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Welcome to PWInsider.com's TNA Thursday Night Impact on AMC report!
We opened with a recap of everything that lead us to this evening surrounding Steve Maclin.
Our announcers are Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt.
We are in Atlanta. GA, the home of the Puppetry Institute, which is actually within walking distance of Center Stage, where TNA is tonight.
Frankie Kazarian vs. Home Town Man
HTM was in control early, drilling Kazarian with a series of right hands. AJ Francis joined the announcers. Kazarian used HTM's jersey to mock the Atlanta crowd. HTM reversed a whip into the ropes and nailed a clothesline. HTM nailed the Home Town Elbow and nailed the Airplane Spin into the TKO for a two count. He went for the Hometown Slice but was sent into the corner. Kazarian went for the Crossface Chicken Wing but HTM avoided it. Kazarian nailed a clothesline followed by a springboard legdrop for a two count. HTM made a comeback and went to the top, but realizing Francis was approaching, he hit a bodypress off the top to the floor on Francis. HTM fought off Francis and surprised Kazarian with a small package for the pin. I didn't see that coming.
Your winner, Home Town Man!
Action was solid. HTM is a great gimmick for undercard and Kazarian never fails to be in the right place at the right time.
Francis attacked but was nailed by Elijah with a guitar. This looks to set up a tag team bout at Sacrifice.
Gia Miller interviewed The Angel Warriors. Arianna Grace stole Lei Ying Lee's title but she's coming for it. Dani Luna may be a warrior but they fight with their heart and souls. Ying wants her title rematch ASAP. They are going to send a message to Luna and Grace tonight.
Santino Marella spoke with Daria Rae backstage. He suggested Ying vs. Grace vs. Luna for the Knockouts title. Daria said that was actually a great idea and walked off, disrespecting him. Looks like that will be Sacrifice.
Mr. Elegance vs. Mike Jackson
This is Elegance's in-ring TNA debut. You have to give him credit for hamming it up every second he's on camera. Jackson has been wrestling for decades and is a big cult hero locally. I see him every summer in Charlotte at The Gathering and the fact he can work at the level he does at his age is marvelous. Elegance tried to nail him with a chop but Jackson ducked and nailed several takedowns, sending Elegance to the floor. Jackson hit a dive to the floor. Atlanta went nuts for that. Back in the ring, he sidestepped Elegance and sent him into the ring post, then began working over his arm. Jackson walked the ropes and came off with a big shot to the arm. Elegance got frustrated and put up his fists to fight and nailed Jackson with with a strike. Elegance began to show a lot of aggression, working over Jackson's back. The crowd chanted that he sucked. Elegance slammed Jackson and played to the crowd. Elegance drilled Jackson to the mat and pinned him. They said his finisher was "Excuse Moi" and I don't know he hit it the way it was planned.
Your winner, Mr. Elegance!
This was a perfect first match to get the character over as the shock and surprise to the live audience of Jackson's offense got over and then Elegance killing all that goodwill and momentum gets him tons of heat. It was well executed.
They were going to beat up Jackson after but ODB came out with a steel chair. She backed off the Elegance Brand. Jackson and ODB dumped meat from ODB's food truck all over Mr. Elegance.
Backstage, The System cut a promo saying they are the top contenders for the TNA Tag Team belts. Bear Bronson said it's so close they can taste it. He promised to drop Jeff Hardy on his bad neck again and it'll be all over. Cedric Alexander says he wants the X-Division title shot he's owed. Eddie Edwards said he's coming for Mike Santana's TNA title. Myers said he'll be fighting Moose for the first time tonight.
