TNA Impact Thoughts and Predictions for the WWE/TNA Collaboration

Fresh off of a buzzworthy Victory Road (wrote a recap of it! Like to hear it- here it go), TNA decided to hang out a little bit longer in the home of the Spurs as they heat things up a few notches en route to their biggest event of the year: Bound For Glory. The show after a PPV/PLE can be just as important as the go-home before it, with the show having a shot at retaining potential new fans who may have checked out Victory Road out of curiosity. We’ll see how this fallout episode did. Onto my thoughts.

Opening Segment

After a recap of said Victory Road, we get an incredible opener with Boston’s least favorite daughter Alisha Edwards killing the joy of the San Antonio TNA fans. As heel tag teams partners tend to do at the end of a partnership, she blames one Masha Slamovich for the loss of the tag titles. Wild guess who comes out next… I don’t get the whistle intro to Masha’s theme. It sounds like a drunk person trying to whistle the theme of “Lassie”. And while I’ve only ever heard Masha speak Russian on the show, I’m not sure if it was ever understood that she only speaks (and only understands) Russian. I met her at an indie show once, and I knew from then that her English was perfect. I suppose it was a big enough surprise, as it drew some audible “oohs” from the crowd when she started telling off Alisha in English. What shouldn’t have been a surpise to anyone was Tasha Steelz attacking Masha from behind.

This was a beautiful mixture of the unexpected (Knockouts World Champ Jordynne Grace saving Masha) and the “this wasn’t a surprise, but still got a huge pop” (the Hardys fending off the System). It furthered multiple logical feuds all at once without clustering, while planting the seeds for a future “run-it-back” (Grace vs. Masha)- all while making sure that viewers stick around for the main event. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Jeff’s nice tribute to the late Bray Wyatt with his facepaint.

Backstage: Grace, Slamovich, Hardys

In case we were confused as to why Grace made the save, it’s simple: Grace wants the toughest competition, and she’s hoping that Masha answers an open challenge sooner rather than later. I mean, it could also be that Jordynne hates Tasha and Alisha as well. But a future clash with Masha is more than welcome- preferably if will be a ‘W’ for Masha.

If there was a downside to Masha’s interaction with the Hardys, I would say that wrestlers (and the televised companies they work for, where applicable) really need to tread lightly with the whole “being a wrestler was my childhood dream” bit. I don’t recall guys like Undertaker, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, or the Rock cutting promos on WWF/E TV, stating that they’re living their childhood dream. It’s something that we’re hearing one-too-many times. I don’t need my wrestlers to be ‘relatable’, or admitting to other wrestlers that they “looked up to them” (thanks for reminding us how old we are, by the way). Especially not Masha, who was once pushed as a killer who used to send out blood-smeared pictures of her next victims. Please, TNA- don’t “humanize” Masha, because her being a vicious psycho is what made some of us fall in love with her in the first place.

Eric Young/Josh Alexander Backstage

TNA is not without its resident moral compass, and that role here belongs to a guy called “World Class Maniac”. Young gives Alexander a warning about heading down the wrong path, reminding Josh that he is an example to others in the locker room. Josh appears to be reflective upon Young’s words, but selfishly I hope that facial expression was just a ruse and that he’ll kick Young in the balls in the near future. Heel Josh Alexander is good for business.

Opening Match: First Class vs. Sinner and Saint

I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed wrestling shows putting on the “bathroom break” as the FIRST match. But I’m sorry. This was an odd choice for first match. Sinner and Saint are an indie tag team (and I don’t say that as if it is an insult) who were able to get in a lot of offense against the more established(ish) team of AJ Francis and KC Navarro. And like I said before- Francis and KC look weird together. Especially when Francis is holding up Navarro as if he’s hoisting up his toddler nephew. Sinner and Saint (whom I’ve also seen at an indie show before) don’t really stand out to me, and this latest match- though nothing terrible happened- didnt exactly have me praying that they’d be offered a contract. And this is with the knowledge that TNA needs to load up it’s tag team division. First Class… eh.

