TNA iMPACT! Review - January 2, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ryan Nemeth Confronted Joe Hendry; Nemeth def. Rhino by Disqualification

Hendry addressing his TNA World Championship match with Nic Nemeth at Genesis was nothing out of the ordinary because it wasn't anything we haven't already heard from him before. Unlike during his previous appearances in TNA, Ryan was more of a heel here and came off as completely obnoxious. That set up Nemeth against Rhino in an impromptu matchup, which was total throwaway. The disqualification finish was lame, too. At least this wasn't Rhino's official sendoff.

Ace Austin def. Kushida

It was recently reported that Kushida has wrapped up with TNA, so that made this match a lot more predictable than it would have been otherwise. Despite that, this was very fun stuff and I liked that it lasted as long as it did. Austin announced afterward that he wants world title gold, but he'll first be facing Moose for the TNA X-Division Championship at Genesis. I guess that works, too.

Mike Santana Challenged The Northern Armory to a Gauntlet Match Next Week

Santana was a star on the rise in 2024 and should be hold gold at some point in 2025. I liked how he announced his intentions to challenge for the TNA World Championship specifically, but he'll first have to go through Alexander in order to get there. It was cool how Alexander recapped their history as part of the LAX vs. The North feud from years ago, leading to Santana challenging all of Northern Armory to a Gauntlet match next week. Santana vs. Alexander wasn't confirmed for Genesis, but I'm sure it's coming.

Ryan Nemeth Interrupted TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth

Ryan was also involved in a backstage segment on this show, so between that, this and the opening segment, he was featured way too much in one episode. I know the idea was probably for fans to get sick of hearing from him, but this felt like overkill. Nic's promo about Hendry was as basic as Hendry's. I'm just ready for them to get the rematch over with at this point. The Nemeth brothers will face Hendry and Rhino in a tag team bout next week.

TNA Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich, Jordynne Grace and TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champions Spitfire def. Tasha Steelz, Rosemary and Ash & Heather by Elegance

Maybe it wasn't exactly an "all-star" tag team match, but this did feature some of the division's most talented stars and they were all showcased nicely. The babyfaces going over was the right call before Tessa Blanchard attacked Grace from behind and brawled with her to the back. Ash & Heather by Elegance also stood tall over Spitfire while Rosemary targeted Slamovich, so it looks like we know what matches we're going to get with the women at Genesis.

Overall Show

Needless to say, this was a very promo-heavy show, which was necessary with the last two weeks being best-of shows and Genesis coming up quickly. The main event was enjoyable and I really dug Austin vs. Kushida, so those were worthwhile. TNA didn't waste much time in establishing the lineup for Genesis, making this an effective edition of iMPACT! on the whole.

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