Results
- Elijah, Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy def. Mustafa Ali, Jason Hotch & John Skyler (8:18)
- Heather & M By Elegance def. Jessie McKay & Cassie Lee (TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships) (8:44)
- Mike Santana def. Frankie Kazarian (TNA World Championship) (16:50)
AJ Styles welcomes us to TNA on AMC
A new era for TNA started on Thursday night, as the brand’s first-ever episode of Thursday Night Impact on AMC aired live from the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas. The show was not only big because it had to make an impression in its new home, but also because the company had to sell viewers on its Genesis pay-per-view, which was scheduled to take place less than 48 hours later.
After a short video package about tonight’s show, we went to the live audience in Garland, which looked like a great TV crowd. TNA hasn’t had the best luck with crowds as of late, but this one not only looked properly filled out but was also loud from the get-go. A titantron for AJ Styles played on the stage, and after a slight delay, his old-school TNA theme played. The former TNA world champ turned WWE star made his way to the ring to get things started this evening.
Styles said he would keep his remarks short. He welcomed fans “To the house that AJ Styles built” and the AMC era, led a TNA chant, then said: “Let’s create some chaos!” A new intro for TNA played next. A quick appearance from Styles here, although we’ll see him return a few more times later in the show.
Elijah wins in return with The Hardys, but The Righteous ends the celebration early
Six-man tag action got things started this evening, with Elijah teaming alongside The Hardys to face Order Four’s Mustafa Ali, Jason Hotch & John Skyler. This was notably Elijah’s first match since a triceps tear, which kept him out of action for over six months. He has been beefing with Ali since TNA’s Final Resolution event late last year, and the feud is finally leading to a match.
The Hardys had a hectic walkout – Justin Lyons, who they said is Machine Gun Kelly’s guitarist, had a jam session over their theme. TNA Wrestler BDE and another influencer were also on stage at one point. A lot was going on there.
Order Four stormed the ring to get a hot start to this match. Elijah used the backs of Hotch and Skyler to give Ali a Superplex in a neat spot during the first minute. All three of Order Four’s members were sent out of the ring as the show went to a break.
Elijah found himself isolated by Order Four as the show returned. He took out the trio one-by-one, but had nobody in his corner to tag out, as they had all been swept off the ring apron just moments prior. Ali came charging at Elijah for a move but the babyface side-stepped him, sending the Order Four leader full-force into a turnbuckle – this looked great.
The commentary was too busy doing an ad-read to notice that Jeff Hardy got a hot tag against Ali. He scored a Twist of Fate and started to set up for a Swanton Bomb but was stopped by Order Four manager Tasha Steelz, who got into the ring.
Ali came running at Jeff but once again a move from him was dodged, this time causing him to collide with Steelz. Matt hit Ali with a Twist of Fate while Steelz was on his back. He went for a pin, but Hotch and Skyler broke it up.
Matt gave Skyler a Twist of Fate then Hardy connected with a Swanton Bomb, earning him a pinfall victory in eight minutes. A short but enjoyable opener, the type of solid match you’d want to open as your premiere on a new channel.
Special Agent 0, the background character that Order Four has kept around for months, wiped out The Hardys and Elijah with an attack afterward. He left the ring as The Righteous, who will face The Hardys on Saturday, hit the ring. Dutch gave Matt a Death Walks Black Hole Slam. Vincent locked Jeff to a chain by attaching it to his earlobe, forcing him to watch as the duo continued to attack Matt. Vincent got on the mic and proclaimed that they will win the TNA tag titles this weekend.
I’ve been down on this rivalry since the very beginning, but it’s good to at least mention it here as TNA needs to put as much visibility as possible on the upcoming Genesis card.
A backstage interview with TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian was interrupted by AJ Styles. Kazarian said Styles should thank him for the house. Styles gave Kazarian’s title a quick glance, then walked off.
TNA adds Sonya Deville in on-screen role, Elayna Black (formerly Cora Jade) joins Knockouts roster
Among the ringside celebrity cameos shown tonight was boxing world champion Vergil Ortiz Jr., as well as some familiar wrestling Youtubers (TNA placed these people on the hard-cam side of the crowd, with nobody sitting behind them. Why would you stack all of your fans on one side of the venue if you’re going to shoot the empty side anyways? Doesn’t that defeat the whole illusion… Whatever).
Eric Young, AJ Francis, and Mara Sadè were seen at ringside too. Gia Miller started interviewing someone at ringside but the chat was cut off by Ryan Nemeth, who was annoyed that he didn’t get invited. For a quick comedy spot, he tried to jump a barricade to fight an actor but landed groin-first on the top of the barricade.
