TNA iMPACT! Review - July 11, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace def. Izzi Dame

I had this spoiled for me for a few weeks ago on social media, but if I wasn't, I would've been pretty underwhelmed by Dame answering the open challenge. Yes, it's cool that another name from WWE NXT answered Grace's open challenge, but Dame is fairly low on the totem pole in their women's division. Hell, she lost to Thea Hail on Tuesday's show, so she hardly felt like a threat here. The match was decent, but we've seen Grace have much better throughout her reign.

Charlie Dempsey def. Zachary Wentz

The NXT presence on this episode continued with Dempsey in action after he attacked The Rascalz's on last week's show. He and Wentz had a quality contest, but the focus was on Myles Borne (Dempsey's stablemate in No Quarter Catch Crew) aiding Dempsey to victory. The Rascalz reunion on NXT this past week was awesome, so I'm hoping they take on No Quarter Catch Crew in a six-man tag team match at Slammiversary.

"Speedball" Mike Bailey def. Jonathan Gresham and Kushida in a TNA X-Division Championship No. 1 Contender's Three-Way Match

Mustafa Ali defending his X-Division title against Bailey was already set for Slammiversary, but he later declined Bailey's challenge, so Bailey had to earn the opportunity by winning this three-way. Based on the level of talent involved, it was no surprise this was a fun match. Gresham and Kushida furthered their feud and Bailey went over as he should have. Ali "injured" Trent Seven afterward, so Bailey will have to go at it alone at Slammiversary.

TNA Digital Media Champion A.J. Francis def. Rhino in a Philadelphia Street Fight

Francis vs. PCO for the TNA Digital Media Championship was already announced for Slammiversary, so there was zero doubt surrounding the outcome here. It started out as a singles match before Santino Marella turned it into a Philadelphia Street Fight. It didn't end up making a different as Francis won in lame fashion shortly thereafter. Thus, this was a waste of time, but at least Francis is making the most of his appearances by cutting promos every time.

Gisele Shaw def. Tasha Steelz

Shaw's babyface run is off a solid start. The crowd isn't completely behind her yet, but she's coming into her own in the role and has been racking up wins. Although Steelz hasn't meant much in a few years, this was still Shaw's biggest win since returning from hiatus. There was nothing out of the ordinary about this, but there didn't need to be. Shaw needs to win gold eventually, but I don't see her dethroning Jordynne Grace and she currently doesn't have a partner to chase the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship with, so it might be a while.

JDC def. Chris Bey

I guess Johnny "Dango" Curtis is going by just JDC now. Both of these guys are good workers, so as you'd expect, they had a well-wrestled match. It didn't last too long, but it gave JDC a win as he continues to built back up and so he can prove himself as a potential member of The System. Speaking of The System, you'd think their interference here means they'll be defending against ABC at Slammiversary, but where would that leave The Hardys if they're also out for The System?

Steve Maclin and TNA World Champion Moose def. Josh Alexander and Joe Hendry in a Wild Card Tag Team Match

Marella announced who would be teaming with who earlier in the episode, but it didn't feel like much of a "Wild Card" match considering it was two babyfaces against two heels. Nonetheless, they had an enjoyable main event. It was Hendry's second televised tag team main event of the week, but unlike on Tuesday, his team fell short (a distraction by Frankie Kazarian at ringside cost the babyfaces). This did its job of building toward the Slammiversay six-way.

Overall Show

The card for Slammiversary has potential, but I'm still holding out for some NXT involvement, even if its The Rascalz vs. No Quarter Catch Crew (I know we're getting that next week but I want Wes Lee in there, too). At any rate, this was a thumbs-up edition of iMPACT!. Everything served a purpose, and although Francis vs. Rhino was whatever, PCO did confront Francis afterward ahead of their championship clash next weekend. The appearances from the NXT wrestlers at the beginning were notable and they closed the night on an entertaining note with the star-studded main event.

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