Results
- Jake Something def. Home Town Man & Mance Warner (Triple Threat) (Pre-Show) (7:29)
- Kelani Jordan def. M By Elegance (TNA Knockouts World Championship) (9:42) (Recommended)
- AJ Francis def. BDE (8:39)
- Indi Hartwell def. Dani Luna (No Disqualification) (14:02)
- Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay def. Victoria Crawford & Mila Moore, Lei Ying Lee & Xia Brookside (TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships) (Triple Threat) (8:31)
- Mustafa Ali, Jason Hotch & John Skyler def. Cedric Alexander, Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy (13:33)
- Zachary Wentz, Trey Miguel, Myron Reed & Dezmond Xavier def. JDC, Eddie Edwards, Moose & Brian Myers (14:21) (Recommended)
- Leon Slater def. Rich Swann (TNA X-Division Championship) (13:25) (Recommended)
- Mike Santana & Steve Maclin def. Nic Nemeth & Frankie Kazarian (10:20)
Jake Something wins three-way on pre-show
Tonight’s 30-minute pre-show for Turning Point featured Gia Miller waiting outside Full Sail University for Mike Santana’s arrival, she couldn’t find him. We were also shown a clip where TNA Director of Authority Santino Marella had put numerous security guards out front of the venue, attempting to prevent the type of run-in we saw on Thursday night from NXT talent.
A triple threat match kicked off the night, with Mance Warner, Jake Something, and the Home Town Man battling it out on the pre-show. Orlando’s own Home Town Man hit the ring sporting an Orlando Magic Penny Hardaway jersey.
Steph De Lander helped Warner get the advantage at one point in this fight, grabbing a leg of the Home Town Man to stop him from coming running off the ropes. Warner got a near fall with a huge chokeslam after this interference.
Warner and Something started to battle in the corner, but were both eventually slammed to the mat with a huge superplex. Home Town Man got another big spot moments later, scoring a huge crossbody off the top and to the outside onto both of his opponents.
Home Town Man scored a Sliced Bread onto Warner, but moments later was taken out by an Into The Void slam from Something for the pinfall victory in seven minutes. A solid, quick opener that served its purpose on the pre-show.
Nic Nemeth says he will Call His Shot against Frankie Kazarian tonight
Before the pre-show wrapped up, TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian hit the ring to celebrate his big win with the latest episode of “The King’s Speech.”
Kazarian said he wanted to address the hate he has seen about his win, saying that “every angry social media post is like a cozy warm blanket.” He asked fans to continue hating, as it only motivates him further.
The newly-crowned champ addressed the NXT roster’s involvement in the attack: “I assure you, I have nothing to do with that,” he said. Wasn’t he the one cozying up to Trick Williams before? Anyway.
Kazarian said he will use his time tonight to call out TNA President Carlos Silva. The President, who was sitting at ringside, got into the ring. Kazarian said that Silva’s look was a “Dana White cosplay,” then asked why he wasn’t there to present him the title when he won on Thursday night.
“You got a problem with me?” Kazarian said. “It’s cool. Because I’m gonna give you the opportunity to right a wrong.”
Kazarian handed the belt to Silva and offered him a chance to present the belt to him, which Silva did. Silva got on the microphone and said he’s launching a “formal investigation” into NXT’s involvement on Thursday, and that he is investigating Kazarian as part of it.
Both Ryan & Nic Nemeth hit the stage. Nemeth was holding the Call Your Shot Gauntlet trophy, so it seems as though he still also has a future title shot (it wasn’t clear before if Nic and Kazarian being “co-holders” of the trophy gave them both a shot, or just one altogether). Nic came to the ring to allege that Kazarian was behind the NXT attack.
Nic had a plan: He teams with Kazarian to beat Mike Santana and Steve Maclin tonight, then he will Call His Shot and win the world title.
Kazarian had a better idea: “Tonight, the only thing you need to do is trust the champ.”
Nic said he will trust him. “I’ll have your back… Then later, I’ll have your title.”
It sounds like another cash-in could come this evening. As incredibly silly as the booking last night was, this was actually a solid way to add extra intrigue to the main event, the perfect thing to end a pre-show on. We’ll see in just a few hours if we have a new champ once again.
Kelani Jordan keeps Knockouts title reign alive with win over M By Elegance
The first of three title matchups got things started on the main card, with TNA Knockouts World Champion Kelani Jordan defending her belt against M By Elegance. As part of a deal brokered by The Personal Concierege, both Heather and M earned title shots against Jordan this week. After beating Heather on Thursday, Jordan was looking to put away the Elegance Brand once and for all with this bout.
