Latest news with #TNAiMPACT
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
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AJ Francis Reacts To Surprise WWE NXT Return
AJ Francis made a surprise appearance at this week's episode of WWE NXT, and reacted hilariously to it. Francis joined KC Navarro in ambushing Mike Santana this week on NXT, in a measure of revenge after Santana attacked the pair on TNA iMPACT. In the NXT match, Francis and Navarro cost Santana a shot at the TNA World Championship and helped Trick Williams retain his title. Advertisement The moment came as a surprise to fans watching. For Francis, it was his first time on WWE-branded TV since 2023. It was also his first NXT appearance since 2021. In a post on X, Francis shared the iconic meme of Idris Elba's Stringer Bell from The Wire, telling fans that he was 'back up.' 'I want you to put the word out there that we back up. You understand me? We back up,' Bell said in the Season 1, Episode 13 titled 'Sentencing.' The return was Francis' first appearance in NXT since he was under WWE contract as Top Dolla, part of the Hit Row stable. It's currently unclear whether or not Francis will appear in any future WWE content. However, the fact that TNA and WWE are now connected seems to suggest it's much more likely. What did you think? Were you shocked by AJ Francis' return? Do you hope he shows up to even more WWE shows? Let us know in the comments below. Advertisement READ MORE: AJ Francis Makes First WWE NXT Appearance In Four Years The post AJ Francis Reacts To Surprise WWE NXT Return appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
TNA iMPACT Results: Review, Grades, Card For June 12
Our TNA iMPACT results for tonight include Jason Hotch vs. Leon Slater, The IInspiration in action, Hardys vs. FIR$T CLA$$, four versus four Knockouts tag team action, and TNA World Champion Trick Williams in a penthouse segment with AJ Francis and KC Navarro. TNA iMPACT Card The announced card is as follows: Advertisement Santino Marella kicks off iMPACT! We'll hear from Mance Warner and Steph De Lander Steve Maclin sounds off Jason Hotch vs. Leon Slater Indi Hartwell, Killer Kelly, Jody Threat, and Tasha Steelz vs. Rosemary, Dani Luna, Tessa Blanchard, and Xia Brookside (8-4-1 Match) The IInspiration in action The Hardys vs. FIR$T CLA$$ FIR$T CLA$$ Penthouse with TNA World Champion Trick Williams TNA iMPACT Results This week's episode of iMPACT kicks off with a recap of TNA Against All Odds. The video package showcases the return of IInspiration, as well as Killer Kelly's confrontation with Masha Slamovich in the aftermath of Kelly's return. The package caps off with highlights from the TNA World Championship match between Trick Williams and Elijah. We see events from earlier today where Mike Santana is walking into the building. Santana gets stopped by Santino Marella who informs him that he's suspended for two weeks in case he didn't get the memo. Santana says he respects Santino but he wants his match against AJ Francis. We see Robert Stone trying to weasel his way into the building but Santino gets security to throw him out. Santino Marella kicks off TNA iMPACT! TNA's Director of Authority Santino Marella is in the ring. Marella puts over the fans for supporting him against Robert Stone. Marella hypes up TNA Slammiversary before running down the PPV line-up. It will be Leon Slater against Moose for the X-Division Championship. Also set for the show is a 10-man tag team match featuring some of TNA's biggest stars. Marella then focuses his attention on Trick Williams. He says the TNA locker room wants to get their hands on Tricky Williams. Marella caps off his promo by welcoming IInspiration back to TNA ahead of their in-ring return to the iMPACT Zone. The IInspiration vs. Brittnie Brooks & Missa Kate The finish of the match saw The IInspiration hit their tag team finisher, The Idolizer, on Missa Kate for the win. Advertisement Winners: The IInspiration The Hardys hype up their upcoming main event tag team match against FIR$T CLA$$ on TNA iMPACT. Matt says they'll get through Francis and Navarro to get their hands on The Nemeths for the TNA World Tag Team Championship at TNA Slammiversary. Grace: C+ A solid comeback for The IInspiration. The theme song is always a banger to listen to. Shoutout to Harley Cameron for her amazing voice. It seems The IInspiration versus The Elegance Brand is the direction for Slammiversary. We get a recap of FIR$T CLA$$ confrontation with Inamura and Briggs from this past Tuesday's NXT. Set for next week's NXT is a six-man tag team match featuring Briggs, Elijah and Inamura against FIR$T CLA$$ and Trick Williams. FIR$T CLA$$ penthouse with TNA World Champion Trick Williams Francis and Navarro introduce themselves to the iMPACT crowd. Fans don't want anything to do with the pair. Francis puts over his fit. Navarro tells fans to buy their merch at Francis says he's in a good mood. They welcome a kid to the stage. The crowd pops big time for Pedro. Francis asks the crowd if he should give Pedro