Mo’ Drama for the PCOs

The French Canadian Frankenstein (shouldn’t it be the “French Canadian Frankenstein’s Monster”?) is pissed off at Matt Cardona, while wifey Steph De Lander (who is supposed to be getting ready for neck surgery) is trying to calm him down and assuring him that they will get even with Cardona. Well, Matt did himself no favors by getting himself DQ’ed in his match against Rhino– though to be fair- Rhino was the one who tossed the chair into the ring. Matt might’ve been able to claim self-defense, but he threw that out the window when he continued to pummel Rhino with the chair. This brings out PCO for the save. Cardona escapes, so PCO takes out his frustrations on the chair. And, um, yeah.

Knockouts Tag Team Title Defense

I know that I went on a whole rant about Wendy Choo and the “scrubs” that get sent over to TNA from NXT. But I was perfectly okay with the champs Spitfire (Jody Threat and Dani Luna) defending their newly-won titles against NXT’s Carlee Bright and Kendal Grey (is everyone Arianna Grace’s best friend?). Before you call me a hypocrite- let me explain. No, I do not know who either of these girls are. And anyone with half a brain knew that they didn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning. But this wasn’t advertised as a title match. It was advertised as “Spitfire in action”, and it stands to reason that the babyface tag champs wouldn’t want to “be in action” without putting their titles on the line. And of course, this isn’t a PPV. Perfectly acceptable. Fine match with a fine outing from the NXT girls, giving a nice enhancement win to the champions while helping to ensure they fulfill the 30-day title defense rule that nobody seems to care about anymore.

Heather Reckless Still Wants that Makeover… By Elegance

She’s been calling that number on the business card given to her by the personal concierge, but no one answers. Probably because he’s too busy helping Dana Brooke Ash By Elegance fawn over herself. But does Heather leave a bad review on Google? No; she instead finds them in front of a mirror (the safest place to look if you’re ever trying to find Ash), and requests the honor of Ash’s presence next week as Heather faces Xia Brookside. Ash and the concierge say they will “think about it”, then they dismiss Heather. I’m interested in seeing where this goes.

A Bloody Gimmicked Match Done Right in 2024? So it IS Possible!

Reasons for a gimmicked match (e.g. steel cage, street fight, strap match, etc.) in the “olden days”: a feud between two wrestlers reached fever-pitch due to a babyface looking to exact revenge on the conniving, elusive heel, and the gimmick would be the only logical blow-off. Reasons for having gimmicked matches in the modern era: because “it’s Wednesday. You know what that means”… and “HOLY SH–” chants… and Unca Dave’s “stars”.

Well, my friends, here is a case where a gimmick is actually warranted in this modern era. Moose has wanted NO PARTS of Mike Santana since the former LAX member made his world title aspirations clear during Moose’s reign. Moose has sent out Johnny “Dango” Curtis to do his dirty work on a number of occasions, costing Santana opportunity after opportunity. Santana has beaten JDC in the past, but Curtis continues to be a thorn in the side of anyone who even sniffs at Moose, and Santana has had enough. Mike wants to send a message to Moose, while simultaneously solving his pest problem. The solution: Texas Death Match. Logic and wrestling don’t always align, but when they do- fun things can happen. Now, we have a reason to watch this fight to the end- beyond the fans’ penchant for chanting “WE WANT TABLES”. For anyone thrown off by the rules (and the result)- a pinfall followed by the 10-count- they decided to go with the traditional rules here. It was a nice touch (even nicer that they were actually in Texas). This match delivered in every way it should have, keeping Santana strong while others occupy the title picture, and giving fans the feel-good moment of seeing the weaselly JDC get his.

Lei Ying Lee (fka Xia Li) makes her TNA debut next week

…and we know this because of the fiery cinematic vignette that advertised this. Lee looks amazing in this video- and pretty darn dangerous to boot. I hope she stays healthy and adds more depth to the Knockouts division.

A World Title Conversation

Coming off the biggest win of his career, Joe Hendry– the guy whose face is EVERYWHERE- lets us know that he wants to be the face of TNA. He wants the world title. Frankie Kazarian says “not so fast”, and he has some pretty disparaging words for Joe. Kaz thinks HE should be next in line for a title shot. Side note: I can’t remember the last time Kaz has even won a match against a top level opponent- yet he knows how to keep himself relevant with his promos. Pay attention, rookies. Wins and losses matter to an extent, but personality trumps all. A zipper unzips, and out comes the world champion Nic Nemeth. Anyone seen his brother lately? I bet I’m the only one that has asked that question. Nemeth weirdly calls Hendry “kid”. Hendry’s year of birth according to Wikipedia: 1988. I mean… I guess, compared to the 1980-born Nemeth, Joe is a “kid”… but…okay. Truth is- none of the cats in the ring right now are spring chickens. But they all can deliver in the ring and on the mic, and they each have a case for being main eventers in TNA. Though, only one guy can be named number 1 contender, and that will be decided next week as Hendry faces Kazarian for the right to face Nemeth at BFG.