M got the jump on Jordan, attacking her before the match officially started. Jordan dropkicked the challenger out of the ring as she was taunting to the camera. The champ followed her to the outside with a moonsault off the top turnbuckle.
Heather By Elegance tripped up Jordan in the corner, allowing M to score a baseball slide kick to Jordan’s head as she draped upside down from the top rope. M got a near fall after bridging a Northern Lights Suplex into a pin attempt.
Jordan tried to score a move, but M countered it into a slick German suplex. She tried to follow that up with a moonsault off the top, but Jordan was able to roll out of the way.
Jordan and M traded forearms in the middle of a ring, an exchange which ended after M scored a huge boot to the head. Jordan responded with a superkick, then a pair of running forearms. After a pair of reversals, Jordan got a two from a roll-up pin.
Jordan connected with a Cartwheel elbow strike. After another series of counters, Jordan scored a modified Scorpion Death Drop for a near fall. Fans thought the count was a little too slow, chanting “Ref you suck” after the kickout.
M stopped Jordan from hitting her Split-Legged Moonsault, instead slamming her down for a Michinoku Driver for a two. The Personal Concierge led a “Ref you suck” chant after that one.
Jordan scored a Split-Legged Stunner, then locked in a Half Crab in the middle of the ring. M rolled out of the submission, sending Jordan into the turnbuckles in the process. Jordan used the ropes to score a double stomp to the chest of M, sending her down to the mat. Jordan then came off the top with her One of a Kind Split-Legged Moonsault for the pinfall win in just under 10 minutes. While the result of this match was a foregone conclusion, the in-ring between these two was really entertaining.
During the match, commentary mentioned that they hadn’t seen Mike Santana yet today, a storyline they’ll likely keep revisiting throughout the night.
Backstage, Lei Ying Lee mentioned that she has a title matchup in the works against Jordan. Mara Sadè said that she also has her eyes on Jordan. Ryan Nemeth, who is suddenly wearing the shirt he wore yesterday, got into an argument with Sadè.
AJ Francis welcomes BDE to TNA with a tough lesson
Backstage, Ava insisted to Santino Marella that she had no part in NXT’s run-in on Thursday. “Miss NXTNA” Arianna Grace wasn’t satisfied with her response.
The next match saw Youtuber and professional wrestler BDE face off against First Class leader AJ Francis. This matchup was made after Francis chokeslammed BDE through a table during an episode of First Class Penthouse on Thursday night. Commentary made note that this was BDE’s TNA singles debut, as his first in-ring appearance for the promotion was the Call Your Shot gauntlet last month.
BDE caught Francis off guard, delivering a pair of tope suicidas and a dive over the top rope and onto Francis before the match officially started. He tried for a Coffin Drop or possibly a springboard cutter in the ring, but ate a clubbing blow mid-air from Francis, getting him into the fight.
BDE and Francis had a fun series of reverals in the first minute. BDE caught Francis with a sleeper choke, but Francis escaped by slamming him down to the mat. Francis played up the size difference between them, scoring thudding chops and sending him full force into a turnbuckle.
Francis scored a running knee strike in a corner of the ring. BDE suffered an incredibly gnarly powerbomb onto the ring apron during an exchange at ringside – it looked like he got killed here!
BDE just barely beat the 10-count to keep the match going. BDE eventually started to mount a comeback, coming off the middle turnbuckle with a tornado DDT. He followed up with a springboard cutter, then a missile dropkick. Francis was down, but not out, kicking at two.
BDE started to tease a Sweet Chin Music (Tuning up the band and all), but Francis stopped the move from happening. Francis tried for a Down Payment, but BDE reversed it into an impressive Canadian Destroyer. BDE scored a running knee, but it still wasn’t enough to beat Francis.
Francis dodged a frogsplash from BDE, then dropped him with a nasty “TFL” spear. Francis dropped BDE with a huge Down Payment chokeslam, then started to taunt. Showcasing his toughness, BDE asked Francis for more. Francis picked up BDE for yet another Down Payment, earning him the win in eight minutes.
BDE has only wrestled a little more than a dozen matches, but fits in perfectly (Is he a Youtuber who became a wrestler or a wrestler who became a Youtuber?). Hope we get to see more of him soon.
Backstage, Steve Maclin said that he hasn’t heard from tag partner Mike Santana today. He insisted that whether or not Santana shows up tonight, he’s stepping in the ring against his opponents.
Indi Hartwell prevails in No DQ grudge match against Dani Luna
In a trilogy between Dani Luna and Indi Hartwell, the friends-turned-rivals met in a no-disqualification match next. The theme of the night seemingly was wrestlers getting things going before the bell, as Hartwell and Luna brawled on the ramp before the match became officially underway.
