Results
- Cedric Alexander & Leon Slater def. Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz
- Victoria Crawford def. Jody Threat
- Mance Warner def. Lei Ying Lee, AJ Francis, Mara Sadè, Killer Kelly, Rosemary, Home Town Man, Matt Cardona, Xia Brookside & Ryan Nemeth (Call Your Shot Qualifier Battle Royal)
- Mr. Anderson & Steve Maclin def. Frankie Kazarian & Jake Something
Leon Slater beats two Rascalz members ahead of title match against Myron Reed
This week’s episode of TNA iMPACT!, a go-home show before Victory Road this Friday, opened with a recap of some headlines from last week’s episode: It was announced that Order Four and The System will meet in Hardcore War at Bound for Glory, and The Hardys retained their tag titles against The Nemeths.
We then went back to The Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where tag action opened the night. Trey Miguel and Zachary Wentz of The Rascalz teamed up to face Cedric Alexander and Leon Slater. Everyone involved in this segment is booked for tomorrow’s show: Myron Reed, cornering The Rascalz, will face Slater for the X-Division title. Miguel, Wentz, and Alexander are set for a three-way on the pre-show.
Slater had a hot start to this match, but eventually found himself stuck in the Rascalz corner of the ring for an extended period of time. He found the opening to tag in Alexander after coming running off the ropes with a cutter onto Miguel.
Alexander put together a series of German Suplexes on Wentz. He tried for a Lumbar Check, but Wentz fought off the move. Instead, he hit a draping neckbreaker, then a Falcon Arrow for a two-count.
Wentz avoided a move from Alexander, then countered a top rope dive from Slater, instead striking him mid-air with a knee. Miguel came off the top with a dropkick, sending Alexander out of the ring briefly. The Rascalz got a near fall onto Slater with a flashy double-team move.
The fight went to ringside, where Slater briefly locked eyes with Victory Road opponent Reed after delivering a crossbody over the top. Slater got caught by The Rascalz as he climbed through the ropes, allowing for Miguel to hold him off the middle rope as Wentz came down with a Swanton Bomb.
The Rascalz tried for a Burning Hammer double team on Slater, but Alexander helped him avoid the move. Alexander gave both Rascalz wrestlers a German Suplex, then delivered a tope suicida to the outside, taking out Wentz. Back in the ring, Slater came off the top with his 450 Swanton onto Miguel for the pinfall win. An action-packed opener, a fun way to set the tone for this week’s episode and give Slater some momentum ahead of his match against Reed on Friday.
Tessa Blanchard returns, helps Victoria Crawford score win
We were shown a clip from Tuesday’s NXT, where a massive WWE vs. TNA brawl erupted, causing an end to a title-versus-title matchup between Oba Femi and Trick Williams.
The broadcast also showed a clip where a threatening Eric Young demanded a match against Joe Hendry at Victory Road, which got confirmed earlier today.
The second match of the night saw Victoria Crawford face off against Jody Threat. Crawford somewhat punked Threat last week, bringing the Canadian onto her “MentorU” podcast to essentially make fun of her and say she has no friends. We also learned during that segment that Tessa Blanchard’s suspension was up, so we should expect her soon… Or even now.
Threat started to gain some momentum a couple of minutes in, piecing together a pair of lariats and then a hard head kick. She connected with a double knees to the back of Crawford’s head then a deadlift German Suplex, but got distracted by some music… Arriving on the stage was the aforementioned Blanchard.
Blanchard’s arrival angered Threat, who went over to the ring apron to shout at her. Crawford caught her with a sloppy Axe Kick as she climbed back through the ropes, giving the Blanchard ally a sudden pinfall win in just a few minutes. After two months away, this was a bit of a lame way to bring Blanchard back.
In a backstage promo, Moose called for both Order Four and The System to be absent from ringside during his match on Friday against Mustafa Ali to prove who’s really the better between them.
Mance Warner to enter last in Bound For Glory’s Call Your Shot Gauntlet
A special “Call Your Shot” qualifier battle royal was next. This match was booked to determine who will enter at #1 and #20 at the Bound for Glory Call Your Shot Gauntlet, a Rumble-style match where the winner gets a world title shot anytime they’d like.
Here’s what’s interesting: The winner of this qualifier match gets to enter last (20th) in the BFG gauntlet. The second-last person in the match enters first, so if you make it to the finals of this week’s battle royal, the stakes are higher than ever.
AJ Francis played a comedy spot in the match, getting ganged up on by the entire roster after roasting numerous wrestlers during his entrance. Other early eliminations in the match included Mara Sadè, Killer Kelly, and Rosemary.
Home Town Man had a fun bit where a Minnesota Twins jersey was ripped off him by Mance Warner, only to reveal that he had a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey under – Home Town to his core.
Home Town Man and Matt Cardona attempted to suplex Warner over the ropes and to the outside. Instead, Ryan Nemeth, who was at ringside, swept the legs of Home Town Man and Cardona, eliminating them from the match.