the money only to insult the kid and the crowd. We then get the Trick Williams introduction. Francis asks Trick how does he feel about FIR$T CLA$$. Trick puts them over. Francis says the TNA World Title would look better if it got the more titles to go with it. He says FIR$T CLA$$ will challenge for the TNA World Tag Team Championship after they beat Hardys in the TNA iMPACT main event tonight. The segment ends with Francis and Navarro ad libing to Trick's theme song. The System confronts Jason Hotch backstage. The group tries to play mind games with Hotch. Mustafa Ali and the rest of Order 4 shows up. We get a stare down before Ali takes his faction for Hotch's upcoming match. The System then confronts Matt Cardona, who says he and his tag team partner will take on The System in a tag team match next week. Rest of The System leaves Cardona alone but Brian Myers stares a hole through his former tag team partner. Jason Hotch (w/ John Skylar) vs. Leon Slater The finish of the match saw Slater hit Hotch with a Swanton 450 for the win. Advertisement Winner: Leon Slater We see Tessa Blanchard in a backstage interview segment ahead of the multi-woman number one contender's match. Tessa mocks Gia Miller before putting herself over as the next number one contender to the TNA Knockouts Championship. Tessa says this division needs a reminder of who built it. Grade: B+ A great match between two men who have what it takes to carry the X Division Championship for years to come. The crowd loves Slater. Hotch's time will come but only after get puts Mustafa Ali in the backdrop. Let's see if Slater breaks Amazing Red's record to become the youngest X-Division Champion at Slammiversary. 8-4-1 Match for a shot at TNA Knockouts Championship The finish of the match saw Killer Kelly take advantage of Indi's finisher on Tasha Steelz for the win. Advertisement Winner: Killer Kelly After the match, Gia Miller is backstage with Masha Slamovich for her comments. Masha talks about her history with Kelly. She promises to retain her title and make Killer Kelly her bitch. Grade: B- TNA revived an innovative concept for this match. For those unaware of the rules, the 8-4-1 match begins as a four on four tag team match with the winning team immediately facing each other in a four-way until one remains. Indi was the popular choice but TNA picked Kelly because of her past history with Masha Slamovich. This decision feels rushed but they are keeping Indi and Masha apart as both are babyfaces. Steve Maclin recaps his Against All Odds match against Mance Warner. Maclin says Warner couldn't beat him for the TNA International Championship. He talks about next week's Champions Challenge tag team match also featuring Trick Williams. Maclin calls himself the last pillar of TNA Wrestling before delivering a warning for the TNA World Champion. Mance Warner lays out Tommy Dreamer Warner and Steph De Lander come out to the stage. De Lander calls Against All Odds a robbery. She says the only people that are doing all the screwing around here are the two of them. Warner gets hostile toward a production guy. Security tries to calm him down. Tommy Dreamer tries to talk some sense into the Southern Psycho. Warner takes a step back only to plant Dreamer with a suplex on the stage. He then takes out the former Innovator of Violence with a running knee. We get a backstage promo featuring Sami Callihan. Callihan says we're on the verge of TNA iMPACT's 23rd anniversary but the TNA World Championship is being held by an 'idiot outsider.' Eric Young and the Northern Armory show up. EY says people like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe built TNA from the ground up. He calls himself and Callihan the heart of TNA. Callihan says he respects Eric Young and will see him next week. Eric Young accepts and delivers a cheap shot. Next week on TNA iMPACT! Sami Callihan vs. Eric Young Masha Slamovich & Léi Yǐng Lee vs. Heather & Ash by Elegance Champions Challenge returns Order 4 Summit FIR$T CLA$$ vs. The Hardys The Hardys win via DQ after TNA World Champion Trick Williams interferes, causing all the major heels and babyfaces to come out and start a brawl. Leon Slater performs a huge dive on the outside to take out The System. TNA iMPACT ends with Elijah, Leon Slater, Joe Hendry and The Hardys standing tall inside the ring. Winners: The Hardys via DQ TNA iMPACT Review A strong showing by TNA in the aftermath of Against All Odds. Leon Slater versus Jason Hotch gets this writer's vote for the match of the night. It was nice to hear The IInspiration's banger of a theme song. The 8-4-1 match seemed was okay at best. Hopefully, Indi Hartwell didn't get injure with the stomp she took. The chaotic ending to the main event was the perfect way to cap off the night. Grade: B+ How would you rate 6/12 episode of TNA iMPACT on a scale of 1 to 10? Let us know in the comments! The post TNA iMPACT Results: Review, Grades, Card For June 12 appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Yahoo
31-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