A-Game hydration got the most out of their sponsorship tonight, as a display of the drinks was used during a brawl at ringside. Hartwell sent Luna into the ring after spitting some of the drink in her face.
Hartwell took numerous weapons out from under the ring, including a chair and a trash can. Hartwell brought a ladder out, but was dropped to the floor after Luna did a baseball slide kick to the ladder as she was carrying it.
Luna used a screwdriver to choke Hartwell at ringside. A table was introduced at ringside but wasn’t used immediately (we’ll get to that table later). Luna blinded Hartwell with chalk in the eyes, then scored an absolutely gnarly springboard German Suplex into the ring – the torque she got on this move was incredible.
Luna utilized a kendo stick and chair as the match went back into the ring. Hartwell tried to start mounting a comeback by using the kendo stick to Luna’s back. Luna dodged a Hurts Donut, sending Hartwell head-first into a chair wedged between two turnbuckles. She followed that up with a Blue Thunder Bomb onto a pair of steel chairs.
Luna used a kendo stick as part of a crossface submission. Hartwell backpacked Luna then escaped the submission by running her into a steel chair in the corner, then Irish Whipped her into a ladder set up on another corner of the ring.
Hartwell followed this up with a nasty Spinebuster onto the ladder – one of the more painful-looking spots in this one. Luna tried for another springboard German Suplex, this time bringing Hartwell out of the ring and through a table at ringside. Hartwell dodged this move, instead scoring an elbow drop off the top and through the table.
The match went back into the ring, where Hartwell scored a Hurts Donut onto a steel chair in the ring for the pinfall win in 14 minutes. The finish here felt a little awkward in its pacing, but other than that, this was a really fun match between these two, delivering on the high-risk spots you want to see in a No DQ contest like this. And this was certainly better than their two TV matches, neither of which got an adequate amount of time.
The IInspiration retain tag titles, Mila Moore debuts
The IInspiration put their TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championships on the line in the next segment, wagering the belts against not just the Angel Warriors (Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside) but also the duo of Tessa Blanchard and Victoria Crawford.
Blanchard didn’t come to the ring dressed to wrestle, and we found out why just before the match: “Unfortunately, I am not cleared to compete tonight,” Blanchard said, causing a pop from the crowd. Who would take her place? The debuting Mila Moore, whom we saw a video package about on Thursday’s Impact. Moore was signed by the promotion earlier this year, but is just now getting written into the program.
After the last-minute change, things got underway. Moore and Crawford had a decent amount of control early on. Brookside got a hot tag at the five-minute mark against Moore, scoring a double knees in the corner, then a crossbody off the top rope. The IInspiration broke up a pin attempt right after.
Crawford helped Moore set up Brookside for a big boot, but the pin was once again broken up. All six women got into a brawl in the ring, starting a fast-paced sequence involving everyone.
Lee came off the apron with a crossbody onto Crawford and Moore at ringside. Right after this happened, The IInspiration connected with an Idolizer double-team finisher onto Brookside for the pinfall win in eight minutes to retain their tag gold.
Order Four defeats The Hardys following an interference-heavy performance
Six-man tag action was up next, with Order Four’s Mustafa Ali, Jason Hotch & John Skyler taking on Cedric Alexander and The Hardys.
Alexander and Hotch, who faced off just 24 hours prior on Impact, got things started. Considering Alexander won on Thursday, it only made sense that he had the advantage in their quick exchange.
Ali and Skyler were sent to ringside, then Alexander tossed Hotch over the top and onto both of them. It was not going well for Order 4 early on. In a rematch of Slammiversary (or Wrestlemania 34, depending on which way you look at it), Alexander faced Ali next. Alexander got a near fall with a pop-up powerbomb.
Ali accidentally knocked Hotch off the apron with a dropkick he intended for Alexander. As Tasha Steelz distracted the referee, Ali escaped a Lumbar Check attempt by raking the eyes of Alexander. At ringside, Special Agent 0 dropped Alexander with a big boot (Cue another “Ref you suck!” chant).
A hot tag to get Alexander out of the match was teased for a minute, but Order Four kept being able to prevent him from reaching his corner. Hotch tried for a rolling neckbreaker, but Alexander reversed it into a beautiful Death Valley Driver.
Alexander finally gave the hot tag to Matt Hardy against Skyler. Matt shouted out “Twist of Fate!” but wasn’t able to connect against Hotch, who instead countered with a roll-up. Matt tried for a Side Effect, but Skyler took an incredibly awkward landing – some miscommunication here.
