TNA Unbreakable Review - April 17, 2025

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Eric Young def. Zachary Wentz and JDC in a TNA International Championship Tournament First-Round Three-Way Match

Of the three three-ways on this show, this was easily the weakest, but that isn't to say it was bad by any means. Rather, this was a nice match with good work from all three guys, despite it not getting a ton of time. Young was the logical choice to advance given Steve Maclin also went on to advance. I would've preferred JDC get pinned instead of Wentz, but they probably wanted Young to pin a babyface.

Steve Maclin def. Eddie Edwards and Ace Austin in a TNA International Championship Tournament First-Round Three-Way Match

This was a little longer than the opener and definitely an improvement, which wasn't too surprising considering who was involved. All three of these guys are talented and had a chance to shine. I'm ready for Austin to get more of an aggressive push on his own, but as previously noted, Maclin had to advance so he could further his feud with Young in the finals.

TNA X-Division Champion Moose def. Sidney Akeem

This was an open challenge from Moose. For those unaware, Akeem is the former Reggie a.k.a. Scrpyts in WWE. He departed NXT last year when his contract wasn't renewed. He's actually a fun fit for the X-Division. Granted, I didn't want him to win here, but I thought he did well with Moose and they had an adequate outing. Apparently Akeem will be in the Ultimate X match at Rebellion as well.

TNA World Tag Team Champions The Hardys and Mike Santana def. Mustafa Ali and Nic and Ryan Nemeth

This was an effective way to further two feuds at once ahead of the obvious matches at Rebellion with the Nemeth brothers challenging The Hardys for the TNA World Tag Team Championship and Santana and Ali having their rematch. Plus, the action was entertaining and the crowd was into it. Ryan Nemeth eating the pinfall loss for his team was the correct call.

TNA World Champion Joe Hendry and TNA Knockouts World Champion Masha Slamovich def. Frankie Kazarian and Tessa Blanchard

Hendry is defending the TNA World Championship against Kazarian (and Ethan Page) at Rebellion while Blanchard challenges Slamovich for the TNA Knockouts World Championship on that same show, so this served as a solid preview of both bouts. Granted, it was basic intergender wrestling, but it was enjoyable and I liked the chemistry Hendry and Slamovich had as partners.

Chris Bey Addressed the Audience

This was awesome. Bey is a Las Vegas native, so I'm glad he got a chance to walk out in front of the crowd to show them how he's doing and address his injury and road to recovery. You could tell it meant a ton to him and it made for a wonderful moment. It's almost irrelevant if he ever wrestles again; it's far more important that he's living a full life and it looks and sounds like he's doing just that.

Sami Callihan def. Mance Warner in Barbed Wire Massacre

Callihan has taken part in Barbed Wire Massacre before in TNA, so this was right his in his wheelhouse. This wasn't my cup of tea whatsoever, but they needed some violent to outdo themselves from their recent Street Fight and they definitely delivered on the stipulation here. Warner excels in this extreme environment as well, so they had the hardcore spectacle you'd expect them to. Tons of unnecessary stuff, but there's an audience for it and I'm sure they loved it. Just don't do it all the time, please.

Elijah Performed

​Okay, so we just got a performance from Elijah on the episode of iMPACT! that preceded this event. I'm okay with them doing Elijah performances occasionally, but doing two in the same night was a little excessive for viewers who watched both. This was perfectly fine, and at least it established that instead of another performance at Rebellion, Elijah will be holding an open challenge on the pre-show.

Steve Maclin def. A.J. Francis and Eric Young in the Finals of the TNA International Championship Tournament to Become the Inaugural TNA International Champion

It's cool that the TNA International Championship took center stage on this show to make it feel like a big deal. I don't see this title getting treated much better than the TNA Digital Media Championship did, but for one night, it had prestige. This wasn't the Unbreakable three-way from 20 years ago, but it was a worthy main event and all three guys busted their ass, especially Francis. Maclin and Young will face off one-on-one for the belt at Rebellion with Young not getting pinned here.

Overall Show

Rebellion is next Saturday and, of course, that'll be a much bigger show, but for a one-off event over WrestleMania weekend, this was decent. Nothing felt eventful outside of the inaugural TNA International Champion being crowned, but there was plenty of quality wrestling across the card. Honestly, Bey's appearance was the best thing on the entire show, so make time for that, if nothing else.

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