TNA will celebrate 20 years of Impact TV tonight with a show featuring two title matches on the road to this month’s Against All Odds.
This week’s show will air live on the TNA+ app for the first time in addition to AXS TV.
Fresh off her in-ring debut on WWE NXT on Tuesday, Jordynne Grace will defend the Knockouts title against former two-time titleholder Allysin Kay. Grace beat Kay’s Hex partner Marti Belle on last week’s show and was attacked by Kay afterward.
Grace will challenge NXT Women’s Champion Roxanne Perez at this Sunday’s NXT Battleground.
Digital Media Champion Laredo Kid will look for his second title defense as he defends against AJ Francis after Francis and Rich Swann jumped Kid recently. Francis has never held TNA gold before.
In a clash of former World title challengers, Nic Nemeth will go one-on-one with Frankie Kazarian while past X-Division title challenger Jake Something takes on Kon as Something’s issues with Deaner linger in the background.
The special 20th anniversary episode of TNA iMPACT started off with a cold open video package that looked back at key moments from last week’s show, with The System setting the tone for the evening with a meeting backstage talking about their matches at Against All Odds. It ended with highlights of Moose knocking out “BROKEN” Matt Hardy backstage.
Jake Something def. Kon
Episode 1,037 of the weekly two-hour show kicked off with a live shot of the city of Cincinnati, OH. as the commentators welcome us to the special 20th anniversary episode. Kon’s theme hit and he made his way to the ring for the first match of the evening.
Jake Something made his way out next, looking all-business. After the two settled in the ring, the bell sounded to get the opening bout underway on the historic landmark episode of TNA iMPACT. The two locked up and neither man budged, so they each broke apart and opted instead to trade strikes.
Kon beat Something down to his knees with big shots and then brought him to the corner of the ring to follow-up on his attack. Something reversed him in the corner and unloaded with punches of his own, before dumping Kon out to the floor at ringside. Kon rushed back in with rage, but was sent right back to the floor.
Something ended up on the floor as well after Kon threw his shirt in his face to distract him. He then sent him face-first into the steel ring post, shifting the offensive momentum in his favor before returning inside the squared circle with a comfortable offensive lead. He ripped at the face of a grounded Something as the referee gave him a stern warning.
The commentators talk about Kon having an added aggression in recent weeks, just as Something began fighting back into competitive form. He traded shots with the fellow big man before ultimately grounding him. Kon got back up, but was sent back down with a flash knockdown from a big shot from Something, who followed up moments later with Into The Void for the pin fall victory.
Eric Young Talks 20 Years Of TNA iMPACT
After the match wrapped up, Kon attacked Jake Something to start a post-match beat down. Eric Young ended up running out to make the save, knocking Kon out to the floor. He got on the microphone and cut a promo saying he was just in the back having some bourbon when he decided to come out.
Young talks about TNA iMPACT being 20 years old. He said it has been 20 years of excellence and what is most important to the business, the fans, whom he calls the lifeblood of what they do. The fans chanted “TNA! TNA!” as the commentators spoke about Young having a match on the debut episode of iMPACT 20 years ago.
Frankie Kazarian Makes A Deal With The System
Backstage, Frankie Kazarian is standing by with Gia Miller for an interview when he is immediately interrupted by The System, who each take turns on the mic. Kazarian says The System has a problem and he’s going to get rid of it for them.
He makes sure he gets a TNA World Championship shot from Moose if he takes care of Nic Nemeth. Moose assures him that is the deal. Kaz says that is assuming Moose beats “BROKEN” Matt Hardy.
Moose boasted knocking out Hardy last week and questioned if he would even make it to TNA Against All Odds. On that note, the show cut to the first commercial break of the evening.
Steph De Lander To Respond To PCO’s Advances Next Week
After the break, Steph De Lander is interviewed backstage, where she agreed after encouragement from Xia Brookside and Gia Miller to wait a week to tell PCO what she thinks after he gave her a rose and love letter in recent weeks.
Gisele Shaw def. Shazza McKenzie
Inside the Impact Zone, Gisele Shaw and Shazza McKenzie each make their way to the ring for our next match. Early on, Shaw started off strong, as the commentators spoke about her recent talks with Gail Kim and the positive influence she has had on her heading into her in-ring comeback this evening.
