TNA Impact 3/28/2024

TNA Impact 3/28/2024

Last week's show is here: https://prowresblog.blogspot.com/2024/03/tna-impact-3212024.html 

Impact Knockouts World Title #1 Contendership 8-4-1 Match

Leg 1: Masha Slamovich, Xia Brookside, Rosemary and Dani Luna vs Alisha Edwards, Jody Threat, Havok and  Steph De Lander

So the way this goes is that it starts out 4v4. The winning team then fights in a four way. George Iceman comes out and brings Ash By Elegance out. She is wearing something on her head like you'd wear when you have a tooth ache. She's also holding something on her mouth. George says she can't have her face touched and said if someone did it, it would be like putting another crack in the Liberty Bell.

Havok and Steph start us off. They go face to face. Steph piefaces her then tags in Rosemary. Rose bangs Havok's head into Steph as they are tag team partners normally, but aren't here.

Alisha takes bad corner spears from Steph then Dani delay suplexes Alisha. Dani sliding lariats Alisha. Alisha slaps her then bulldogs her out of the wheelbarrow. Masha hits shots on Dani. Masha kicks Dani in the chest and back. Dani flying dropkicks Masha.

Xia and Jody go at it. Jody forearms her then Xia takes corner lariats. Xia boots her in the corner then is tripped into the 2nd rope for a knee press. Masha and Jody argue then Xia rolls up Masha. Xia headscissors Masha then running neckbreakers her for 2. All 8 girls fight.

Dani spinning back elbows Masha then uses the ropes to slingshot blue thunder bomb her. Masha spinning high kicks her then Dani rolls her up for 2. Masha rolls her up for 2 then urakens her. Dani cradles her and pins her. Masha's team is eliminated.

Leg 2: Alisha Edwards vs Jody Threat vs Havok vs Dani Luna

Masha beats up on Dani and throws her into the post and out. Masha then leaves. Steph takes forearms from both opponents Rosemary spears Xia off the apron, sending her into Ash outside. Ash screams as her face gets hit. George shows her her face in the mirror and Ash is mad. Ash points at Xia then throws her into the post. The ref throws Ash and George out.

Only Rosemary and Steph are left in the ring now. Matt Cardona runs in and hits radio silence on Rose. Steph hits a TKO on Rose and wins it. Steph De Lander is the winner.

This was chaos from start to finish. While it wasn't clean, I thought this was real creative and I thought they did a great job in tying the various stories together. Xia and Ash's angle got pushed, Masha and Dani's angle got pushed and they got Matt Cardono back through this.

We see Steve Maclin argue with The Rascalz in the back. They say they don't need Steve. Steve runs into Chris Sabin. Steve tells him not to turn his Time Machine frustrations on him. Sabin says he won't today but will do it next week in a match.

Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley and Kushida talk. He said he's happy Alex and Kushida put their problems behind them. Alex questions him and said maybe he's looking out for himself. Alex said it wouldn't be a bad idea and maybe he should do the same thing.

ABC talk in the back. Ace said it's been a rough few weeks. Bey said Ali's referendum was crazy. Ace said Bey shouldn't have been in that match as they should focus on the tag titles. Bey asks if he thinks he's not talented enough to do both. Ace said he's not saying that, he's saying they should prioritize their focus on the tag titles. Bey said Ace had that match on his own with Frankie Kazarian. Ace said he was standing up for the both of them. Bey asks if he's trying to say he doesn't stand up for ABC. Bey said he will go find Frankie right now and handle it.

The Grizzled Young Vets come out. Gibson said they took a humiliating defeat at the hands of The Timesplitters due to Deaner sticking his nose where it didn't belong. He said he has an important lesson for him.

Dean comes out and tells them they need to shut their mouths. Deaner said he talked to Santino and was told he can get in the ring and fight one of them. Deaner said it's not his choice, it's the people's choice. Gibson calls the fans mutants and asks if he wants to listen to these people. Deaner says yes. Dean asks the crowd who he wants them to punch. The fans say both then he attacks them. Drake is lariated over the top.

