TNA Impact live results: Mustafa Ali title celebration
On TNA Impact tonight, Mustafa Ali makes his first appearance as X-Division Champion.
The former WWE star won TNA’s X-Division title by defeating Chris Sabin at No Surrender last Friday. Tonight, Ali will hold his official X-Division Championship Inauguration Ceremony. We’ll see if a new challenger for Ali emerges.
We know that Moose’s next defense of the TNA World Championship will be against Eric Young at Sacrifice on Friday, March 8. Moose retained the title against Alex Shelley at No Surrender, while Young defeated Frankie Kazarian in a number one contender’s match.
Moose, Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers are facing Young, Ace Austin & Chris Bey in trios action tonight.
Mike Bailey vs. Steve Maclin, Tasha Steelz vs. Xia Brookside, AJ Francis & Deaner vs. Rich Swann & Joe Hendry, and Laredo Kid vs. Jake Something are also part of tonight’s lineup. The matches were taped in New Orleans the day after No Surrender.
Impact opened with a fantastic video package of what happened at TNA No Surrender, with some very high quality video (for the most part, minus one camera) for the videos. If the show looked like this all the time, it would be one of the best visually produced wrestling products on TV. Excellent video package.
Steve Maclin (w/ The Rascalz) defeated Mike Bailey (w/ Trent Seven)
The gave Bailey absolutely everything in this loss, including constant interference to stop him from keeping any of his momentum. This was an awesome match. Maclin looked like a monster, and Bailey looked like he could overcome the world with just a slightly different match.
Bailey was selling his knee a little bit on his entrance and when he launched himself over the ropes, he sold his knee a little bit. I liked that subtle touch, as Steve Maclin took out his knee with a chop block that allowed The Rascalz to get the win over Bailey and Seven at No Surrender. The Rascalz accompanied Maclin to the ring, and were dressed in camo pants they likely bought at a local mall, and toques (beanies for my American friends). They were quite hilarious here.
The Rascalz helped Maclin bail to the floor, but Bailey was not deterred and went to the floor and started chopping Maclin. Maclin, however, had the advantage soon thereafter thanks to the Rascalz, and Maclin took out the knee of Bailey and continued where he left off at the PPV. Bailey managed to hit a kick to the face of Maclin with his right leg on the apron, using the ropes for support, and then launched himself to the floor with a corkscrew moonsault on one leg. Impressive.
Bailey went for a moonsault onto double knees on the apron (while on one foot) to Maclin but Maclin moved and hit the ropes and speared Bailey off the apron to the floor. Maclin hit a Greetings from Asbury Park after a distraction from Miguel. Seven gave Bailey a chance at a tornado kick, but Maclin blocked it and went for a powerbomb, but Bailey turned it into a Poison Rana but missed Ultima Weapon and landed right on the injured knee. Maclin went for KIA, but Bailey countered into a Northern Lights suplex, but Maclin held onto the arms and rolled through into a KIA for the win.
–Steve Maclin claimed that he ran Nic Nemeth off, and that he was not there tonight. Nemeth came on screen and said the only reason he wasn’t there was because he was in NJPW winning the IWGP Global Championship, and he would face Maclin at TNA Sacrifice.
–Frankie Kazarian was seen trying to get past security, and he was informed by Gia Miller that Santino had suspended him for his attack of a referee after the match with Eric Young. Kazarian said that Santino should think very carefully about this being the right decision, which makes me things bad things are coming for Santino.
Jake Something defeated Laredo Kid
Jake Something caught Laredo Kid off a hurricanrana to the floor and picked him up into a powerbomb on the floor after rolling through it, which was incredible, but also probably very painful for Laredo Kid. Kid managed to hit a flipping DDT on Something, but Something kicked out at 1. Something hit Into the Void soon thereafter for the win.
–Kon was with Alan Angels for The Sound Check, and this was very bad. Kon said PCO was finally dead. The lights flickered and went black and white, and PCO appeared. PCO destroyed Alan Angels and then Kon and PCO threw punches and the cameras went off.
