TNA Impact Review – Final Resolution is looking better than Turning Point

Salutations!

TNA Turning Point was a very lackluster show that left some fans with a foul taste in their mouths. From the broadcast looking like it was shot on an old camcorder, to the number of random “why is this even happening” matches that felt very placeholder-ish, I think I can speak for many regular TNA viewers when I say that I’m hoping to see some TNA redeem itself as we head towards 2025.

On to the show.

Five-way #1 Contender’s Match: Trent Sevin vs. Leon Slater vs. Kushida vs. JDC vs. Ace Austin

Talk about drawing names out of a hat. This match will determine who faces Moose for the X-Division title at Final Resolution in Moose’s hometown of Atlanta. I don’t think enough of a deal was made about Moose’s stablemate being included in this match- let alone the implication of him winning. It didn’t matter though, because looking at the field- only 2 of the 5 competitors in this match would make some sense in winning, and Dango wasn’t one of those 2. Slater is a guy that TNA has been featuring regularly, but they’re not letting him win much. He has crazy hops, but that’s all we know about him so far. Ace seemed to fare a little better, serving as an ally to the Hardys while his tag team partner is still recovering in Detroit. That time appears to have concluded however, as Ace was on his own, and it looks like they will just throw him anywhere to make up for the drastic change of plans due to Chris Bey’s scary injury. Kushida is another guy who TNA creative can’t seem to figure out what to do with.

The match was fine for what it was, and it was a departure from the standard X-Division multi-man car crash. I think JDC is untapped as far as potential when it comes to heel work, as he seems to keep finding himself in a comedic role. I hate seeing Sevin do the deal where he fakes a punch, and the opponent ducks or covers his face to block. It makes the opponent look stupid and cowardly covering his face or ducking like that. This match really could have used Moose’s presence at ringside to feel a little more important, instead of feeling like it’s just a competition to see who will be the next to lose.

The finish sees Kushida pin Slater with “Back to the Future”. Slater eating the pin was an odd choice when you had Sevin right there. In no way am I suggesting that Slater should be a world-beater by tomorrow, but with these short contracts and the possibility of TNA’s top stars going to WWE some day, one would think the time is now to start building new stars for the future.

Now HERE’S where the show starts getting interesting for me:

Tasha Steelz Interview

I’ve expressed my admiration of Ms. Steelz in before. As I see commenters on her IG posts lusting after her or primarily complimenting her physical beauty- I sometimes wonder if I’m the only one seeing how talented she is. Gia Miller asks Tasha about her match tonight against Jordynne Grace, and as I said before, with Tasha- it’s just the little things. In WWE- as good as many of the lady wrestlers are in the ring- whenever you hear them on the mic, they sound so overly scripted, and the acting is 4th grade play-level and over-the-top. You hear most women wrestlers cut promos and you just KNOW that they don’t talk like that in real life. Such is SO NOT the case with Tasha. I believe that she has a bad attitude and that she’s overconfident. Nothing she says feels forced or stereotyped. It sounded natural. Even if you know she’s gonna get her butt kicked, you’re still convinced that SHE believes she’s gonna do the kicking.

Next up: tag team match, playa.

PCO and Sami Callahan vs. the Good Hands

My first memory of the Good Hands is them being stooges for Bully Ray. And ever since Bully went back to Busted Open Radio, the Hands have done nothing more than show up, cut a promo to get heat from the crowd, and then lose. At one point, it looked as if Skyler was being positioned for a singles babyface run, but that seems to have been abandoned. Hotch is a good talker, and both guys have shown the potential to be a solid heel tag team that could organically turn face when the time is right. They, however, much like poor Leon Slater, can’t seem to buy a win.

I’m not sure why Callahan and PCO are teaming together, but I guess it’s something for both of them to do for the moment. No new contenders are being made for either of PCO’s titles, and neither has it been explained why he’s still carrying around the International Heavyweight title. This is not the sized roster that needs an inflation of titles- sanctioned or unsanctioned. I wrote last time- the Digital Media title has meant nothing since Joe Hendry lost it.

Oh yeah- the match. Sami and PCO won. Surprise, surprise. After the match, the number 23 kept ominously flashing across the big screen to the confusion of the winners. They approached Jake Something and Hammerstone backstage to ask if they had anything to do with the graphic. As if. Not exactly guys who look like they know their way around graphic design. This weird confrontation leads to a tag team match next week. Remember what I said earlier about the need to build new stars? TNA has already fumbled the former MLW champion Hammerstone (something I forgot to rant about in my last article). And why they’re still allowing a guy to walk around with the last name “Something” is beyond me.

I got a little ahead of myself, because before the above confrontation- we had TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth talking to us. He was interrupted by First Class. Oh joy. AJ Francis talks himself up and says that he’s had a great year, while Navarro does the annoying sidekick thing. Francis says that he wants to add 10 pounds… of gold. Please, no. Nemeth then fires back with what sounds like what he wanted to finish saying before he was interrupted. He put Francis over (not sure why) and gave us more rah rah about being a fighting champion. Santino “just so happens” to be walking by, and one comical mispronouciation of a name later, and we have the main event of Final Resolution. I’ll vomit all over this later.

Thankfully, the Hardys (guys people actually WANT to see) are up next, and they are defending their tag titles against Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards of the System.

