Another Thursday means another edition of "TNA Impact" on AMC. Yet again, the show emanated from theUpstate Medical Arena at The Oncenter War Memorial in Syracuse, NY, site of infamous wrestling events like David Arquette's world title victory or Shawn Michaels getting beat up by a bunch of Marines. There was a world title match, as well as an interrupted Elijah concert, but you can read all about that on the results page.Instead, it is time for us to get deep in our feelings and discuss the good, the bad, and the downright ugly from this week's edition of "Impact." There was highlights, like the opening and closing contests, and there were lowlights, like the abysmally plodding match between Matt Hardy and Dutch, or whatever the hell was going on with Xia Brookside. We'll also take a trip down memory lane, because for the person compiling these Loved and Hateds, this show carried tremendous emotional weight.Enough of my bloviating, I'll save that for the Proustian closing slide. Let's get into what the Wrestling Inc. staff loved, and what they very much didn't.
Matt Hardy and Dutch didn't exactly have a terrible match, but the elongated affair screamed of "time filling." The story between the two men is frustratingly stuck in the middle ground. They are clearly out for blood, but neither man can really move fast enough to sell the hatred.Jeff Hardy came out at the end, and that was nice, but overall, I was checking my watch for the entirety of their match. It was too violent to be this boring, too. TNA Wrestling is at its best when it is giving guys like Mike Santana a main event spotlight, and it is at its worst when it is shoehorning guys like Matt Hardy, who are respectfully far past their prime, into the midcard to make some younger talent look worse by association.I am, admittedly, the fill-in editor for this show, but I checked with the weekly warriors who cover "Impact," and they were as underwhelmed as I was. It just felt like the entire thing needed to be much more intense, or they needed to pull it back and let this feud properly cook.Written by Ross Berman
Let's be honest, I'm rarely ever going to complain about a Nic Nemeth match. 20 years in, he remains one of the smoothest and best-selling in-ring performers across the entire industry. Couple that with a promising powerhouse in Bear Bronson as his opponent, and you've got a recipe for a solid "iMPACT" opener.Bronson particularly shone when he laid out Nic with a chokebomb and covered him for a very close pinfall. When Nic then drove him into the ring post and delivered an elevated DDT, Bronson immediately rose to his feet, showcasing his resiliency. A powerful kickout from a superkick followed shortly after as well.Nic ultimately picked up the win thanks to KC Navarro providing a distraction to The System and his brother Ryan Nemeth tossing him back into the ring to finish off Bronson. Interestingly, though, Ryan and Navarro seem to be at odds, at least from Ryan's point of view.While on commentary, Ryan made it clear that Nic was his big brother, with Navarro having no proof that he too was a Nemeth. Ryan additionally placed blame on Navarro for the aforementioned match between Nic and Bronson happening. During it all, I found myself laughing.Yes, Ryan's jealousy over KC Navarro (who clearly is not a Nemeth) is silly and overdramatic, but sometimes, we need that. We need some fun in wrestling, and tonight, Ryan Nemeth gave me that. Still not entirely sure how KC Navarro is a "maggot," but then again, it's the ambiguity that enhances the levity.Written by Ella Jay
When I was first introduced to Xia Brookside, it was when I was helping this site cover "WWE NXT UK" (anyone remember that show? I LOVED it!). I always thought she was sweet like cotton candy. However, tonight, we witnessed a new side to her, and I love to hate it!Here's the deal: Brookside makes for an excellent heel because tonight's segment wasn't forced. You know how it can be when a wrestler tries too hard to be bad? Brookside nailed it tonight. I appreciated that sheer evil look that ran across her face after embracing her former friend Li Yng Lee, whom she cost the opportunity to reclaim the Knockouts World Championship. It was pure brilliance.Before tonight's show, I was unsure if I saw Brookside as the face of the Knockouts division. As of this report, Jody Threat was at the top of the list. But after tonight, I see that spot going to Brookside. I'd think having her positioned as the next Knockouts champion would be a shoo-in because, like the current champion Arianna Grace, she could create her own birthright, since she's a more established star on the roster. I feel like Grace has a lot on her plate between her current position in TNA and in "WWE NXT." Brookside could carry the title to undeniable heights as a heel champion.Written by Brie Coder