Ali interfered as the referee wasn’t looking to allow Skyler to get back in control. Jeff got in against Hotch, being able to string together a series of moves against him. Matt got into the ring to put together a Poetry in Motion. Alexander scored a Lumbar Check to Hotch, but Order Four was able to break up the pin.
A fast-paced scramble in the ring ended with Hardy catching Skyler with a neckbreaker and beginning to tease a Swanton Bomb. He was stopped by Steelz, who got into the ring. Ali tried charging at Jeff for a move but instead accidentally took out Steelz in the corner. Matt hit a Twist of Fate to Ali, who had Steelz on his back. He went for the pin, but Special Agent 0 pulled the referee out of the ring.
With the ref down and out, Agent 0 got into the ring. Alexander handed steel chairs to the Hardys, who used the weapons to knock the Agent back to ringside. They kept wailing away with slow shots to the back until the towering security guard retreated to backstage.
The Hardys were out of the picture, making it a three-on-one battle for Alexander in the ring – awful ring IQ by the Hardys here! With the ref down, Ali scored a low blow then a roll-up pin for the win in 13 minutes. This match had fun moments but was exhaustingly overbooked, especially since this was just a bout to essentially pad out the show and get some big names onto the lineup.
Dezmond Xavier (Wes Lee) returns, scores win alongside The Rascalz
The next match saw The Rascalz face off against The System. As heavily teased on Thursday, The Rascalz team consisted of Myron Reed, Trey Miguel, Zachary Wentz, and the returning Dezmond Xavier, making his first in-ring appearance since ending his run in NXT as Wes Lee just over a month ago.
Xavier got “Welcome back” chants from fans once he finally tagged into the bout. He got a hot tag against Edwards late in the match, getting a near fall after a satellite DDT. He tried to come out of the corner with a move, but was dropkicked to the outside by Moose, who tagged in next.
Moose picked Xavier out of the corner for a huge “Go To Hell” Spinebuster, earning him a two-count. He tagged in the soon-to-retire JDC and attempted a double-team move, but Reed broke up the sequence. Moose and JDC gave Reed the double-team knee strike out of the corner, but Xavier, the legal man, was spared.
Moose was sent to ringside by The Rascalz. Xavier tried to dive over the top for a move but was caught by Moose, who powerbombed him onto the ring apron. It was around this point that the match hit a higher gear, just becoming bonkers until the final bell. Wentz took out Moose with a torneo. He got onto the ring apron, but was speared to the floor by Myers.
JDC came off the ropes and to the outside with a dive onto two Rascalz. Miguel landed on him with a dive. Myers lifted the ropes, helping Edwards score an incredibly fast tope suicida to the outside. Reed dove over the ropes with a huge cutter to Myers, landing on everyone at ringside – always a wild move from him.
Back in the ring, Xavier ate a Blue Thunder Bomb, senton, elbow drop, and leg drop, but a pin attempt was broken up by Miguel, who connected with a meteora onto Edwards, landing on the pin attempt. The crowd started to chant, “This is awesome.”
A fast sequence helped clear out the ring, which had all eight men in it following the near fall. The Rascalz scored a four-man Soup Kitchen stomp off the top to JDC, but a huge powerbomb from Moose to Miguel onto the pin kept the match going.
Moose tried for a springboard cutter, but was caught in mid-air by a cutter from Reed instead. Wentz followed up with a UFO Cutter. Wentz and Xavier scored a double-team Hot Fire Flame to JDC, then Xavier scored a Spiral Tap for the pinfall victory in 14 minutes.
Admittedly, there’s a lot I missed here because it was fast-paced madness. I didn’t have high expectations for this match heading into the show, but this tore the house down as a fast-paced, exhilarating spotfest. Quite the way to get Xavier back onto the roster.
Leon Slater gets past Rich Swann, retains X-Division title
The co-main event of the night saw Leon Slater attempt to keep his impressive run as TNA X-Division Champion alive, meeting First Class member Rich Swann.
Swann tried for a rolling splash at the five-minute mark of this match, but Slater put up his knees to block the move. Slater charged toward Swann for a move in the corner, but was thrown over the top and to the outside, causing him to land on the steel stairs – awesome looking spot. Slater sold an eye injury for the remainder of the match beyond this point.
Swann attempted to charge at Slater as the champ was getting checked out by a medical expert at ringside. But Slater was quick to realize the incoming attack and instead dropped Swann with a leg lariat.
Slater attempted to come off the top, but his vision was hurt by the steel staircase spot, giving him enough of a pause for Swann to prevent the attack. Slater got back into the match shortly after, catching a move from Swann for a spinning sideslam, giving him a two-count.