AJ Francis & KC Navarro Recreate ‘Finger Poke Of Doom' Spot On TNA iMPACT
AJ Francis and KC Navarro kicked off a four-way tag team match on TNA iMPACT with a funny throwback to one of the most infamous moments in wrestling history. TNA iMPACT this week started with Francis and Navarro going up against the Aztec Warriors, The System, and The Rascalz in a four-way match. The winner would become the No. 1 Contender for the TNA tag team titles, but things started off wild. Francis and Navarro began arguing to start the match, and Navarro faked out a punch to Francis. However, Francis then lightly poked Navarro's chest, causing him to drop. Advertisement Francis immediately tried to cover and pin his partner, leading to a chaotic brawl breaking out. Eventually, The Rascalz would go on to win, but the moment to start quickly went viral online. For those unaware, the 'Fingerpoke of Doom' is an infamous moment that occurred in 1999 during a broadcast of WCW Monday Nitro, between Hulk Hogan and Kevin Nash. During the incident, Hogan poked Nash lightly in a match and Nash immediately fell, letting Hogan win. The match also marked the reunion of both the Wolfpac and nWo, and became famous for Nash over-selling the moment and the negative effects it had on WCW as a whole. READ MORE: Mike Santana Warns Trick Williams Ahead of TNA World Title Clash on WWE NXT The post AJ Francis & KC Navarro Recreate 'Finger Poke Of Doom' Spot On TNA iMPACT appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Former 'WWE SmackDown' Superstar Joins TNA Wrestling in Surprising Announcement
A former WWE superstar has joined the TNA Wrestling roster. The company has been making some key additions to its roster. The likes of former WWE star Elijah have joined the company. Lei Ying Lee, formerly known as Xia Li in WWE, is also a regular on TNA TV. Advertisement The latest addition to the TNA Knockouts division is Indi Hartwell. The announcement was made during the "TNA Rebellion 2025" broadcast. Gia Miller interviewed Hartwell on the show, and she will appear on Thursday's live episode of "TNA iMPACT." This is the first major company Hartwell has signed with since her WWE release. Hartwell was cut from the WWE roster in Nov. 2024. Her most recent match took place at "HOG City of Dreamz" on March 15 against AEW TBS Champion Mercedes Mone. During her time in WWE, Hartwell was aligned with Dexter Lumis, Candice LeRae, and Johnny Gargano on the "NXT" brand. On the main roster, she teamed with LeRae. Eventually, LeRae was paired with Nia Jax, but Hartwell was let go. Advertisement Hartwell is a former NXT Women's Champion. While she wasn't able to find much success on the main roster, a run in TNA Wrestling will be a significant opportunity for her to elevate her career. WWE's partnership with TNA Wrestling certainly won't hurt Hartwell's chances of raising her stock if she performs well. Hartwell's first feud isn't known at this time, but that could be answered on "TNA iMPACT." She got a front-row look at the TNA Knockouts Championship match between Masha Slamovich and Tessa Blanchard. Related: Details on Former WWE Star's Return to 'AEW Dynamite' on Wednesday
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Released WWE Superstar Makes Successful TNA Wrestling Debut
One released WWE superstar has made a successful debut for TNA Wrestling. WWE announces multiple roster cuts yearly. A recent wave saw some names that had been featured on weekly WWE shows lose their jobs. While those stars await the expiration of their non-compete clauses, released talent from previous waves are free to sign with any promotion. Advertisement Indi Hartwell was let go by WWE in 2024, and she recently appeared on "TNA Rebellion" to announce that she has inked a deal with TNA Wrestling. Hartwell had her first match for the promotion on Thursday's episode of "TNA iMPACT." She shared the ring with Kelsey Heather. Hartwell was slapped by Heather early on in the match, but that only fired her up. She scored the pin after hitting her Hurts Donut finishing move. During a video package featured on the show last week, Hartwell didn't shy away from her intentions. She plans on becoming the TNA Knockouts World Champion. Her first rivalry on the road to TNA's top female prize remains to be seen. Advertisement Hartwell brings experience to the TNA roster, as she has been plying her craft for almost a decade. She's spent nearly half of her career with WWE, even capturing the "NXT" Women's Championship at one point. Throughout her time with WWE, Hartwell was perhaps best known for her romantic storyline with Dexter Lumis on the "NXT" brand. The two even had a successful wedding angle, which is a rarity in wrestling. Lumis also helped Hartwell capture the "NXT" Women's Championship. Hartwell's reign with the title only lasted for 31 days, as she suffered a foot injury. She was also drafted to the "WWE Raw" brand before returning from injury and being sent to 'SmackDown." Related: 'WWE Raw' Superstar Turns Heads With Comments on Saudi Arabia Events
