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INTRO
TNA Impact opened this week with an in-depth summary of Leon Slater’s X-Division Championship reign. The recap was building up the X-Division Title match that was the headline match of Impact this week. They even gave us a throwback to the AJ Styles appearance on Impact from July 2025, which was a sort of Pass-the-Torch moment for Slater.
TNA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP #1 CONTENDERS BATTLE ROYAL
SANTANA (c) vs. ERIC YOUNG
Recent Happenings:
After the successful defense of the TNA Title by Santana against Rich Swann, a new challenger was needed, thus Daria Rae declared there would be a over-the-top Battle Royal to determine a new challenger for the TNA Title. Impact proper opened with Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and Bear Bronson of The System, accompanied by Alisha Edwards, making their entrances for the Battle Royal. They were followed by Elijah, returning from storyline injuries sustained during the Walk with Elijah match against Kazarian a couple weeks ago. Mustafa Saed, former tag partner of the late New Jack, returned to TNA, and was the first wrestler eliminated from the Battle Royal, as the rest of the competitors had already filled the ring. The battle royal moved very quickly, with the final two coming down to Elijah and Eric Young. Eric Young secured the victory with a low blow on the apron to become the Number One Contender to Santana’s TNA World Title.
Analysis:
The Number One Contenders Battle Royal concluded very quickly; Perhaps one of the shortest battle royals I can recall. The match was so fast, in fact, that there were very limited moments spent getting over wrestlers or storylines. One exception; Kazarian continued his beef with Elijah. Kaz attempted to eliminate Elijah after having been eliminated himself, only to inadvertently cause the remaining members of the System to be eliminated by Elijah. I think Eric Young makes for a sensible natural opponent for Santana, as a grizzled heel character. Their dynamic should make for some good promo work, though the outcome of the feud does feel predictable.
Grade: C+
BACKSTAGE PROMO WITH LEON SLATER
In a backstage interview, Leon Slater continued the build to the main event of the show, defending the X-Division Championship. Slater stamped his claim on being a win away from becoming the “greatest X-Division Champion in history”, as with a victory, Slater would become the longest reigning X-Division Champion in TNA history, while already being the youngest to win the Title. Matt and Jeff Hardy joined the interview to wish Slater success.
Analysis:
TNA hitting the “longest reigning” Champion point so hard with Leon Slater has raised my suspicions about a title change. Slater continues to deliver good promos on the way into his X-Division Title defense.
Grade: B+
BACKSTAGE PROMO WITH ORDER 4 (Mustafa Ali, Tasha Steelz, Jason Hotch, & John Skyler)
Recent Happenings:
Ali degrades his team for an unsuccessful showing in the Battle Royal earlier in the show, which was such a short match, I don’t recall seeing any of them even being eliminated. Ali, the TNA International Champion, declared the continuance of the International Title Open Challenge for next week.
Analysis:
I am not seeing a clear feud emerging for Mustafa Ali yet, so I assume that the open challenge for the International Title will be another victory for Ali. With the struggles of the Order 4 faction being highlighted by Ali, it is possible the open challenge next week leads to a surprise loss of the International Title for Ali. I would choose to keep Mustafa strong for now.
Grade: B-
ERIC YOUNG vs. SANTANA {c}
Recent Happenings:
Immediately following the Order 4 promo, the segment flowed into an Eric Young promo in the same backstage area. Young cut a short promo listing the names of some people, including Joe Hendry, that he had gone through to get to Santana, and the TNA World Title, proclaiming himself the “New TNA Champion”.
Analysis:
Just as I had foreseen, the build to the Santana-Young match started with a short and sweet promo by Eric Young. I thought it was strong.
Grade: B
NEW KNOCKOUTS CHAMPION LEI YING LEE CELEBRATES REGAINING THE CHAMPIONSHIP
LEI YING LEE {c} vs. XIA BROOKSIDE
Recent Happenings:
On the preceding episode of Impact, Lei Ying Lee defeated Ariana Grace for the TNA Knockouts World Championship, the second time Lee has held the Title. The same broadcast from last week also featured a parade of challengers segment where a number of potential future opponents were lined up for the new champion, but this week, Lee was interrupted by her former friend, Xia Brookside, who was banned from the Impact Zone for the Knockouts Title match last week.
Analysis:
Firstly, I would like to note that during the promo, Lee referenced not being a great English speaker, but I’ve always thought she was a confident and clear communicator in the language. Brookside is a natural babyface, and the heel turn, I thought, was likely not the best plan for her. That being said, the promo was pretty good, aside from generic fan insults. Brookside’s heel character somewhat reminds me of a version of Mariah May, which is a positive. I like Lee’s emotion and fire, and this match will be a good start for the second reign.
Grade: C+
BACKSTAGE WITH THE SYSTEM
Recent Happenings:
Last week, as Impact closed, Moose was found unconscious backstage. During the backstage segment this week, Eddie Edwards revealed it was indeed The System that took Moose out, continuing their ongoing feud. To close out the promo, Cedric confidently reiterated his plans to win the X-Division Championship away from Leon Slater.
Analysis:
The Moose-System rivalry feels like it has been going on for years, at this point. The recent developments still indicate to me that there will be a bigger team vs. team match with Moose assembling a team to combat The System. We’ll see where this goes.
Grade: C
KEITH JARDINE VS. THE ELEGANCE BRAND
Recent Happenings:
Last week, Mr. Elegance of the Elegance Brand was successful in a squash match against Home Town Man. During an interview with Keith Jardine, a former cage-fighter, who was hyping an upcoming film called “Over Your Dead Body”, the Elegance Brand interrupted.