Xia Brookside was pushed off the top by Nemeth, causing her to tumble to the outside and get eliminated. At this point, it was down to Warner, Nemeth, and Lei Ying Lee.
Nemeth charged at Lee, but the ex-WWE talent dodged his attack, causing him to go flying over the top and to the outside. It was down to just Warner and Lee.
Lee was brought over to the ring apron and, after a quick back-and-forth, was dropped to the mat with a hard big boot, giving Warner the win. Warner will enter last in the Call Your Shot Gauntlet, and Lee will have to enter first and overcome all 19 other wrestlers for the title opportunity.
We were reminded that Mickie James and The Beautiful People (Angelina Love & Velvet Sky) will be inducted into the TNA Hall of Fame at Bound for Glory this year.
The Hardys, Team 3D negotiate terms of final matchup
Before their last-ever meeting at Bound For Glory, Team 3-D and The Hardys met face-to-face in the next segment. A matchup between the duos was moderated by Santino Marella.
Matt Hardy said that, to cement their legacy as the Greatest of all Time, they need to beat Team 3-D at Bound For Glory. “We need you at Bound For Glory because we are the two GOATs,” Matt said.
Matt said they’ll shake the hands of Team 3D if they lose to them at Bound For Glory. Would Team 3D be able to do the same if they lose?
“What do you have for us?” Bubba Ray asked. The Hardys replied by saying they will wager their TNA Tag Team Championships when they meet at Bound For Glory. Marella confirmed that the titles will be on the line.
Titles on the line, and the teams shake hands, no matter who wins? “Our answer is this: No,” Ray replied, confirming that he still wasn’t satisfied with the terms. He had one more stipulation he wanted to add: “If we’re gonna do this, let’s do this the right way … In a tables match.”
Marella offered the teams to sign a contract, but Team 3D insisted that all they needed to do was shake hands. It was confirmed: The Hardys and Team 3D will face off in a tables match at Bound For Glory for the TNA Tag Team Championships, and whoever loses must admit the winning team are the GOATs.
Masha Slamovich vs. Ash By Elegance no longer on Victory Road
The broadcast provided a rundown of tomorrow’s Victory Road card. They notably did not mention the Knockouts World Championship match between Masha Slamovich and Ash By Elegance, all but confirming that the bout has quietly been removed from the card (this was never officially announced, but the promotion has gone days without mentioning the matchup).
Leon Slater vs. Myron Reed was the last bout they mentioned, so it looks as though they’re not in the headlining spot.
Countdown to Victory Road (8:30 p.m. ET)
- Trey Miguel vs. Zachary Wentz vs. Cedric Alexander
- AJ Francis’ First Class Penthouse feat. Matt Hardy
Main Card (9 p.m. ET)
- Mustafa Ali vs. Moose
- Matt Cardona & The Home Town Man vs. Nic Nemeth & Ryan Nemeth
- Mike Santana vs. Ridge Holland
- Heather & M By Elegance vs. Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay (TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships)
- Joe Hendry vs. Eric Young
- Steve Maclin vs. Frankie Kazarian (TNA International Championship)
- Leon Slater vs. Myron Reed (TNA X-Division Championship)
Mr. Anderson victorious in TNA return alongside Steve Maclin
The main event of the night saw Mr. Anderson return to the TNA ring for the first time in nearly a decade, teaming with Steve Maclin to face Frankie Kazarian and Jake Something. This match was set up on last week’s Impact when Mr. Anderson was a guest on Kazarian’s talk show.
This was also a preview of the International Championship match on Friday night between Kazarian and Maclin. This match got a significant chunk of time, at least much longer than what you usually see on TNA TV.
Anderson got a hot tag late against Kazarian, scoring a near fall with a Standing Green Bay Plunge. He tried for the Mic Check, but Kazarian was able to fight his way out of the move.
Anderson climbed to the top rope for a move but was slowed by Something from the ring apron, allowing Kazarian to pick him up. Kazarian tried for a Fade To Black, but Anderson was able to reverse the move for a Mic Check. He went for the pin, but Something was able to break up the pin at the last second – the late pin break caused a “That was three” chant.
Kazarian avoided a second Mic Check, instead scoring a backstabber, lariat, then springboard legdrop for a two-count. Something got back into the ring and tried to put away Anderson with a move, but was instead knocked back out of the ring with a back bodydrop.
Maclin tagged back into the match. After flying out of the ring with a tope suicida, he returned to the ring and gave Kazarian a huge Olympic Slam. He then draped Kazarian in the corner for his Tag ‘Em, Bag ‘Em spear. Something got back into the ring but was wiped out by Anderson, who scored a Mic Check onto him. Maclin then landed his K.I.A. finisher onto Kazarian for the pinfall win, sending a message just before their title matchup tomorrow night. For the first time since a 2016, Mr. Anderson got his arm raised in a TNA ring as the show went off air.
