TNA iMPACT! Review - May 23, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Ryan Nemeth and "Broken" Matt Hardy def. TNA World Tag Team Champions The System (Brian Myers and Eddie Edwards)

I know Hardy will challenge Moose for the TNA World Championship at Against All Odds, but it was pretty silly for him to earn that opportunity by first beating the tag team champs. Granted, it was Nemeth who picked up the pinfall win and we found out later on that he and Nic Nemeth will fight Edwards and Myers for the TNA World Tag Team Championship at that same show, but I'm not a fan of that booking decision. It was a well-worked match, though.

The Rascalz def. Sinner and Saint

Sinner and Saint were an unknown enhancement team and never stood a chance. This was essentially a squash for The Rascalz to give them a rebound win. It also existed to set up Steve Maclin attacking them afterward. I know it's a logical feud to do with The Rascalz following the dissolution of their alliance, but as I've said before, I don't understand who the crowd is supposed to cheer for between them.

Jake Something and Cody Deaner def. The Good Hands in a Kentucky Fight Club Match

This started with Deaner attempting to make amends with Something after Something attacked him last week, but Good Hands interrupted them before Something could respond. Santino Marella made this an impromptu tag team match and announced it as a "Kentucky Fight Club" match. It was yet another stupid stipulation for a Deaner matchup, except they didn't really do anything with it here. Rather, it was a basic tag team win that got Deaner and Something one step closer to getting back on the same page.

TNA Knockouts World Champion Jordynne Grace def. Marti Belle

It's been a while since I last remember seeing Belle on TNA TV. I know she and Allysin Kay challenged for the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship a year or so ago, but they've been free agents since. I've always found Belle to be abysmal in the ring, but she held her own here and Grace was able to carry her to a competent contest. Speaking of Kay, she attacked Grace afterward, so she looks to be Grace's next challenger.

Tasha Steelz def. Jody Threat

There wasn't anything technically wrong with this, but it was difficult to care. It was painfully bland, so at least it was kept on the shorter side. Steelz feels like a non-factor in the division at this point and a win over Threat means nothing. Furthermore, it looks like Threat and Dani Luna are already headed for a split, right after winning and losing the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship. This is why it's virtualyl impossible to give a shit about the division.

Trent Seven def. "Speedball" Mike Bailey in a TNA X-Division Championship No. 1 Contender's Match

These two were given plenty of time and they certainly made the most of it. Both guys are babyfaces, but that didn't work against them at all. I thought Seven might do something heelish to win and I'm glad that didn't happen. Sure, he took advantage of Champagne Singh's distraction (a lame finish, by the way), but apparently Seven didn't see it. It was an entertaining main event and I'm looking forward to Mustafa Ali defending against Seven, but Champagne Singh? Why?!

Overall Show

TNA reset the deck so to speak coming out of Revolution and they really haven't done anything interesting since. The main event and tag team scenes are whatever, Grace vs. Ash by Elegance in the long-term does nothing for me, and even the reunion of Deaner and Something isn't all that exciting. The TNA X-Division Championship picture has potential, but the road to Slammiversary is hardly off to a stellar start.

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