mic. He said that he will defend his title against anyone from any company. All they have to do is call up Santino Marella and ask for a title shot.

Cue the guitar strum for Elijah who came out and joined Hendry in the ring. Elijah assured Joe that he wasn’t there to request a title shot. Rather, he was there to confirm and solidify their friendship. Elijah said that he wasn’t going to turn on Joe, even though many people may be expecting him to do so.

Elijah started singing the Toy Story song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” – wonder how much TNA had to pay for the rights to use that. Elijah encouraged the crowd to sing along, and they did.

Frankie Kazarian interrupted the impromptu concert and came to the ring with a bass guitar. He said that he was the most talented musician and played a solo version of “La Cucarahcha” which the crowd booed. Then he played an insulting parody of the song “El Paso”, using that to further rile up the crowd.

Hendry told Frankie to get out of the ring. Frankie then tried to drive a wedge between Hendry and Elijah, saying that it was inevitable that they were going to fight. But instead, Hendry and Elijah teamed up and readied themselves to beat up Frankie.

Frankie broke free and in the commotion, Hendry and Elijah nearly collided, but they both stopped before that could happen. Frankie used that hesitation to skedaddle out of the ring.

Hendry then suggested a duet between him and Elijah and they sang the “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” song to Frankie, with the crowd joining in.

 

Match 5: Nic Nemeth (w/ Ryan Nemeth) vs. Leon Slater

The wily veteran Nemeth started off cocky, but had to resort to some dirty tactics when Slater out-quicked him. But Slater was undaunted, and he fought back and blasted Nemeth with two big moves in rapid succession: a huge Handspring Back Elbow, and then when Nemeth went to the floor, Slater did his trademark Super Somersault Dive, leaping from the ring and over the turnbuckle before landing on Nemeth on the floor. That move looks stellar every time he does it.

Nemeth took over when he dodged a move and Slater hit the corner-post shoulder-first. But Slater kept firing back with dazzling moves, and nearly got the win after a big Twisting Suplex.

They exchanged big moves and the advantage several times, with both of them nearly picking up the win repeatedly. The crowd gave them a “This is awesome!” chant after Slater kicked out after a Famouser by Nemeth.

Slater got caught going for a Handspring move and Nemeth locked on a submission. After Slater escaped, he got hit with a huge Leaping DDT, but again the youngster had no quit in him.

Nemeth crotched Slater on the top and hit a Superplex, but Slater beat him to the kick when Nemeth took too long setting up Sweet Chin Music. Slater hit Twist of Slate, but when he tried to follow up with a 450-Swanton, Nemeth got his knees up and covered Slater. But Slater kicked out!

The final moments saw some more quick-paced action, but when Slater was going for a Superkick, Ryan grabbed his leg from the outside. Slater turned to confront him, and Nic hit a Superkick of his own and then took Slater to the Danger Zone, and that was enough to keep Slater down for the count.

This was a fast-paced exciting contest. Slater looked like he belonged in the main event scene, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him get an actual title match at some point down the road.

Winner: Nic Nemeth

After the match, Ryan put the boots to Slater, but the Hardys ran – well, kind of slowly shuffled – to the ring, and the Nemeth Brothers bailed. Matt grabbed a mic and said that the Nemeths should not be calling themselves the best brother tag team in wrestling. Matt said that they’re not cleared to compete yet, but will be at Rebellion, and challenged them to a match. The Nemeths stormed off, leaving the Hardys and Slater in the ring to end the show.

TNA Impact - March 27th, 2024

El Paso County Coliseum - El Paso, TX

The NXT crossover continues to help the quality of TNA’s weekly shows, and particularly in the Knockouts division which has been given a real shot in the arm (though Tessa vs. Masha might actually be the strongest storyline in the company right now). Leon Slater’s match tonight was a star-making one, and was a strong main event. Also refreshing for this show? No System. And the fact that they weren’t missed and the show didn’t feel lacking shows you how effective filling out the show with NXT stars really is.