TNA Knockouts Champion Arianna Grace & Dani Luna (with Stacks) vs. The Angel Warriors, Xia Brookside & Lei Ying Lee
Luna and Brookside started with Luna muscling her into the corner and then taking Brookside down to the mat. Lee tags in and The Angel Warriors double-team Luna. Grace gets involved but the Warriors remain in charge. Grace was worked over by Brookside, who nailed a running elbow in the corner. Lee tagged in and worked over Grace, scoring a two count. Lee is sent into the corner but bounces out with an elbow. Lee kicked her down and nailed a dropkick when Grace returned to her feet. Lee worked her over, raining down punches in the corner. Luna tried to get involved but was nailed. Lee nailed a throwing suplex for a two count. Grace caught her with a thrust and a knee. Luna distracted Lee, who nailed her. That allowed Grace to attack from behind and stomp away.
Luna tagged in and continued beating on Lee as Stacks checked on Grace on the floor. Luna cinched in a rear chinlock, then rained down with elbows. When they returned from commercial, Lee fought her way out and grabbed a single-leg Boston Crab. Grace interfered, squashing all of Lee's momentum. Grace tagged in and suplexed Lee. She had words with Brookside, which allowed Lee to roll her up for a two count. Grace regained control but wasn't able to score the three count. She locked in a chinlock. Luna and Grace had communication issues, which allowed for Brookside to tag in and take control.
Brookside nailed a Samoan Drop on Grace but Luna stalked in and wiped her out with a German suplex. Lee joined the fray and everyone battled. Grace nailed a double knee strike on Brookside for a two count. Grace went to the top but Luna shoved her off, turning on her own partner since she wants a shot at the title too. Luna went to nail Grace but was drilled by Lee. The Warriors double-teamed Luna but Grace grabbed Lee's leg. Lee dove off the apron and took out Stacks when Grace moved. Brookside went for a bodypress but was caught and hit with a sit-out powerbomb by Luna for the pin.
Your winners, Arianna Grace and Dani Luna.
They confirmed a three-way at Sacrifice.
Injury Report: Leon Slater is out of action due to a neck issue but is expected back next week. Indi Hartwell is out with a knee injury after being attacked. Cedric Alexander and Moose were banged up in last week's street fight. Moose has a hip issue but is electing to compete tonight. Alexander is cleared.
X-Division Champion Leon Slater came out for a promo. He said Eric Young could have broken his neck or ended his career with that piledriver. He said he felt something he's never felt before - doubt - after being attacked by Young. He said that for the first time in his life, he had doubt he would ever get up again. He said Young was a big bald b**ch. Slater said he did get up again and he's standing tall in Atlanta and will do the same at Sacrifice. He said for all Young's talk about things that were broken, but the only thing that's going to be broken is his foot up Young's ass. He said he's going to show the world why he's known as The Youngest in Charge when they fight at Sacrifice. Good promo.
They showed highlights of last week's Atlanta Street Fight. Moose vs. Bear Bronson next week. Moose vs. Eddie Edwards at Sacrifice.
Moose vs. Brian Myers
The entire System came out with Myers. Santino came out and said they know they all banned from ringside and ejected them. Distracted by all this, Myers was speared by Moose and pinned.
Your winner, Moose!
Short and sweet.
The latest Rosemary vignette aired. It was about envy. She and the dead Allie visited Raven. He ripped on Tommy Dreamer. She asked why isn't Dreamer envious of him. Raven joked it's opposite day. He gave Rosemary a gift, a bag of Tommy Dreamer blood from Jim Thorpe, PA in 1995, Hey, that was The Flagstaff! RIP Flagstaff. Allie was with Rosemary but Raven couldn't see her, because, you know, she's still dead.
They pushed the 4/11 Rebellion PPV in Cleveland.
Backstage, Brian Myers was pissed he lost but Eddie Edwards said they lost the battle but not the war. They still have the Tag Title shot. Myers said they will unleash Bear Bronson next week on Moose. Myers wanted to know where Daria Rae was, saying it's time he reminded The Hardys who he is.