Swann escaped a Blue Thunder Bomb by attacking the eye of Slater. Swann, who was on the ring apron, was brought back into the ring with a Slingshot Cutter for a two-count. Slater tried for a Styles Clash, but Swann avoided the move by not giving up his arms (why doesn’t everyone just do that?).
Swann connected with a neckbreaker, a running head kick, then came off the top with a crossbody (it looked like Slater was about to reverse this into something mid-air, but that’s not what ended up happening).
Slater and Swann traded hard slaps. Swann got caught mid-move by Slater, getting hit by the champ’s Utopia Blue Thunder Bomb. Swann dodged a Swanton 450, then reversed a Slingshot Cutter into a roll-up attempt.
Swann connected with a Lethal Injection-esque cutter then a 450 Splash off the top, but it wasn’t enough to put away Slater. The fight went to a corner of the ring, where Swann was thrown off the top by Slater. Slater hit a leg lariat to the back of Swann’s head and, upon a second attempt, hit the Styles Clash, but Swann remained alive.
Slater went to the top and finally connected with a Swanton 450, earning him the pinfall win. Entertaining one from these two. This didn’t hit the same way some past Slater title appearances have, but it certainly was still quite fun. Swann hugged Slater after the match then raised his hand.
Slater was given a moment after the match to honor his grandmother, Valerie Slater, who passed away recently. An emotional Slater talked about how his support system, including family and fans, has helped carry him to where he is now. He also briefly mentioned how he will win the NXT Tag Team Championships alongside Je’Von Evans on Tuesday.
Mike Santana makes last-minute appearance for tag victory, NXT crashes the party again
Heading into the main event of the night, the big question was: Will Mike Santana finally arrive at the venue to team with Steve Maclin against Nic Nemeth and Frankie Kazarian? The broadcast emphasized throughout the night that nobody had seen Santana all day, and it seemed unlikely that he would appear.
After Maclin came to the ring, there was a pause… After some waiting, Nemeth hit the ring, and we were led to believe Santana simply wasn’t going to be there, at least for now. Maclin said earlier in the night that he was going to fight whether or not Santana showed up, and it was looking more and more likely that he was about to compete in a two-on-one bout.
Maclin got on the mic: “Looks like it’s just me, so, uh, screw it.” Maclin got to business, taking on both Kazarian and Nemeth at the same time.
Maclin sent both Nemeth and Kazarian out of the ring, delivering a tope suicida to them both. Ryan Nemeth got in the face of Maclin during the match, but was taken out by a superkick from Mara Sadè, whom he had a back-and-forth with earlier in the night.
Maclin’s momentum took a hit after Kazarian sent him running into the steel stairs at ringside. Nemeth connected with a Famouser, but it wasn’t enough to beat Maclin just yet.
Maclin avoided a double-team superplex, instead taking out both Kazarian and Nemeth with a dropkick off the top. As he did this, we saw a car pulling up to Full Sail University. Santana hopped out of the vehicle in ring gear and was ready to fight! This was no longer a two-on-one bout.
Santana immediately tagged into the match and unleashed a series of strikes onto Nemeth. A fired-up Santana caught Nemeth for a Death Valley Driver after a great series of counters between them. Santana did a dive to the outside onto Kazarian but didn’t get caught, so he took a hard landing.
Nemeth went after the right arm of Santana, which was injured during the NXT attack on Thursday night. He landed a Superkick to the former world champ, but Santana kicked out at two.
Kazarian got back into the match, continuing what was started yesterday between him and Santana. Santana dodged a Fade to Black, but was hit with a hard forearm moments later. Kazarian came running off the ropes but ate a clean Spin The Block to end the match in 10 minutes. Santana might not have his world title anymore, but he has finally gotten some momentum back after a win over the champ in the main event.
Nemeth, noticing that Kazarian was down and out, decided that he would like to cash in his Call Your Shot trophy for a world title shot. However, just as he was about to do this, the same squad of NXT wrestlers who invaded on Thursday reappeared, attacking Nemeth, Maclin, and Santana.
Kazarian was unscathed and we started to think the fix was in… Until the NXT squad started to jump him as well! Santino Marella hit the ring in an attempt to stop the fight, getting in the face of Stacks, who, in storyline, is dating his daughter, Arianna Grace. Brooks Jensen took out Marella.
The Hardys came in for the save, walking to the ring with steel chairs. However, since they were outnumbered by a baffling three-to-one or so, they immediately got beaten up. The NXT crew stood tall as the show went off air. Personally, I’m a little tired of the NXT vs. TNA stuff, especially since we got so much of it last month with a TV special themed after it. However, it looks like there’s a lot more to come.