Handicap Match - The Grizzled Young Veterans vs Deaner

Gibson lariats Deaner then Deaner takes a spin kick and a lariat. Gibson piefaces Deaner and Deaner hits some punches. Deaner manhattan drops him then hits corner lariats. Deaner hits a bulldog then Gibson cross chops him in the throat. Drake chokes Deaner with a towel then Deaner takes a double codebreaker and is pinned.

It was a quick one with Deaner getting some offense in before being put down. 

Nic Nemeth is interviewed. He talks about Moose and The System. Alex Shelley interrupts and said not to listen to Moose. He said he believes in him and can beat The System. He wishes him luck on his conquest. Nic said after he beats Moose he wants to have a match with him. Alex says why wait and they agree on a match.

Josh Alexander comes out to talk. He said he missed Philadelphia and talks about the history of wrestling there. He said some violent scores have been settled here and he needs to settle one. He said he has an open contract for tonight and challenges Alexander Hammerstone.

Hammer doesn't come out and Josh accuses him of being scared. "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams comes out. Tracy said he doesn't need to worry about Hammerstone, he needs to worry about the best pro wrestlers in the world like Tracy Williams. Tracy said he's been waiting for his opportunity here and said if Hammerstone doesn't want to fight then he does. 

Josh Alexander vs "Hot Sauce" Tracy Williams

Tracy side headlocks him. Josh goes for a leapfrog and is rolled up. Josh goes for hte ankle lock and they stand off. They trade chops and Tracy knees him in the gut. Josh suplexes him over the top rope then goes with him. Both crash on the floor. Josh crossbodies him as he sits on the apron. We go to PiP break and return.

They trade shots as we return and Tracy backdrops him. Tracy corner lariats him then 2nd rope suerplexes him. Tracy kimuras him then Josh exploders him. Josh hits a finlay roll then 2nd rope knee drops him in the neck. Josh goes for the ankle lock and is pushed into the buckles. Josh powerbombs him on his knee then is back body dropped.

Tracy ddt's him on the top buckle then hits a death valley driver for 2. Tracy STF's then crossfaces him. Josh germans him on his neck then Tracy face kicks him. Josh hits a jay driller and wins it.

I thought they did too much here with both getting suplexed over the top, various moves off the buckles various neck bumps here.

The shake hands after then Hammerstone nails both of them. Hammer belly to belly suplexes Josh then forearms Tracy down. Hammer puts Josh's headgear on Tracy then torture racks him.

Mustafa Ali is on the digital cover of PWI. He asks what Santino thinks and Santino says it's cool. Ali says this is historic and they need to preserve it. Ali says Jake Something is not qualified to be in the x-division, being too heavy for it. Santino said the beauty of it is that there are no limits. Ali says he doesn't have the name of it either. Santino said you could even be champ with the name "The Man Beast" Rhino. Ali says it's a dumb name and Rhino pops up behind Ali. Ali asks if there's anything he can do for him. Rhino said give me a match next week. Ali tries to say he has a match set up with Jake Something but Rhino said it doesn't have to be for the title. He challenges him to an old school rules match for next week and Santino makes it.

I have a feeling my idea of old school rules will be different than Rhino's. 

Mike Bailey vs Eddie Edwards

Eddie misses a chop and is dropkicked. They trade chops and Mike goes down. Mike face kicks him then handsprings off the ropes, flips and does a chest kick. Mike tope con hilos him outside.

They fight outside, trading shots. Eddie backdrops him on the apron and knee drops him inside. Eddie hits mounted punches and they trade chops. Eddie eye rakes him then Mike boots him in the face. Mike 2nd rope dropkicks him then running SSP's him for 2. Mike hits kicks to the chest and kick flurries him on the ropes.