Jade Stone vs. Elayna Black
Mara Sade joined on commentary. Stone looked really good athletically early on and scored several near falls. Black cut off Stone and focused her attack on the back. She slammed Stone's face into the mat and drilled her with a series of kicks in the corner. Black nailed a running knee strike in the corner for a two count. Black cinched in a chinlock. Stone fought her way to her feet. Black tried to snapmare her down but Stone cartwheeled out of it and kicked down Black. She nailed a split-legged moonsault for a two count. Tasha Steels came to ringside and distracted Stone, which allowed Black to nail her. Stone nailed a superkick but against Steels interfered. Elayna nailed The Black Out and scored the pin.
Your winner, Elayna Black!
Black turned her attention to Sade, who stepped up to meet her. They began arguing. Security got between them. As they took them out through the crowd, Mustafa Ali and Order 4 appeared at ringside and surrounded Stone. Trey Miguel hiot the ring with a chair to help offset them. Order 4 backed off. Ali warned them it was just a matter of time.
Backstage, Tessa Blanchard, Victoria Crawford and Mila Moore joked about having the best seat in the house for Jody Threat vs. Arianna Grace. Blanchard said that the second they decide she wants the title, Blanchard will take it. Threat showed up and challenged Blanchard to face her next week. Tessa agreed.
The Righteous vs. The Nemeths
Vincent and Nic started out. The Righteous double-teamed him in the corner. Dutch slammed Nic, setting up Vincent nailing a Flatliner. The Righteous controlled the ring. Nic went to the floor to try and regroup with his brother. He returned and again, Dutch nailed a series of strikes, keeping Nic on the defensive. Nemeth finally raked Vincent's face with Ryan attacking Vincent as he was backed up into the ropes. Nic named a Famouser for a two count. Ryan tagged in and tried to steal a pinfall but Vincent kicked out. The Nemeths were in control as TNA went to commercial.
When Impact returned, Vincent was being worked over in the corner. Vincent tried to fight his way out and almost made the tag but Nic intercepted him. Dutch finally got the hot tag and cleaned house on Nic. Ryan attacked was nailed with a Black Hole Slam for a two count as Nic broke up the pinfall. The Nemeths tried to double-team Dutch but he roared through them with a double clothesline. Vincent tagged in and nailed a Side Russian Legsweep on Nic, then drilled Ryan to the mat for a two count. Nic pulled Dutch off the apron. He charged Nic but was sent into the ring steps. Nic drilled Vincent, allowing Ryan to score the pin.
Your winners, The Nemeths!
Somewhere off-site, TNA Champion Mike Santana faced off with Steve Maclin. There is a no physical contact rule, so they can't fight. They sit face to face across from each other in the room, staring each other down. Maclin tells Santana to say what he has to say. Santana said they know each other more than most. When he came back to TNA, Maclin was the one person who helped him prove he deserved to be here. This is the land of sharks. There's only one spot at the top but Santana looked at Maclin as his brother and the person who would have his back. But, what did Maclin do? He decicded to let his pride and ego...
Maclin told him to stop because if anyone has ego, it's Santana. He said he wants to tell a story about someone in Afghanstan. They need a minesweeper and one person volunteers and they start to probe and sweep. Any second could have been his last. They made it two miles down the road. Not one casualty. Not one IED went off. He said he doesn't need to explain who that man was, because it's pretty obvious.
A waiter brings them drinks. Maclin places one in front of Mike, Santana says he loves the games. He's always respected Maclin for what he's done. While Maclin was away fighting someone else's war, Santana was fighting one within himself. He made his past his superpower. Maclin made his the excuse. Santana said he hopes Maclin is ready for Sacrifice, because everything he caused, it had better be for something. He warned Maclin to be ready to fight for every little thing that he bitched and complained about. At the end of the day, when Santana wins, all this was for nothing. Maclin will have to go home, look in the mirror and know he failed and wasn't the man that he says he is. Santana handed the drink back to Maclin and said, "You're welcome for your job."
Santana walked off and Maclin downed his drink.
Real good segment to close the show.
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