TNA iMPACT! Review - April 4, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

TNA X-Division Champion Mustafa Ali def. Rhino in an Old School Rules Match (Non-Title)

Even at this stage of his career, Rhino can still very much hold his own. Of course, he had no chance of winning here (especially with it already being confirmed that Jake Something will challenge for the TNA X-Division Championship at Rebellion in a few weeks), but the stipulation was right in his wheelhouse and the bout benefited from that. This was fun and they worked well together. Ali continues to kill it outside of WWE.

Hammerstone Attacked a Cameraman

Hammerstone was interviewed about dodging Josh Alexander the last few weeks before getting aggressive and attacking one of the cameraman. It was a nice angle to make him look like an unhinged threat ahead of a third match with Alexander that is almost guaranteed to take place at Rebellion. If you didn't watch Hammerstone's run in MLW, he's more impressive on the mic than you'd think.

The Rascalz def. FBI (Ray Jaz and Zack Clayton)

Little Guido Maritato wrestled Alan Angels on the Victory Road pre-show late last year and he's also appeared MLW quite a bit, but what made this appearance cool was that it took place in the ECW Arena where he has a ton of history. Jaz has potential, but Clayton bored me to tears during his AEW run. They had a solid showing, but this was all about giving The Rascalz a win. I'm curious if FBI will be a permanent addition to TNA's tag team division or if this was just a one-off.

Frankie Kazarian def. Chris Bey

Kazarian beat Ace Austin last month, so it was logical for him to knock off Bey here as well. Both guys are talented and thus it was no surprise that this was a quality contest. ABC aren't doing anything at the moment, so Bey could easily absorb the loss. Meanwhile, Kazarian will face Eric Young in a Full Metal Mayhem match at Rebellion, so it was more important for him to go over.

Ash by Elegance def. Xia Brookside

This was obviously the most competitive match Ash has had yet in TNA and also her best as a result, even if it was mostly mediocre. Brookside is skilled, but it's not like she's capable of carrying Ash to anything special. This served its purpose in giving Ash her first meaningful win in TNA. She gave up her spot in last week's number one contender's match, so I can see her laying claim to a title shot eventually.

Nic Nemeth def. Alex Shelley

This was billed as a "generational clash" and I appreciated how it was made out to be a big deal with so many members of the roster hyping it up in video packages throughout the night. It lived up to the hype as they were given plenty of time and the action was excellent. No shenanigans, either. This was just straight-up pro wrestling. Props to The Motor City Machine for doing the honors on their way out (assuming they don't ultimately re-sign with TNA).

Overall Show

This was an enjoyable edition of iMPACT! on the whole, but it felt like a one-match show to me with the main event being the sole match worth checking out. Nemeth vs. Shelley was heavily hyped and it lived up to that hype. I'd recommend making time for that one. The rest of the show was serviceable as it did a decent job of further building toward the Rebellion pay-per-view, another event that has the potential to be great.

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