Analysis:
Mr. Elegance’s head is on JD McDonagh-size levels. I’m not sure if this is leading to a match between Mr. Elegance and Keith Jardine, who I was not previously aware of. I was not a huge fan of this segment, as it was very short and did not accomplish much.
Grade: D
ARTICLE CONTINUED BELOW…
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AJ FRANCIS vs. KC NAVARRO – SACTOWN STREET FIGHT
Recent Happenings:
The rivalry between KC Navarro and AJ Francis stems from Navarro, returning from injury, attacking Francis, betraying his former First Class allies. Francis entered first while the announce team welcomed Chris Caray, the great grand-son of famed baseball commentator, Harry Caray. The match went back and forth for most of its duration, which included two commercial breaks. After a scary looking chokeslam to the floor, through tables set up earlier in the match, AJ Francis got the pinfall victory over Navarro.
Analysis:
The street fight between KC Navarro and AJ Francis was filled with a number of dangerous looking spots, with an over-reliance on weapons, but the action was good. Chris Caray, after not standing out for the first half of the match, was actually pretty impressive on limited commentary. I’m sure he is busy with MLB, but I wouldn’t be opposed to seeing him return to the table in the future. Francis was the right person for the victory, which appeared to wrap up the feud between Navarro and his former First Class teammates.
Grade: B
SANTANA, TNA WORLD CHAMPION ENTERS THE IMPACT ZONE
Santana {c} vs. Eric Young
Recent Happenings:
Santana had been looking for a challenger for his TNA World Title. With Eric Young winning the Battle Royal earlier in the evening, Santana had his chance to give a retort to Young’s promo. Santana made his way through the fans to the ring to cut a promo. Santana truly exudes strong “man of the people” charisma. After addressing Young, Daria Rae made her way to the ringside area to declare that Steve Maclin was cleared for a return to action, and would challenge Santana for the World Title next week. Santino also returned to the Impact Zone during this segment to counter Daria Rae.
Analysis:
Santana delivered another solid promo. I liked how he put Eric Young over as a TNA legend and foundational piece. Daria was effective in her role, but it often feels as though her segments often devolve into comedy segments, as she continues feuding with Santino Marella. Before being cut off. I’m not exactly sure where Steve Maclin fits into the TNA Title picture, but it dampened the build to the Young-Santana match.
Grade: B
IMPACT INJURY REPORT
The Injury Report indicated that Trey Miguel is out indefinitely with a knee injury sustained in the International Title match where he lost to Mustafa Ali. The report also briefly updated Moose’s status. ECIII was listed as out indefinitely following injuries sustained in a match against Eric Young last week.
Analysis:
The Trey Miguel injury may be legitimate, while the rest of the injuries on the report appear to be storyline driven. Miguel could also re-emerge as a challenger for Mustafa Ali’s International Title.
DIAMOND COLLECTIVE (Victoria Crawford & Mila Moore with Tessa Blanchard) vs. The Undead Realm (Rosemary & Allie with Mara Sade)
Recent Happenings:
Allie got her first win in a TNA ring in several years a couple weeks ago, teaming with Rosemary & Sade against The Diamond Collective. The two teams faced off again this week in a 2 vs. 2 tag match. After a little bit of back and forth, Rosemary secured the victory over Crawford for the Undead Realm.
Analysis:
I enjoyed the dynamic between Rosemary, Allie, and Sade last week, but this week was all in-ring action. The match didn’t go very long, and was just there. I think the right team won at this stage.
Grade: C
BACKSATGE WITH THE BROKEN HARDYS
The Hardys vs. The Righteous
Recent Happenings:
Impact featured another edition of the Broken Hardys sending foreboding warnings to The Righteous this week.
Analysis:
I have been looking forward to these segments the last couple of weeks. I would say it is nearing time to hear from The Righteous, though. Overall, excited about these teams going head to head soon.
Grade: B+
TNA X-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH, (2 out of 3 Falls match)
LEON SLATER (c) vs. CEDRIC ALEXANDER
Recent Happenings:
The build for this match heated up over the last few weeks. A two-out-of-three falls match makes sense going into this rubber match between the two competitors. Slater got a quick first fall with a roll-up pin within the first minute of action. After Slater’s early fall over Alexander, the match began to sway in Alexander’s direction, leading to the second fall of the match in his favor. A near fall for Slater came after a Super Styles Clash from the second rope onto Alexander. The finish of the match came after Slater missed the Swanton 450, followed by two Lumbar Checks by Cedric Alexander, winning the X-Division Championship.
The show went to the closing moments with Alexander celebrating the victory over Slater when Fabian Aichner appeared in the Impact Zone.
Analysis:
TNA really put a ton of time into building up this match over the preceding shows leading up to the X-Division Title match between Alexander-Slater. The match did not disappoint. I started to read the potential finish swinging in Alexander’s favor more recently, but it seemed ready-made for Slater to become the longest reigning X-Division Champion in history. I appreciated that there was no interference by The System. The show’s closing angle with Fabian Aichner appearing suggests that Aichner is a babyface preparing to chase Alexander’s newly won X-Division Title. Aichner is a great in-ring guy, so there is no doubt that he and Alexander will be capable of having some strong matches. I like the addition to the roster, and I hope to see more additions soon. The main event and end to the show was good.
Grade: A
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