McKenzie took over on offense for a quick run, but it was short-lived. Shaw grabbed her by the throat and decked her. She followed up a pin attempt, but only got a count of two. After they get back up, Shaw hit a big shot and followed up with her Denoument finisher for a relatively easy and basic comeback victory.
Latest Rosemary Vignette
In a backstage vignette similar to the one that aired last week, Rosemary is shown delivering a message in very Rosemary-fashion. She talks about them being alone and that the children of the hive wrapped around them like a husk for protection.
They followed them into battle, but now they are all gone due to their failures. She says those responsible will be forced to pay for their sins and their failures. After this wrapped up, the show cut to another commercial break.
Steve Maclin With A Proposition For Mike Santana
When the show returned from break, we see Steve Maclin approach Mike Santana and says unlike The Rascalz, he’s not here to attack him in sneaky fashion. He tells Santana they each have issues with them after their attack from behind last week.
Maclin suggests they handle it together, but Santana said that part of his journey is over and he rolls alone now. Maclin suggests it be a case of “one-and-done” with them taking on The Rascalz at TNA Against All Odds. Santana seemed to warm up to the idea.
Speedball Mountain def. Mustafa Ali & Campaign Singh
Inside the Impact Zone, the theme for the X-Division Champion hit and out came Mustafa Ali with Campaign Singh. The two settled inside the squared circle for scheduled tag-team action. Their opponents, the Speedball Mountain duo of Mike Bailey and Trent Seven make their way out next.
Ali teased starting off the match, only to immediately reach back and tag in Campaign with a big smile on his face. Singh and Trent Seven kicked things off for their respective teams. After Seven established the early offensive lead for Speedball Mountain, he tagged in “Speedball” Mike Bailey.
Bailey picked up where Seven left off, taking it to Singh as the fans chanted “Speedball! Speedball!” The commentators spoke often about Seven earning the next title shot at Ali’s X-Division Championship at the upcoming TNA Against All Odds 2024 pay-per-view.
Ali eventually tagged in and immediately shifted the offensive momentum back in the favor of his team, connecting with picture-perfect drop kicks on anything that moves. Ali taunted the crowd and boasted as the commentators talked us into a mid-match commercial break as the action continued inside the ring.
After the show returned, we see Singh on the wrong end of a one-sided beat down from Speedball Mountain. Singh badly needed a tag, but Ali literally ran from the opposition, eliciting laughter from the commentators.
Once Singh finally levels Seven and decks him, Ali is willing to tag back in and pick the bones. Which is exactly what he did, all-the-while loudly verbally taunting him and putting the boots to him. Seven finally heard enough and fought back, dropping the X-Division Champion. Singh gets involved and ends up on the floor with Bailey, where Trent hit a dive to take him out.
Back in the ring, Ali capitalized on the chaos. He got Seven down and headed to the top-rope for a 450 splash, but Seven moved. Ali rolled through and popped up just in time to nearly get be-headed by a big kick from Seven. Both guys were down and slow to make it to the corners, where they ultimately each tagged out.
The crowd came to life as “Speedball” Mike Bailey came into the ring with a ton of energy, only to run into a big back elbow from Singh. Bailey fought back and got the crowd back into things before tagging Seven back in. The two go for a double-team spot on Singh, but Ali yanked Bailey out to the floor to stop it.
The Secret Service provide a distraction, allowing Ali to hit a big DDT on him on the floor. Meanwhile in the ring, Seven fired up and went to work on Singh. He got Singh on his shoulders and stared at Ali before connecting with a Birming-Hammer for the pin fall victory.
The two have a long stare down after the bout as the commentators hyped their upcoming X-Division Championship clash at TNA Against All Odds 2024. After that, the show went into another commercial time out.
Jordynne Grace (C) def. Allysin Kay to retain the TNA Knockouts World Championship
When the show returned from the break, a Tale of the Tape graphic for our next match is shown, detailing the important particulars for TNA Knockouts Champion Jordynne Grace and her challenger for this title tilt, Allysin Kay of The Hex.
Before the match, however, Ash By Elegance’s personal ring announcer takes over on the stick inside the squared circle. After a long, drawn-out introduction for Ash By Elegance, we got an equally long ring entrance for her, as well as a lap on the floor. She eventually settled into her chair at ringside.
