TNA iMPACT! Review - August 7, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Moose Attacked TNA World Champion Trick Williams

We just saw Moose in the same segment with Williams on Tuesday's NXT, though we got a bit more from them here ahead of their championship clash at Emergence. Moose's "attack" on Williams was tame, but at least he got the upper hand so he has some momentum before he challenges for the TNA World Championship. Before then, he and Williams will team up with Je'Von Evans and Oba Femi against DarkState next week on NXT.

TNA International Champion Steve Maclin vs. Jake Something Ended in a Double Count-Out

This was the match I was hoping we'd get at Slammiversary, but better late than never. This was brief, but the double count-out was necessary in setting them up for a match without disqualifications and count-outs at Emergence. They worked with urgency and intensity here, so I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do with more time on a bigger stage.

Lei Ying Lee and Xia Brookside def. The Elegance Brand (M by Elegance and TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Heather by Elegance)

I was surprised by lively of a tag team match this was and how into the action the crowd was. This was good stuff and I'm glad Lee and Brookside finally won for a change. It was later announced that it will be a four-way tag team match for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship at Emergence, so that's what this was designed to set up.

A.J. Francis Kicked KC Navarro Out of First Class and Reintroduced Rich Swann on First Class Penthouse

Navarro is legitimately hurt and has been for a while, and seeing as how he was already teasing tension with Francis long before that, it made the most sense for this to be where Francis booted him out of the group. I also love the idea for Swann to replace him with Swann being the original member of the group, who actually had to be replaced by Navarro last year when Swann left the company. Navarro should be a breakout babyface when he's ready to return.

Mara Sade def. Vicious Vicki

We didn't see much from Sade on her own during her time in NXT, so I'm curious how she'll do in the Knockouts division. I believe this was her first singles match since debuting and I thought she did just fine, though the bout benefited from being on the shorter side. It's logical to give her a string of wins before transitioning her into her first formal feud.

TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champion Ash by Elegance def. TNA Knockouts World Champion and NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jane by Disqualification (NXT Women's Champion Was Not Defended)

Well, this was a nothing match. To repay the favor from last week, Masha Slamovich interfered within a few minutes of the matchup starting, causing the disqualification finish. Honestly, I had little interest in this to begin with, so I can't say I'm too upset with how quickly it ended. There was a big brawl afterward, but I assume the endgame is a three-way with Jane, Ash and Slamovich for the title at some point.

Santino Marella Suspended The Nemeths

Marella made a bunch of match announcements here for Emergence, though I wouldn't have said anything about this segment had Marella not brought out The Nemeths to suspend them for what they did to The Home Town Man. That's so they can't get involved in The Hardys' scheduled TNA World Tag Team Championship defense against The Rascalz at Emergence. This served its purpose.

Mustafa Ali def. Joe Hendry

Hendry just lost at Slammiversary and then to Mike Santana on iMPACT!, so I figured he might bounce back with a win over Ali here. Apparently not, but I'm not complaining. Granted, it took plenty of interference and shenanigans, but this was a big victory for Ali. They received an ample amount of time and it was an entertaining main event. I wonder if they'll run it back at Emergence or if this was meant to get Ali closer to TNA World Championship contention.

Overall Show

As I've said before, this quick turnaround time between events isn't ideal, but they did a decent job on this edition of iMPACT! of making pretty much the entire card official and building toward everything. It made for a nice episode on the whole with the biggest highlights being Swann's return and the main event. I doubt anything super newsworthy happens at Emergence, but it should be the usual solid special from TNA.

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