TNA iMPACT! Review - September 12, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Steve Maclin def. Hammerstone

Maclin and Hammerstone are both suffering from a lack of direction at the moment, but at least they can always be counted on for a quality contest. It didn't help that Hammerstone was coming off a loss to Oba Femi on Tuesday's WWE NXT and that he lost again here, but it was a good opener despite the abrupt finish. Eric Young made the save for Maclin afterward and Jake Something teased an alliance with Hammerstone, so it looks like we're headed for a tag team match with those four.

Heather Reckless def. Gisele Shaw

This win for Reckless would have been a bit more shocking if it wasn't already announced that TNA signed her, but it was a big win, nonetheless. The timing was interesting because Shaw wrapped up with TNA at this taping, so this may have been her last match unless a tag team match was taped as well with her and Brookside against Reckless and Ash by Elegance (who aided Reckless to victory here). This was a well-worked match and Reckless was impressive while on offense.

PCO and Steph De Lander Attacked Matt Cardona

PCO and Rhino will face Cardona and a partner of his choosing at Victory Road, so Cardona picked De Lander as his partner here (TNA does a lot of intergender matches, so it's not completely crazy, even though I don't expect De Lander to do much). This was a simple segment to set that up and for PCO and De Lander to give Cardona a small sliver of comeuppance by getting the better of him for a change.

TNA World Tag Team Champions ABC def. First Class (A.J. Francis and KC Navarro) in a Tornado Tag Team Match

This was a rematch from Emergence. It's only been a few weeks but I'm already digging Francis' new pairing with Navarro, who belonged on a bigger stage a long time ago. Oddly, it didn't really benefit from the tornado stipulation since the brawling portion in the middle was rather dull, but it was a nice match on the whole. ABC needed to win before they defend against The System (who will be invoking their automatic rematch clause) at Victory Road.

Josh Alexander Interrupted Joe Hendry

Hendry's latest "music video" for Alexander was entertaining and the crowd enjoyed it, too. I'm glad Hendry showed his serious side for a change while addressing Alexander afterward and Alexander's promo was also strong. This was a great segment ahead of their match at Victory Road. I just hope that isn't their only encounter and that they'll be able to continue feuding heading into Bound for Glory.

Ash by Elegance def. Xia Brookside

Ash is coming off a string of losses to Jordynne Grace, so this was a necessary win for her. There wasn't much to the match, but it was fine for what it was. The only thing worth nothing about it was that Reckless reappeared to repay the favor from earlier and help Ash beat Brookside. Putting her with Ash out of the gate is smart as it immediately gives her something to do (and I assume she'll eventually break off on her own).

The Hardys def. The System (Brian Myers and Eddie Edwars)

I wasn't a fan of the last two-on-two match these teams had prior to Slammiversary, but this was better. They were given an ample amount of time, so it was slow at points, but it was a thumbs-up main event otherwise. The Hardys needed this win if the idea is for them to challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Championship at Bound for Glory, but it was weird for The System to lose before they face ABC again on Friday night.

Overall Show

Per usual, TNA has done an effective job of putting together a logical card for Turning Point despite the quick turnaround time. There was some solid wrestling and build for the event (including in vignette form for Jordynne Grace vs. NXT's Wendy Choo). It wasn't the most exciting or eventful edition of iMPACT!, but it progressed several storylines with Victory Road and Bound for Glory on the horizon.

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