Mike corkscrew asai moonsaults him outside. Eddie blocks his corkscrew kick then Eddie backpack stunners him for 2. They trade shots inside then Mike alternating kick flurries him. Eddie lariats him then Mike standing moonsault double kneedrops him. Brian Myers grabs Mike on the ropes while the ref isn't looking. Trent Seven hits Brian then Mike gets a 2 count on Eddie. Mike backslides him then buzzsaw kicks him. Mike hits a superkick then Alisha Edwards grabs Mike's foot. Mike misses his ultimate weapon off the 2nd rope then takes a shining wizard to the back of the head. Eddie wins it.

I liked this. Eddie kept Mike grounded and Mike didn't get to overdo it here. I really liked Mike's corkscrew asai moonsault which I had never seen before.

We get a video on PCO. He screams "Kon, Monsters Ball".

A graphic says the Full Blooded Italians are coming next week.

Frankie Kazarian recites quotes from the bible. He said Eric Young thinks Full Metal Mayhem benefits him. Kaz says he will match it and show he is the one true king of TNA. Chris Bey comes up to him and says if he's the king of TNA, he wants the throne next week. Kaz says ABC is as easy as 1-2-3.

Rich Swann and AJ Francis talk in the ring. AJ said this is his Rich Homie Swann. He said they make up First Class. AJ said it's been nothing but pretty women and first class fights since Swann joined him. AJ said this is one of the best times of his life and he hasn't been as happy since he was on The Giants and they beat The Philadelphia Eagles. He said people know he's here for big money.

Swann says he's a former world champ. He said he's been in a slump and has been getting his @ss whooped. He said when he went to the back week after week, AJ would be his boy in the locker room. He said AJ told him he would bring him to even higher heights. Swann said they are both from Baltimore and he knows what type of dude he is. He said he wanted to do it his way and the right way. He said he took more whoopings and said Joe Hendry blind tagged himself in and took Swann's victory. He said Joe wanted him to sing and dance for that. He then said Joe stole the spotlight again. He said AJ was there for him though. AJ said him and Swann smell like money and said if you aren't First Class, you're last.

Laredo Kid is interviewed. He said he started wrestling in Lardeo in 2003. He said he wrestled with his brother. He said he was told he was going to be the next local star. They talked about him having a perforated intestine after a TNA match. They also bring up him not being able to make a title match at Sacrifice due to travel issues. He said he's coming for Crazzy Steve's title.

It was really hard to understand a lot of what Kid said here. If you ever wondered why Laredo Kid doesn't do a lot of promos, this is why.

Chris Sabin vs Steve Maclin

Chris armdrags him. Steve backs him up, misses a chop and is armdragged. Sabin goes up and over him then armdrags him into an armlock. Sabin armdrags him again and Steve running back elbows him. Steve is dropkicked in the knee off the apron. Steve's shoulder is sent into the post.

Sabin armbars him then armdrags him. Sabin's neck is pulled into the top rope then he is dropped on the top rope gut first.

We go to PiP break and return. Sabin bites him then top rope dropkicks him in the back of the neck. Sabin atomic drops him and crucifixes him for 2. Sabin neckbreakers him. Sabin hits a ddt for 2 then crossfaces him. They go out and Steve flying kicks him in the face. Steve to prope headbutts him.

Sabin stunners Steve over the top rope then Steve lariats him. Steve hits a landslide for 2. Sabin puts him in la magistral then they lariat each other. They trade forearms and Steve forearms him outside. Steve goes for a tope, Sabin moves and Steve lands on the floor. Sabin spring board tornado ddt's him. Sabin is put in tree of woe and speared.

Steve double underhooks him, Sabin backdrops him then Steve hits a nasty KIA elevated double underhook DDT.

There were some cool spots here but they did too much and didn't sell enough. Both of these guys took some nasty looking bumps here.

Overall thoughts: I thought they did too much in the Alexander/Williams and Maclin/Sabin matches. Oddly, I thought Mike Bailey and Eddie Edwards had the best match of the night. The women's 8-4-1 match was pretty well done too. It was an average show with some highlights, some lowlights and some stuff that was just there.