This is the System’s contractual rematch, and I not only admire how TNA is the only company that still does those, but I also admire how they can be patient, so-to-speak, with these rematch clauses, and not burn through them so soon. The Hardys continue to look good for a couple of guys who’ve been up and down the road, with both brothers hitting almost all of their signature spots. We’ve all seen old timers come back and overstay their welcome in wrestling, and have cringed while watching them show their past-their-prime-ess-ness. But Matt and Jeff have mastered the art of wrestling according to their speed, and factoring in the selling, the hot tags, and the tandem moves that cover any holes in their game. They’ve even added moves to their set, and they know how to work well with any other team. It also helps to be in the ring with a couple of pros like Myers and Edwards. Both teams have good chemistry, and Alisha as the heel valet is the icing on the cake.

The match ended in DQ when Alisha struck Jeff with her kendo stick as the Hardys were about to put their opponents through a table (which Matt introduced). I’m not a fan of this finish, because it was the babyfaces who introduced the furniture in a match that didn’t call for it, and them getting put through the table seems more justified than sympathetic. It would’ve made more sense if the heels brought out the table, and the faces attempted to use the tables in a fit of rage before Alisha made the save for her team. Ace Austin didn’t even bother to run out there to help. But it’s whatever. Another match added to the Final Resolution card.

Spitfire is in the back, and they are still livid over whatever Ash and Heather by Elegance did, which feels like ages ago. A one-on-one between one member of each team happens next week.

Santino says that he was watching what happened to the Hardys from the back. And he didn’t bother to send out security or nothing. The tag team title rematch at the PPV will be a Table’s Match.

The next match may not be the main event of the evening- but it might as well be. Tasha Steelz vs. Jordynne Grace, with the winner facing Masha Slamovich for the Knockouts title.

Tasha comes out to silence, but her mannerisms and the way she dances to her own music shows that at least in her mind, she’s the “ish”. I love it. Grace comes out to one of the biggest pops of the night. She has really established herself as a star in this company, and- getting ahead of myself again here- I’m really interested in seeing how this translates to the wider WWE audience.

I wouldn’t be able to do this match justice if I wanted to recap it move-for-move. That is not to say that it was spotfest; everything made sense and was given room to breathe. Jordynne’s offense looked like it hurt really badly, but Tasha’s craftiness and familiarity with Jordynne kept her in the driver’s seat for most of the match. Tasha is no big girl (something that quite possibly may be why WWE hasn’t come a-callin’ for her), yet she manages to get in some non-ridiculous-looking offense against the more powerful Juggernaut.

Alisha Edwards apparently wasn’t done interfering in matches for the evening, as she ran in to distract Grace, allowing Steelz to pin Grace with her feet on the ropes for leverage. Classic heel stuff. Jordynne is pissed, and decides to take out her frustration on Alisha. Tasha jumps in, and the heels get heat on Jordynne. Out comes Masha to make the save, but- in a move that baffles me when watching modern wrestling- she ran out while holding her title. Because the champ just HAS to make sure they grab their belt FIRST before coming out to help their friend who’s getting jumped. Alisha temporarily lost her doggone mind and stared down Masha, and was about to throw a punch before a bloody-nosed Grace threw her out. The match is set: Tasha Steelz will challenge Masha for the Knockouts title at Final Resolution.

Also at the PPV, we will see a four-way match to determine the #1 contender for the world title (after AJ Francis flops back down the card): Joe Hendry vs. Josh Alexander vs. Mike Santana vs. Steve Maclin. The winner will face the champion at Genesis in January.

Speaking of Joe Hendry, “Say his name…” and he appeared to the loudest reaction of the night (maybe neck-and-neck with the Hardys) to join commentary. In a show that has already been pretty tag team and multi-person-heavy, we have an 8-man tag match for the main event.

Mike Santana, Jonathan Gresham, Steve Maclin, and Eric Young vs. The Northern Armory (Josh Alexander and Sinner and Saint) and Frankie Kazarian.

Being honest here… I wasn’t really into this match. I feel like we’ve seen a combination of these guys teaming together enough, and I thought at least one of these feuds had already been resolved (Maclin/Alexander). Every guy not named Icarus or Williams is capable of putting on a good performance, but there was nothing on the line, seeing as how most of team babyface and half of team heel are already in the title mix. I couldn’t stand watching the indie-riffic style of Williams and Icarus. Their involvement in this completely took me out of the match. Towards the end, it completely devolved into the style of matches that you’d see 15 times over on an AEW PPV. Mercifully, Kazarian ends it all by hitting Gresham with his Call Your Shot cup and pinning him. Still can’t believe that we’re really letting Gresham pass through TNA without a single midcard title reign. Even though I wasn’t feeling this match, it was the right result, because we need to be reminded that Kazarian is a threat to the world champion with that cup- regardless of who becomes the official contender. But seriously- does TNA really see more of an upside with Sinner and Saint than they do the Good Hands? Make it make sense.

Overall, while nothing stellar happened on this episode, it still featured some progression in storylines and managed to pull TNA out of the Turning Point lull… slightly. With the exception of the DUD of a main event booking, Final Resolution is looking pronouncedly better than Turning Point. Still no word on the JBL/Nemeth situation, which we need answers for, and Mike Sanatana’s stock is dangerously close to rising above that of Joe Hendry’s. We may see an upset.

What to go out of your way to check out if you missed this episode: Tasha Steelz’ promo and her match against Jordynne Grace. Hands down.

I’ll be back next time with my predictions for Final Resolution, and I might steal Tito’s “what should/will happen” format. Let me know what you thought of the show. Until next time…

Peace.