Another side note: I think that one of the signs of a strong company is when there are multiple stars who are credible as main eventers. TNA has Nemeth, Moose, Hendry, Santana, Kaz, Alexander, and even EY in the reserves. Any of those guys could step into the title picture without looking out of place.

Main Event Time: The Hardys and Masha Slamovich vs. TNA Tag Team Champions, The System’s Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards and Tasha Steelz (with Alisha Edwards)

The Hardys are over likes it’s 1999, and they are treated like rock stars by the TNA faithful. It’s great to see. Something else that was great to see was how Tasha was able to stand out in this match and not just look “System-adjacent” (meaning- she didn’t come across as a lackey). The mocking of Jeff’s famous ‘jook’, then twerking in his face was just beautiful. I’m not the biggest fan of intergender wrestling, but if you’re gonna do it- do it right. And it was done right in this match. One of my pet peeves- as much as I like Rhea Ripley– is seeing women in WWE being able to completely manhandle men, while men can’t retaliate. In this mixed tag main event, there was plenty of physical contact between the genders, without it getting ridiculous (like, a man hauling off and knocking out a lady that weighs a hundred pounds less then him; or a tiny woman chokeslamming a 280 lb man, etc.). The flow of the match was perfect, with the heels getting heat, the hot tags popping the crowd, and a believable amount of intergender contact. Alisha was ejected (that female referee needs to work on her forearm roll-“get outta here” motion), and when Lish stubbornly resisted, former tag team champions ABC humorously escorted her out. With all distractions out the way, the Hardys hit their signature finishers, and we get another feel-good ending of the newly babyface and English-speaking Masha posing with the Hardy brothers.

“If you don’t watch anything else on this show- make sure you check out…”:

Honestly, the only thing skippable was the First Class match (though, you might enjoy Sinner and Saint more than me). The Texas Death match was a sight to behold, and the main event delivered in spades.

Alrighty. Let’s get to those Predictions for the WWE/TNA Collaboration, shall we?

I’m no Nostradamus, and I have no problem being wrong. But WWE and TNA have been working hard to try and make fans of both companies happy while not allowing one company to bury the other. And it’s surely not going to stop at open challenges and rookie reps. In no particular order, I’m predicting that these things will happen either by the end of this year and/or the beginning of next year.

1) A TNA star will win an NXT title.

Doesn’t have to be a long reign, but someone will add that credit to their resume. I’ll add that the “vice versa” will happen as well- an NXTer will score a TNA title reign (nothing higher than the X-Division belt, and likely the Digital Media belt). But I figure WWE will allow TNA to get the dub first so as not to come across as taking advantage of the smaller company (which many fans have expressed concern about).

2)A ‘bigger’ WWE star will appear and/or wrestle at a TNA event.

Be it someone a little higher up the NXT card, or- dare I say- a main roster star- someone from WWE who people actually recognize and can get a reaction will make a splash and show up at a TNA PPV. Maybe we’ll get that dream match of Jordynne Grace vs. Natalya. Maybe Oba Femi shows up to have a stare down with Moose. The “rookies” are merely just whetting the appetite.

3) A TNA star will make his/her main roster debut on Raw or Smackdown.

And it’ll probably be Joe Hendry. People have already been bringing signs to the shows with his face on them, or signs reading “I Believe in Joe Hendry”. It’s only a matter of time before they trust that he’ll get the same love on the bigger stage that he gets in NXT. It’s also possible that a TNA guy or gal “randomly” shows up in a contender’s battle royal with no fanfare, but it would still be great exposure.

Lastly, Joe Hendry will be an entrant in the Royal Rumble.

He ain’t winning, and he probably won’t eliminate anyone. But it won’t matter. He’ll be there, and it will be glorious (sorry Bobby Roode).

That does it for this week. What did you think of this week’s Impact? And do you agree with my predictions, or do you have some of your own? You know what to do. Thanks for reading.

Peace.