It has taken quite a while to get here, three months removed from the last time he defended the title on TV, but Thursday night's "TNA Impact" saw Mike Santana putting his title on the line against Rich Swann.Swann has been experiencing something of a career renaissance as of late, looking to reclaim the title he held and lost to Kenny Omega in 2021 with a new look, physique, yet still the same old dance moves and infectious personality. In the ring, Swann made more than a case for why he should be World Champion again sometime down the line, putting Santana to the sword and making for legitimately the best main event on Thursdays for a while.For Santana's part, he is, aside from Leon Slater, the single hottest talent on the roster right now and a great choice to carry the brand forward. But he needs matches like Thursday's with Swann to continually affirm that as the case. Viewers have been dragged through proverbial pitch and glass to finally get something worthy of tuning in, marred by constant System bulls*** framed after the likes of Aces & Eights, Retribution, Dark State, and all the other terrible stables who asphyxiate the actually compelling aspects of programming.There was still the never-ending Hardys-Righteous feud, the Knockouts Championship continued to be stuck in an NXT-TNA middle ground serving only to decapitate the division entirely, and the System was still present with a bellowing Alisha Edwards. But at least there was a main event that felt befitting to the billing.There can be something said about the last thing seen being the lasting impression left, and that only stands to strengthen the position that Santana should be doing so much more of this, whether for the title or not, and the company should be putting that into effect. Matches like this can be an anchor for stories to build to and from, and stand as the only time there seems to be a glimmer of what TNA could be, if it would just get out of its own way and stop re-treading the path that led to "LOLTNA" being a thing.Written by Max Everett
Sing. Sing a song. Sing out loud, sing out strong. Well, Frankie Kazarian got to do neither of those things. Instead, the "King of TNA" was ambushed before he even got the chance to sing his "Chaos in Blues," and I was so upset by this.Look, it's been a tough couple of weeks for your writer here. I haven't had too many belly laughs in some time. But tonight, Kazarian's impression of Elijah and his can't miss concerts had me cracking up more than it should have. I'm aware that Kazarian is a connoisseur of music, so I wanted to hear his singing voice, more specifically, what the lyrics of "Chaos in Blues" were supposed to be about. However, the real Elijah had to outshine the "Heavy Metal Rebel." I'm curious to see how their Guitar Strap Match will fare when it airs, though.Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on what they think of schtick comedy in wrestling. I appreciate the work that Danhausen is doing in WWE-hausen. And MJF trying so hard to prove why he should've never lost the AEW World Championship. But as of late, those skits have only ranked about a five or four, respectively, on my laughing scale. Tonight's parody of the "Walk with Elijah" concert was an eight on my laughing scale. I just hope TNA will allow Kazarian to resume his concert safe and sound without any interruptions from Elijah or anyone else. Long live "The King."Written by Brie Coder
On Saturday, April 25, it will be exactly 26 years since I attended my first live wrestling event, where I saw David Arquette win the World Heavyweight Championship at an infamous taping of "WCW Thunder." And now, here I am, a quarter-of-a-century later, planning a wedding a thousand miles away, watching another wrestling event taped in the Syracuse War Memorial, where I used to attend the Syracuse Auto Expo with my classic-car-obsessed father, now named for the hospital where I spent many days as a chronically-ill child, in the shadow of the Equitable Towers where I learned what grown-ups do at work, next to the Civic Center where I used to take acting classes, across the street from the convention center where I graduated high school, and just a short drive from the synagogue where I was Bar Mitzvah'd, that is now being turned into student housing. One friend I attended that "Thunder" taping with died in a professional snowmobile race, speeding into a wall, crashing into oblivion on Kentucky Derby Day, many years ago.All of these ghosts came flooding back to me in a Proustian rush of memory throughout the show, asMike Santana made a Jey Uso-esque entrance through hallways that I haven't walked in at least 15 years.I saw one WCW taping and two WWE house shows in that arena, and none of them were as good as what "Impact" presented tonight. WCW in 2000 was in a sorry state of affairs, and WWE never really took Syracuse audiences seriously in my time as a wrestling fan, often phoning it in and working on spots for TV and PPV. So I can firmly say that tonight's "Impact," as boilerplate as it might've been, was the best wrestling I've ever seen in the War Memorial at OnCenter.It was weird to see Syracuse taken so seriously. TNA might've taken the city more seriously in these couple of days of tapings than I did in my whole 18 years there. There was a shoutout to Upstate NY favorite, Dinosaur BBQ, and numerous references to the city being a dump, which it is, but it was my dump for a while; the dump that made me the man I am today.I'm not even the usual "Impact" editor. I just happened to be filling in.Call it "fate," call it "God," call it "providence," I was probably meant to see this show and realize how far that little 9-year-old WCW fan, who plugged his ears before every pyro burst, has come.In the introductions, I usually say we're going to get "deep in our feelings" about the show, and boy howdy was I telling the truth with this one.Written by Ross Berman