TNA Director of Authorities Santino Marella hit the ring for a promo in the next segment. Marella was quick to re-address the cage-match from a few weeks ago, where his own daughter Arianna Grace kicked him in the groin.
Marella said that, since he is still so heartbroken due to that match, he has enlisted an assistant: Daria Rae (formerly Sonya Deville). This was, as far as I know, her first appearance on any wrestling programming since departing the WWE roster last year.
Rae said Marella is one of the pillars of TNA. But, then surprisingly, Rae said the one thing TNA doesn’t need “is you.” She said TNA needs structure, professionalism, and none of Marella’s comedy act. “Your own daughter doesn’t respect you!” she said. Looks like TNA is going to have a good cop/bad cop dynamic as their on-screen management now.
Rae was about to leave the ring but then said she forgot to mention that she has an announcement (unclear here if she actually forgot or if that was part of the script). The announcement was that, as her first move as a GM, she has signed a new Knockout: Eleyna Black (formerly Cora Jade). Two big debuts in this segment! Still not sure I would’ve made this an entire block on the show, though. I mean, we were approaching the one-hour mark on this program with just a single eight-minute match by this point.
Black didn’t have the best WWE run, but at 25 years old she has room to grow and TNA has given her a spot to keep her wrestling career going. I’m interested to see how this goes for her.
Backstage, AJ Styles told Mike Santana that he wants him to kick Frankie Kazarian’s ass. “I held down this company as long as I could,” he said. “Now it’s your turn.” Neat little segment between them.
The newly-revealed Mr. Elegance helps Heather & M capture Knockouts tag gold
In a moment we have all been waiting for ever since it was announced last week, blogging legend Perez Hilton appeared in the ring with The Elegance Brand. He was in the ring with the rest of the brand to see the reveal of Mr. Elegance. They pulled away a screen to reveal him, a ripped blonde wrestler who, to be completely honest, I don’t recognize (Note: I have since learned that this is Andreas John Ziegler, also known as AJZ. He’s a 26-year-old Wisconsin-based OVW vet who made a few TV appearances last year in squash matches).
For the many who haven’t kept up with this awful storyline: The Elegance Brand have been looking for “Mr. Elegance” since last year. In a pre-taped segment earlier this month, they picked a plus-size TNA backstage worker as Mr. Elegance, with the punchline being the cruel joke that, of course, someone like him would never be seen as a model. Anyway, the joke they were making here was that this was supposed to be the same person, get it?
The IInspiration, who were scheduled to defend their Knockouts tag belts this week against Heather and M By Elegance, hit the ring and the first title match of the night got started, mercifully putting that dreadful segment to an end. Fightful Select reported shortly after the match that The IInspiration are now free agents.
The IInspiration had control of this match late, but numerous run-ins from the Elegance Brand, including the newly-debuted Mr. Elegance, hurt their momentum. They tried to hit M with an Idolizer, but Mr. Elegance hit the ring and took out Lee with a strike to the back of her legs to prevent the move. This interference allowed M to roll up Lee for the pinfall victory in eight minutes, making them the new Knockouts Tag Team Champions. Kind of a messy match to follow up a really brutal segment. The first hour of TNA on AMC has not been good.
Indi Hartwell confronted the Elegance Brand backstage and said she will talk to Santino Marella about a match against them.
Dani Luna out, Zaria in for Genesis
Santino Marella was back in the ring for another talking segment. Yes, we need more of those tonight. He announced that “due to an international visa crisis,” Dani Luna won’t be able to face Knockouts World Champion Lei Ying Lee this weekend at Genesis.
Instead, Lee will face anyone in an open challenge at this weekend’s show. Lee came to the ring to sign the contract (there was also no table here, which seems necessary for a contract signing, but).
We didn’t have to wait until Saturday to find out who would answer the open challenge, as NXT’s Zaria and Sol Ruca came to the ring to call their shot! But which wrestler was going to take the match?
It initially seemed like Ruca was going to call for the opportunity, but then she said Zaria should be the one. Zaria signed the contract on Marella’s back, then shook Lee’s hand to match the bout official.
Leon Slater exits Genesis lineup
It was announced backstage that Leon Slater is off this weekend’s TNA Genesis card due to visa issues, taking him out of a three-way title match against Cedric Alexander and Moose. Joe Hendry will be taking his place in a non-title bout.
That’s a huge blow to Genesis. Slater is arguably one of, if not the biggest stars in TNA currently, and he’s just suddenly off the pay-per-view on short notice.
