A new era of "TNA iMPACT" has begun, with the show moving to AMC, and the premiere episode was suitably packed. Did it soar above its "LOL TNA" past? Or did the long-beleaguered promotion fall flat on its face? The answer, as usual, is somewhere in between.
Frankly, the mere fact that TNA avoided a disastrously awkward moment in its AMC debut should count as a major win. And there was more to love beyond that, especially relating to the company's Knockouts division and its promising future.
Overall, though, those of us watching here at Wrestling Inc. felt the episode was largely flat. Mike Santana got his win back, regaining the world title in the main event. None of us felt too strongly about that, so you won't find it covered here. Read our results page for a more objective look at what took place, or continue onward and rejoice in the duality of love and hate.
TNA's flagship series moving to a bigger network is the perfect opportunity to deliver something fresh to its new and returning viewers. It was a fine idea to start with AJ Styles, though never mind how he was used (we'll get to that in short order). What followed, though, was a pretty significant disappointment of a match.
The Hardy brothers and Elijah (formerly known in WWE as Elias) joined up as a trio against Mustafa Ali, Jason Hotch, and John Skyler of Order 4. Though I'm a fan of several of the involved wrestlers, the match fell short of the mark for me.
In many ways, it's a perfect representative of the episode as a whole. Nothing terribly offensive happened, but then again, nothing really exciting happened either. The entire point was to give Matt and Jeff a dominant win ahead of their title defense on Saturday's Genesis pay-per-view, with the focus being on the attack at the hands of the Righteous afterwards. That's perfectly understandable, but it's just not a great choice for the opening match of your new era.
Written by Nick Miller
The TNA Knockouts Division introduced not one but two new additions tonight, with the arrival of both Daria Rae and Elayna Black.
Say what you will about Rae and Black, and there's definitely a lot that can be said about them both. At the end of the day, though, they're big names in their own respective right and are both high-profile signings for TNA regardless, having made their names on the independent circuit and in WWE. Doing a double debut on a show that was billed multiple times by several on air personnel as "the biggest and most historic episode of TNA during their AMC debut" was a very smart move, as the rest of this show otherwise felt chaotic, all over the place, and underwhelming to me on the whole. It instantly stood out from anything else on the show just by feeling like it was a big deal, especially in stark comparison to anything else that happened tonight.
Written by Olivia Quinlan
This is, admittedly, a sort of niche bone to pick with TNA and AMC. I'm aware that this broadcasting error did not happen to everyone watching TNA's AMC debut I'm even aware that this experience did not happen to everyone in the United States, where I was watching. However, this broadcasting error certainly happened, and I think that it put a damper on what was, admittedly, a pretty meh show.
The IInspiration put their Knockouts World Tag Team Championships on the line for what very well could be their final match in TNA. Ultimately, Cassie Lee and Jessie McKay dropped the titles...and I only know that because of my colleague's wonderful writing. I did not watch the Knockouts World Tag Team Championship match. I wasn't in the bathroom. I wasn't away from my desk. I was here, with the AMC broadcast turned on, and instead of watching McKay and Lee defend their titles, I was greeted with several ad breaks and a minutes-long waiting screen.
I know that broadcasting mistakes are going to happen. They happen with WWE, they happen with AEW, and they are going to happen with TNA. Such is the reality of simulcasts. However, most simulcast mistakes only cost us about a few minutes of our broadcast, and both WWE and AEW typically pad their transitions in and out of commercials so thatshould a broadcasting error happen around an ad break, we only miss a few inconsequential lines from commentary. I don't remember the last time a professional wrestling simulcast had a broadcasting error so long that I missed an entire match. I don't remember the last time a wrestling show messed up on the ad break transition so bad, I missed an entire title match.
The temptation is there to claim that TNA is conspiring against the departing Lee and McKay, but the out-of-broadcast evidence doesn't point in that direction. I genuinely think that this was a huge blunder by TNA and AMC...which is still not great. While AMC+ does not have nearly as much salt in the game as, say, Netflix or HBO Max, they are still not a new streaming service, by any means. They launched in 2020. They have service in several countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia. This isn't a rookie service. This fumble on a significant night like this on the historic TNA's debut on their platform, in a pop culture world that is more receptive to wrestling than its ever been is unbecoming of them.
Is this the end of the world, and the end of TNA? Not really. It was just the cherry on top that made a whatever debut even more of a hassle to watch.
