TNA iMPACT! Review - April 17, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Laredo Kid def. Jason Hotch

Genuinely, I'm not sure what purpose this match was supposed to serve. I like Laredo Kid, but he hasn't been involved in anything of note since he lost the TNA Digital Media Championship (and even then, he was a transitional champ). As for Hotch, he and John Skyler are glorified enhancement guys as The Good Hands, so I didn't see him winning here. There was nothing technically wrong with this match, but it felt like it existed solely to kill time.

Xia Brookside def. Jazmyn Nyx

Brookside plays the underdog role well, but she needed a victory after all the losing she's done in recent months. Being an NXT star, Nyx easily could've been booked to win, but I'm glad she wasn't. As a match, this was fine, though it probably lasted longer than it needed to. Rosemary giving the assist to Brookside means we might be getting closer to them forming an alliance, or Rosemary convincing Brookside to join the dark side.

KC Navarro def. Cody Deaner to Qualify for the TNA X-Division Championship Ultimate X Match at Rebellion

This had more stakes than anything else on this episode, which I appreciated. Unfortunately, it was a throwaway match. I'm not necessarily complaining as I don't think Deaner should be all that competitive with Navarro, who has a ton of potential and is an excellent addition to Ultimate X. Deaner's storyline is that his contract is apparently up on May 1st, so we'll see what he can do to convince Santino Marella to re-sign him (unless he's legitimately on his way out).

Gigi Dolin and Tatum Paxley def. TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Heather by Elegance and Maggie Lee

Lee filled in for Ash by Elegance, which should've been the first indicator that she and Heather were losing. Shockingly, Lee wasn't the one pinned, but I guess that was logical since it technically earned Dolin and Paxley a shot at the straps. We later found out it will be a four-way tag team match at Rebellion with Dolin and Paxley, Ash and Heather, The Meta-Four and Spitfire. This didn't overstay its welcome.

Dani Luna def. Jakara Jackson

This was another preview of the aforementioned four-way for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship at Rebellion. This was a match I didn't mind getting some time and I thought both women had solid showings. I have to give credit to Jackson in particular as she has improved in the last year or so alongside Legend. The outcome was irrelevant, but it was a decent match for as long as it lasted.

Elijah Performed

This brought me back to Elijah's WWE days where he'd come out, perform and that'd be it. That isn't to say this needs to become a regular occurrence on iMPACT! (quite the contrary), but it worked for this week, especially since the crowd was with him and into his shtick. I assume these mini concerts won't last long if he's headed for a heel turn in the not-too-distant future.

Brian Myers def. Leon Slater

What a weird main event. No disrespect to either guy (Myers has had a great run in TNA over the last five years and Slater is a star on the rise), but this was not worthy of the main event slot on paper. They ended up having a good match, but it would've been nice for Slater to win something significant on his own for a change. Unfortunately, it wasn't his night, but at least he was protected in defeat with the interference from The System.

Overall Show

This was billed as the Countdown to Unbreakable show because it aired immediately before Unbreakable. I would've preferred Unbreakable air earlier instead because this was a largely pointless edition of iMPACT! that lacked star power. Some stuff happened, but it was hardly anything must-see. The in-ring action was adequate on the whole, but you're better off just checking out Unbreakable.

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