TNA iMPACT! Review - January 9, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Steve Maclin, Eric Young and Jonathan Gresham def. The System (JFC, Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers)

I guess Maclin, Young and Gresham are sticking together as a trio despite not feuding with The Northern Armory anymore. That was pretty much confirmed in a backstage segment later on in the show when Maclin and Young challenged First Class to a tag team match next week. At any rate, this was a solid six-man tag team match. The babyfaces won, but The System laid them out afterward, so it looks like we haven't seen these guys against each other.

Lei Ying Lee def. Savannah Evans

Xia Brookside came out beforehand and said that Evans injured her during the three-way match they had on the Turning Point pre-show back in November. After revealing she isn't currently cleared to compete, she said she also injured Lee and that she'd be her surrogate of sorts for this match. This was decent and Lee winning was the right outcome, though you'd think Evans would've won so she'd look like somewhat of a threat before Brookside returns for revenge.

Mike Santana def. The Northern Armory (Judas Icarus, Travis Williams and Josh Alexander) in a Gauntlet Match by Disqualification

The idea of this Gauntlet match was that if Santana could get through Icarus and Williams, he could get his hands on Alexander. He beat Icarus and Williams with relative ease and those mini matches were perfectly passable. Icarus and Williams jumped Santana before he could take on Alexander, so Santana technically won by disqualification. This was designed to set up Santana vs. Alexander one-on-one at Genesis, so it accomplished what it needed to.

The Rascalz def. The Good Hands

The Rascalz will challenge The Hardys for the TNA World Tag Team Championship at Genesis in what's being billed as a dream match, so this was meant to be a warm-up for them before then. Good Hands scored more offense than I expected, but it was a nice sprint while it lasted. The Hardys vs. The Rascalz essentially sells itself, so I'm fine with that not having much of a story.

TNA X-Division Champion Moose def. Andrew Everett

Remember Everett from the TNA run he had several years ago? I do, but this crowd apparently didn't based on the quiet reaction he got when he came out. He took exception to Moose tossing the X-Division Championship belt on the ground and claimed to more of an X-Division wrestler than him. That led to an impromptu title match and it was a glorified squash for Moose. The chokeslam and powerbomb on the apron looked brutal. Moose said he'll unveil a new belt at Genesis, but I'm assuming it's just a new design and not a new title all together.

Jordynne Grace and Tessa Blanchard Brawled

Grace called out Blanchard and said that she should be afraid that she had a mic in her hands because there was a lot she could say. I'm sure that was a not-so-subtle reference to all of the allegations against Blanchard over the years, but I doubt TNA would ever acknowledge the racist stuff on air. The brawl was well done and led to the announcement that they'll face each other at Genesis, which will presumably be Grace's TNA swan song.

Joe Hendry and Rhino def. Ryan Nemeth and TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth

Rhino mentioned on social media that this TNA TV taping would be his last for the company, so does that mean this was his final TNA match? I don't know if that was made clear. Regardless, winning in the main event isn't a bad way to go out. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this main event, but it was enjoyable for what it was and gave Hendry an additional momentum boost before next Saturday's TNA World Championship clash with Nic.

Overall Show

In addition to everything above, there was also a replay of Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett from Genesis 2009 (for some reason) as well as an extensive video package for Hendry heading into his TNA World Championship main event at Genesis. Definitely check the latter out. All in all, this was a good edition of iMPACT! that effectively built toward Genesis and everything seemed to serve a purpose.

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