The theme for Allysin Kay hit next, and out came the former multiple-time TNA Knockouts Champion in her own right, accompanied by Marti Belle. The sirens sounded after that and the hottest female talent in the business for the past week or so makes her way out.
“The Juggernaut” Jordynne Grace made her way to the ring as the commentators sung her praises and spoke about her recent title defenses heading into tonight’s bout. The champion and challenger get the added, formal pre-match ring introduction from the ring announcer and then the bell sounded to get championship action underway on the special 20th anniversary episode of TNA iMPACT.
Immediately, the commentators spoke about Grace beating Stevie Turner on WWE NXT this week, and having a chance to become a double champion when she challengers WWE NXT Women’s World Champion Roxanne Perez at the WWE NXT Battleground 2024 premium live event this coming Sunday night at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Grace got off to a strong offensive start, while the commentators spoke about her recent appearance on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio, where she claimed she would be defending her TNA Knockouts World Championship in an open challenge at the TNA Against All Odds 2024 pay-per-view at Cicero Stadium in Chicago, Illinois.
After the action spilled out to the floor at ringside, Kay managed to take over the offensive control of the match thanks to an assist from Marti Belle. Back inside the squared circle, the challenger continued to add to her offensive lead for a few minutes.
Grace fought back with hard forearm shots but once again, Belle played a factor at ringside with a distraction that allowed Kay to take back over. Kay hit a nice Saito Suplex for a pin attempt, but only got two. Grace fought back after kicking out and hoisted Kay up for a Muscle Buster in a tip of the cap to AEW’s Samoa Joe.
She went for the cover, but only got two. Grace handled Belle, but then got rolled up by Kay. She kicked out at two. We saw an AK-47 attempt, but it is countered. Grace folds Kay in half with a stiff power bomb, before following up with a Juggernaut Driver for the pin fall victory.
With the win, Jordynne Grace retained her TNA Knockouts World Championship. Ash By Elegance was shown grilling the champ from ringside as the commentators plugged Grace-Perez this Sunday at the WWE NXT PLE one final time.
DMTV With Sami Callihan
The latest installment of the always interesting DMtv segment with Sami Callihan is shown. Callihan is featured inside a truck, questioning who Jonathan Gresham is.
Callihan would go on to challenge Gresham to a match at the upcoming TNA Against All Odds 2024 pay-per-view. Callihan mentioned having sushi for dinner and then the show cut to another commercial break.
AJ Francis def. Laredo Kid to become the NEW TNA Digital Media Champion
After returning from the break, a Fight Bytes breakdown graphic is shown on the screen to get us ready for our second championship contest of the special 20th anniversary TNA iMPACT show. The theme for AJ Francis hit and out comes the challenger, accompanied by fellow member of First Class, Rich Swann.
The theme for the reigning and defending TNA Digital Media Champion hit next, and out came masked fan-favorite Laredo Kid for his latest title defense. The commentators spoke about Francis not technically earning this title shot, but instead bullying his way into it.
The bell sounded to get things started, and immediately the champ came out firing, blasting the larger Francis with rapid-fire low kicks. He chops down his much bigger opposition. Francis tried snatching up the smaller Kid, but Kid broke free and hit a top-rope missile drop kick to send the First Class member out to the floor.
Laredo went to follow-up with another high spot, but Francis caught him on the way down and planted him into the unforgiving ring apron. Back inside the ring, Francis settled into a prolonged offensive lead after slowing things down at ringside.
Kid fires back up with an assortment of kicks a few minutes later. The crowd comes to life as he takes back over control of the offense with an impressive late-rally. The champ went to the top-rope and hit a wild senton to take out Swann at ringside.
Back in the ring, however, Francis immediately took back over after the momentary lapse in focus from Laredo, and connected with his finisher to pick up the pin fall victory. With the win, AJ Francis is now the new TNA Digital Media Champion. After the match, the commentators hyped the main event of this week’s 20th anniversary show before talking us into another commercial break.
Nic Nemeth def. Frankie Kazarian
The returned from the break to the announcement of Dani Luna vs. Tasha Steelz, Mike Santana vs. Zachary Wentz, as well as Nic & Ryan Nemeth vs. Ace Austin & Chris Bey for next week’s TNA Against All Odds 2024 “go-home” episode of TNA iMPACT On AXS TV.