Joe Hendry & Rich Swann defeated AJ Francis & Deaner
Francis was not good in this match. He was far from the worst I have ever seen, but he definitely wasn’t good. However, working matches like this with a more comedy bent could be his future, and he could be fun in that role.
Joe Hendry cut a promo about the match, and talked about how AJ Francis’ family and friends were huddled around a TV excited for his debut, so he was asking the fans to not chant “AJ Sucks” which they responded by chanting exactly that. He then apologized to Francis. Francis tagged in immediately to go after Hendry, but Swann was the one who was legal, so Francis knocked Hendry off the apron and tagged back out to Deaner, who unfortunately got chopped by Swann.
Swann went for a dive, but Francis got in his way. Deaner got the heat on Hendry for a few minutes. Swann managed to hit a kick on Deaner and then tagged out to Hendry, who hit a stalling suplex on Deaner, including doing two squats while holding him up. Hendry then hit Francis and knocked him off the apron. Deaner responded by laying out the distracted Hendry and tagging in Francis.
Francis hit a knee strike that appeared to not hit Hendry at all before flipping over the top rope and landing on his feet on the floor. He needs to work on the delivery of the knee itself, but the ending of it looked nice. The fans chanted “Uncle Phil” at Francis, which is an insult to Uncle Phil. Francis missed a knee as Hendry was draped on the ropes. Francis went for a back suplex, but Hendry countered into a DDT. Swann knocked Fracnis to the floor and Hendry hit the Standing Ovation on Deaner for the win.
–The Decay cut a promo on MK Ultra, saying that they were patient, and that they made a deal that will only keep them away from the tag titles for a short time. I assume this was a deal with the Devil. Or James Mitchell. Whichever, in TNA’s canon.
–TNA announced that Alex Hammerstone had signed with TNA, and he would be facing Josh Alexander at TNA Sacrifice.
–Josh Alexander was with Gia Miller to talk about it, saying that it was going to be a hard match. Dango walked up and said that he was launching the Dirty Dango International Wrestling Academy of the Performing Sports Entertainment Arts, and they were only accepting payments via dubious means, and 1-year or less experience. He said that there was going to be an email at the bottom of the screen, but there was not, which was funny. Alexander said that Dango was looking for a match, which Dango denied vehemently. Alexander said it was no problem, and that they would have a match tonight after he cleared it with Santino. Dango looked very unhappy at this, as he knew he was going to die. I laughed at this.
–John Skylar and Jason Hotch were in the ring in suits, ready to celebrate with Mustafa Ali. Skylar got the state they were in wrong, for heat. Ali came out and gave a political speech about how “we have did it!” and that his campaign to be the X-Division champion was a success. Before he could release his first executive order, Chris Sabin came down to the ring. Ali came face to face with Sabin.
Sabin said that change was a common thing between him and Ali, and for Sabin that change is about being unselfish, making the future better for everyone in wrestling, which Ali however, believes it is manipulating people to get what he wants, with the Good Hands being a prime example.
Ali said that The Good Hands were not there because he paid them, but supported the campaign, and Sabin had no one to support him at TNA No Surrender. Some of the fans chanted for Ali here, and he smiled and pointed at them. Sabin said that he respected the fans that supported Ali, but that he was not a politician, and he was here to fight. Sabin attacked Ali, and The Good Hands jumped Sabin, but KUSHIDA and Kevin Knight made the save, as security shuffled an angry Ali away while his cronies got beat up by the babyfaces. This was a good segment. People may point out that Ali did not seem genuine in what he was saying, but that is actually the point of the character, and it worked very well here.
–George Iceman came out and announced that Ash by Elegance was here and was going to make a huge announcement. Iceman said that there was a huge announcement to make, and she would be having her second match in TNA next week.
–Mustafa Ali was backstage with his security, Hotch, and Skylar, and he was upset at Sabin, KUSHIDA, and Knight for ruining his inauguration, and that there were going to be consequences for their actions.