Here’s an updated look at this weekend’s Genesis PPV following the changes:
- Rich Swann vs. AJ Francis
- JDC vs. Eddie Edwards
- Mustafa Ali vs. Elijah
- Ryan Nemeth vs. Mara Sade
- Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy vs. Dutch & Vincent (TNA World Tag Team Championships)
- Joe Hendry vs. Cedric Alexander vs. Moose
- Lei Ying Lee vs. Zaria (TNA Knockouts World Championship)
The System appeared onstage for the next segment to hype JDC’s retirement match this weekend against Eddie Edwards. JDC said that The System will continue to “evolve” following his retirement, noting that he will debut the group’s new member on next week’s Impact.
JDC delivered an emotional promo about how Edwards is like a brother to him. He urged Edwards to not hold back in their match on Saturday.
Before the main event, TNA President Carlos Silva brought out former TNA President Dixie Carter. She thanked the fans, many of whom booed her during her entire monologue. Brutal stuff to watch. Bully Ray, who will be on commentary for the main event, appeared onstage and hugged Carter before making his way to the ring.
Mike Santana reclaims TNA World Championship over Mike Santana
The headlining match of the night saw TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian face Mike Santana in a rematch. Kazarian controversially put an end to Santana’s first world title reign late last year, using his Call Your Shot gauntlet trophy to cash in against Santana and capture the title. It was teased this evening that Nic Nemeth, who also has a Call Your Shot trophy, could cash in his as well.
To their credit, the Garland crowd was hot again for this match, adding a big fight feel to the bout. Kazarian rolled outside of the ring for a breather just two minutes into the match, but Santana followed him to the outside with a dive. After a back-and-forth, Kazarian scored an overhead belly-to-belly suplex outside the ring as the show went to its final break.
Santana tried for a Rolling Buck 50 as the show returned, but Kazarian had a slick mid-air counter into a backstabber for a near fall. Santana started to power up as he took a series of punches from Kazarian.
Santana gained some momentum with a combination of strikes, then landed the Rolling Buck 50 upon second attempt for a two-count. The fight went to a top rope, where Santana connected with a Spanish Fly.
Santana reversed a move from Kazarian into a Code Red, getting him another near fall. Santana tried for a cannonball in the corner, but Kazarian put up his knees to counter the move. In a nod to Christopher Daniels, Kazarian got a two-count with an Angel’s Wings.
Santana and Kazarian had a fun exchange near the ring apron which ended with a Slingshot Cutter from the champ, followed by a springboard leg drop for another two-count. Kazarian brought a title into the ring but had it taken away from the referee.
Kazarian dodged a Spin The Block, then, in a clunky spot, Kazarian accidentally hit the referee with a dropkick (This surely wasn’t meant to look as awkward as it did). Santana hit his Spin The Block finisher, but couldn’t get the pinfall win due to the ref being down and out.
With the referee still out, Kazarian grabbed the TNA World Championship and struck Santana across the head with it. The fight went to the ring apron, where Kazarian scored his Fade to Black piledriver. They went back in the ring, where Santana kicked out from a pin attempt.
Kazarian hit a Canadian Destroyer, but Santana immediately got up to his feet and landed a Spin The Block. He went for the pin and Kazarian kicked out in time, but the referee hit his hand to the mat three times! This match continued, despite the ref incorrectly counting three – this error caused the crowd to erupt, including some “Ref you suck!” chants.
Santana dodged a Spin The Block from Kazarian then hit his finisher for the second time, earning him the TNA World Championship once again. Santana is back on top of TNA.
This was a thoroughly entertaining match which unfortunately fell off a cliff in its final moments due to a few errors. If it wasn’t for the failed ref bump and the botched kickout, this match wouldn’t have any glaring errors. Thankfully, after a few huge mistakes in their main title booking last year, TNA picked the right man tonight.
Commentary noted that Kazarian will get a rematch at Genesis on Saturday.
Final thoughts
This was not a good way for TNA to kick off its new era. The actual in-ring wrestling made up just over one-quarter of the show, an abysmal amount of action for an especially important card. I understand that they have to build towards a pay-per-view for this weekend, but surely a better balance between angles and actual wrestling could’ve been struck than what happened tonight.
Between recent roster departures, numerous talents being unavailable for Thursday and a poorly-written wrestling show which lacked, you know, wrestling, it’s been a terrible week for TNA. Here’s hoping they can turn things around and this will be remembered as a bad first impression for AMC, not the start of a larger poor run.
Here’s what TNA has announced for next week:
- We’ll hear from Elayna Black
- The System debuts its newest member
- Indi Hartwell vs. M By Elegance
- Feast or Fired returns
- Jeff Hardy vs. Mustafa Ali