After that, the commentary duo are shown talking directly into camera as they run down the lineup for the upcoming TNA Against All Odds 2024 pay-per-view at Cicero Stadium in Chicago, Ill. They introduce a video package, with Jordynne Grace talking, as highlights of her in-ring action are mixed in.
The TNA Knockouts World Champion spoke about how she is going to become a double-champion at WWE NXT Battleground 2024 this Sunday night at the UFC Apex, and make herself someone with an undeniable legacy to the TNA fans and the WWE Universe.
From there, the video package with “The Juggernaut” wrapped up and the theme for Frankie Kazarian hit. The longtime TNA veteran settled inside the squared circle for the final match of the evening on the 20th anniversary show, which other than Eric Young’s brief promo after the opener, has felt like anything but an anniversary show.
After Kaz settled into the ring, the show cut to a quick pre-match commercial break. When the show returned, Nic Nemeth was settled into the ring and ready to go. The bell sounded to get the main event of the evening officially off-and-running. The commentators boast TNA iMPACT trailing only WWE Raw and WWE SmackDown as the longest-running, weekly flagship show in the history of pro wrestling. Might have to check with Dave on that one!
Nemeth started off strong, taking it to Kaz coming out of the gate, however it wasn’t long before “The King Of TNA” shifted the offensive momentum in his favor. Kaz chopped the hell out of Nemeth in the corner before grounding him as the commentators hype next week’s show featuring the first-ever tag-team match for the Nemeth Brothers before they challenge for the TNA World Tag-Team Championships at TNA Against All Odds 2024.
Kaz sent Nemeth out to the floor with authority. Nemeth is shown writhing in pain at ringside as Kaz hangs back, initially seemingly content with letting the referee count him out, only to head out after him to inflict more punishment late into the ref’s count. The commentators talk about the deal that Kaz made with Moose and The System, vowing to take out Nemeth tonight.
Meanwhile, Kaz brought Nemeth back into the ring and grounded him again, slapping on a rear chin lock and putting his weight on him, as the fans in the Impact Zone clap and attempt to rally behind Nemeth. Kaz continued to control the action as the show cut to a mid-match advertising time out.
When the match returned, we saw Kaz going for the chicken wing on Nemeth, who avoided it and started to fight back. He hit a big DDT and a spear on Kaz into the turnbuckles in the corner. Nemeth grounded Kaz and gave him the Jerry Lawler heart attack special, blasting him with rapid-fire series of elbows to the chest.
Kaz took over again from there, fighting back and this time fully securing a chicken wing submission attempt. Nemeth escaped and attempted a Danger Zone, but Kaz saw it coming and avoided it. Seconds later, Kaz hit a slingshot cutter on Nemeth for a super close two-count. Nemeth fought back and this time successfully connected with his Danger Zone finisher for the pin fall victory.
The System Strikes Again
After the match, The System trio of Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards and Alisha Edwards hit the ring and attack Nemeth. Ryan Nemeth ran out to make the save, but TNA World Champion Moose of The System ran out to ensure The System attack continued as planned. Myers hit Nemeth with a huge spear. Myers and Edwards hold Nemeth, allowing Moose to spear him. The theme for Joe Hendry hit after that and the Impact Zone came unglued.
Fans sprung to their feet with “We Believe!” chants as Hendry helps Nic and Ryan Nemeth fight off The System. Alisha provided a distraction, however, setting Moose up to take them out again. The System members hit a Boston Meme Party as fans loudly chanted “You suck! You suck!” Myers and Edwards held Ryan Nemeth, allowing Alisha to blast him with a kendo stick, before Moose finished him off with a spear. The System proudly posed with their respective titles over the fallen Nemeth brothers and Hendry.
“BROKEN” Matt Hardy Invites Moose To The Hardy Compound
From there, the show cut to a special message from “BROKEN” Matt Hardy, who addressed Moose’s attack last week on the show. He said Moose thought he was taking Hardy out, but all he did was tap into the BROKEN Universe. Hardy said he has met Moose’s family in The System, and now he is inviting them to meet his family at the Hardy Compound. The show went off the air on that note.
That’s how this week’s show went off the air. Thanks for joining us and follow me on Twitter/X.
Next Week:
* Dani Luna vs. Tasha Steelz
* Mike Santana vs. Zachary Wentz
* Nic Nemeth & Ryan Nemeth vs. Ace Austin & Chris Bey
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