TNA Turning Point Review - November 29, 2024

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: Joe Hendry Addressed His Opponents in the Six-Way Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl Match

I know there's been a certain segment of social media in recent months that have claimed Hendry has cooled off, and I haven't really bought into that until now. He was definitely riding a wave of momentum heading into Bound for Glory, but ever since that shitty finish to his match with Nic Nemeth, he hasn't felt remotely as special. The abysmal booking hasn't helped, either. I say all of that because this was one of the lamest promos I've heard from Hendry all year. I'm glad he's still getting consistent mic time, but this was lower-midcard material.

Pre-Show: Rosemary def. Xia Brookside and Savannah Evans in a Three-Way Match

This was the "get some of the other women on the card" match, and thankfully, it was slotted on the pre-show. That isn't a knock on its quality as it was actually rather decent for the time they were allotted, but why not put something at stake so they have something to fight for? Evans is in the midst of a renewed push, so I was surprised to see her lose, but at least she didn't take the losing fall.

Mike Santana def. Frankie Kazarian

As long as Kazarian is in possession of that guaranteed title opportunity from winning the Call Your Shot Gauntlet Battle Royal, expect him to lose a lot of his matches. It's the equivalent to WWE's Money in the Bank briefcase: There's this notion that the winner can afford to lose if they end up cashing in successfully to become champion, but in Kazarian's case, I'm not positive he'll win the title. Regardless, this was a good opener from him and Santana, who continues to build momentum.

Joe Hendry def. Brian Myers, Eric Young, Hammerstone, John Skyler and Rhino in a Six-Way Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl Match

The annual Thanksgiving Turkey Bowl doesn't do much for me, especially since it works better as a gimmick on iMPACT! and not on one of the monthly events, but this did manage to get several stars on the card who have zero direction at the moment. It was a standard six-way with a nice structure and perhaps the least shocking outcome of the night with Hendry pinning Myers. No, Hendry's victory here hardly gets him back to where he was a month ago ahead of Bound for Glory, but it's a start.

Steve Maclin def. Josh Alexander in a No Disqualifications Match

Despite the stipulation, the rest of The Northern Armory were barred from ringside. This received a ton of time as they truly tried to make it feel like a war. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a classic battle by any means, but I do applaud them for putting forth a hell of an effort and having a hard-hitting brawl. It feels like Alexander is indeed on his way out of TNA as he's put over plenty of people this past year.

TNA World Tag Team Champions The Hardys and Ace Austin def. Kushida, Zachary Wentz and Matt Riddle

Trey Miguel was unable to appear due to travel complications, so Riddle replaced him. That will certainly get people talking, and not necessarily in a positive way. Although this had no storyline significance whatsoever, it was an enjoyable sprint for all six stars. As North Carolina natives, The Hardys were mega over in front of this crowd and logically picked up the win for their team. Time will tell as to whether Riddle sticks around in TNA.

TNA Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich def. Jordynne Grace in a 2-Out-of-3 Falls Match

Grace had beaten Slamovich multiple times before Slamovich finally beat Grace for the belt at Bound for Glory, so I liked how Slamovich decisively defeated Grace in a two-out-of-three falls match here to solidify her superiority over Grace. Their strong chemistry together is well documented and they had the excellent outing they were capable of. Similar to Alexander, I'm under the impression Grace is on her way out imminently, so she's going out on a high note.

TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth def. Eddie Edwards

The entire match was very well wrestled, but the first half wasn't too interesting. I simply did not see Edwards as a threat to the title at all, but to their credit, they created some suspenseful nearfalls down the stretch. Myers (sporting the turkey suit from earlier) attempted to interfere but was thwarted by John Layfield. This stuff with Layfield has to be leading to something soon, right? There has yet to be any explanation of what Layfield's intentions are in helping Nemeth, and we're reaching a point where it's going to be difficult to care unless they get to the next stage of the story soon.

Overall Show

This event emanated from WrestleCade, which is why it looked a lot different visually from your average TNA taping. The audio wasn't amazing, but I appreciated the change of scenery. On the whole, this was a skippable show up until the final two matches. There were fun moments yet nothing worth seeking out other than Grace vs. Slamovich and the main event once they picked up the pace. We're heading into that time of year where TNA coasts creatively until January, so we'll see if they do anything to change that this year.

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