Xia Brookside & Tasha Steelz went to a double countout
This match was not good. I am not sure what happened here, as the other two were fine, but this was not. I saw the finish coming about part way through, but that is fine.
Steelz hit a pump kick after dodging a dropkick, and then hit a jackhammer for a 2-count. Brookside hit a dropkick and a crossbody for a 2-count, but Steelz attacked the eyes and hit a headbutt. Brookside managed to hit a head scissors and then went for the Brooksybomb but Steelz escaped to the floor. Brookside hit a running neckbreaker on the floor, and she initiated the WWE style of selling where you scream as loud as possible that they seem to teach people there. Hopefully she’ll do away with that in time. Steelz and Brookside brawled and got counted out.
–Jordynne Grace came out and said that both of them are getting a title shot at TNA Sacrifice.
–Rhino challenged Crazzy Steve to a No DQ match, which I assume is on Xplosion.
The System (Moose, Eddie Edwards, & Brian Myers) (w/ Alisha Edwards) defeated Eric Young & ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin)
This was a good main event, especially in the closing sequence, as TNA continues their trend of having excellent six-man tags on their shows. I am not sure if it is the right call to have Young in a match were he loses before challenging Moose, but since he didn’t take the pin, I suspect they are setting up Edwards and Myers challenging for the tag titles, so this is fine.
Young and Myers started the match, but it wasn’t long before the babyfaces were isolating Eddie Edwards as Alisa Edwards protested loudly with a Boston accent on the floor. A heel move if there ever was one. Edwards was able to cut off Bey with one hard chop and tagged out to Moose, who continued chopping.
Austin was able to tag in and ABC hit a double dropkick on Myers, but Myers rolled to the floor. Eddie Edwards and Moose were able to tag out Austin while the official was distracted. Myers hit a back suplex and the heat resumed on the babyfaces. Edwards tagged in and continued the assault on the babyfaces. The fans chanted a censored version of a chant, telling The System what to do, which was quite funny. The referee missed a tag due to Edwards and Myers distracting the referee, and as it always does, the fans were enraged and chanted at the referee.
Austin sent Myers crashing into Moose, hit a spin kick, and then tagged out to Eric Young. Young hit a big Death Valley Driver on Edwards, then dodged Myers trying to break the pinfall, hit a Death Valley Driver on Myers onto Edwards, and started a strike exchange. Both men went down with Moose and Bey then facing off. Bey went for a tope con giro to Moose, but Moose caught him and hit a powerbomb on the apron.
Ace Austin hit a kick, then Myers hit a spear, and Young hit a tope suicida to the floor on Myers. Bey and Moose were still not the legal men here, but were in the middle of the ring, and ABC hit some double team moves, including going for the Art of Finesse on Moose, but Edwards broke it up. Moose hit a pump kick on Austin, and a huge vertical dropkick Bey who was on the top rope. Edwards setup a backpack stunner on Bey, and Moose hit a pump kick on Bey, while Edwards hit the stunner, and Myers flew off the ropes with a top rope elbow for the win. Good finish and closing sequence.
Final Thoughts
Like a lot of the weekly TV lately, this was not a must see show, but it was still good. Maclin and Bailey was a great match, and the main event was also very good if you are looking for the best matches to watch. Coming back with TNA Sacrifice so soon after No Surrender makes it difficult to build anything at all, and I was hoping we would see less of this “two weeks between PPVs” that they have done in the past, as it make sit more difficult for them to actually build their stories heading into big shows.
TNA Impact – March 7, 2024
- Mustafa Ali in action
- Josh Alexander vs. Dirty Dango
- Masha Slamovich vs. Dani Luna
- Ash by Elegance in action
TNA Sacrifice – March 8, 2024
- TNA Knockouts World Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Tasha Steelz vs. Xia Brookside
- Steve Maclin vs. Nic Nemeth
- Chris Sabin & Intergalatic Jet Setters vs. Mustafa Ali & The Good Hands
- TNA World Championship: Moose (c) vs. Eric Young