Written by Angeline Phu
When TNA showed "WWE NXT" star Sol Ruca and Zaria watching tonight's Knockouts Tag Team Championship match from backstage, many viewers, like myself, probably expected them to be in line for a future title match of their own. Much to my pleasant surprise, Zaria is actually getting a major singles title opportunity.
For the majority of their partnership, Ruca has been the one competing in singles title matches, largely due to her reigns as NXT Women's North American and WWE Women's Speed Champions. With a Knockouts World Championship open challenge up for grabs at TNA Genesis, though, Ruca stepped aside for Zaria, who will now also make her in-ring TNA debut opposite Lei Ying Lee.
Upon arriving to WWE in late 2024, Zaria had a powerful, warrior-like aura about her that should have easily positioned as a future champion. Instead, she's been left titleless, and arguably overshadowed, for over a year. Genesis has me hopeful that will change and also finally ignite the long-awaited feud between ZaRuca. If not, it will at least create another exciting TNA-WWE crossover moment.
Written by Ella Jay
I wasn't expecting him to have a match or anything like that, but there wasn't much to AJ Styles' appearance on during the AMC premiere of "TNA IMPACT." And that's just disappointing.
Styles appeared as promised at the beginning of the show, welcoming everyone to the house that he had built and all the other platitudes that a returning veteran gives for their one-time home. No one came out to confront him or join him in the ring for any reason at all. So surely there would be more to his presence as time went on.
Technically, yes, there would be, with Styles appearing in a backstage segment with then-TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian. He said a single word in that segment, with Kazarian berating him and telling him he should thank him. The single word was "Thanks" followed by a quick look down at the TNA World title on Kazarian's shoulder. And that was all she wrote for Styles on the episode.
Those who may have expected him to appear in the main event, Kazarian eventually dropping the title back to Mike Santana, would have been left disappointed as the show closed with a clean celebration. That in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing. The right man won the title in a perfectly good match. But when you have Styles in the building and he is throwing teasers out for the World Championship, there's an absence of excitement that had subconsciously built up. That might be ameissue. But Bully Ray was brought out to commentate over the main event and for the entirety of the time I was subjected to a Busted Open special, I couldn't help but think Styles could have been there doing it instead.
Huge fan of Styles returning to TNA. Not so much of a fan of the fact he wasn't used much. Cognizant that he didn't have to wrestle, maybecouldn'twrestle given the nature of WWE. But it just fell a little flat when all was said and done.
Written by Max Everett
I'll be upfront. I'm completely new to TNA's product. I've never watched an episode of TNA programming in my life: I only know of TNA happenings through reports that we get, I only know Samoa Joe because he's my SoCal neighbor, and I've only watched the Steiner Math promo because it's basically a rite of passage for any professional wrestling fan. Thursday's AMC debut of "TNA: iMPACT" was my first full foray into TNA programming, and while I thought the show was relatively inoffensive, one segment stood out to me. What on Earth is the TNA Injury Report?
When I saw the headline flash across my screen, much like a legitimate news station segment, my interest was piqued. Out of a show that was inoffensive, yes, but simultaneously (and mostly) whatever, the break from programming got me sitting up in my seat. I'm glad I got myself back in the show enough to watch, because I think I might have found the thing I enjoy the most about TNA's broadcasting schedule.
Maybe my sense of humor is broken, but the TNA Injury Report is very funny to me. There's just something about going through an entire roster's (kayfabe) injury list like a news rundown. I know that wrestling has some degree of professionalism attached to its theatricality we saw that when TNA's newest suit, Daria Rae, debuted and admonished Santino Marella but this really did read like a legitimate news report. The juxtaposition between the inherent silliness of professional wrestling's kayfabe injuries and the completely serious delivery of this very professional injury rundown had me giggling. There's definitely a part of this that is based in novelty, and I'm sure the allure will wear off for me as I continue to watch TNA's weekly product. For now, though? I was so sports entertained by the weekly injury report.
Nobody else is doing this in the world of professional wrestling. Sure, we have the occasional broadcasted injury update, but no other major promotion is putting a segment like this in their card (like, someone had to make time in the card, move matches around and give live talent time limits, to air the injury report). Nobody else in professional wrestling is carving out time in the broadcasting schedule to air this laundry list of reports...and honestly, it should stay that way. I haven't watched much if any TNA, but I think this is such a TNA segment. TNA's Injury Report's crass blend of whimsical kayfabe and serious broadcasting presentation and technique is so funny and so them. I don't think any other mainstream, televised promotion could pull something off like this.
It's the small things that make a promotion stand out.
Written by Angeline Phu
