It’s a bold new era, indeed… so bold that I actually went ahead and made a new banner rather than reuse the same, tired Steven Seagal Hard To Kill banner that I’ve been using for the previous shows.
So yes… we’re doing a brand-spanking new TNA PPV in 2024.
This year’s Hard To Kill event signified the re-branding of Impact Wrestling back to TNA Wrestling, complete with old-but-slightly-newish TNA logo, the old-but-slightly-newest TNA Impact logo for the TV Show that looks like a 3-year old designed it, and they even brought back the old “Cross The Line” song that the hardcore TNA fans liked so much and… well, what do you want me to say? Good to see TNA back after all these years? Why would I say that since I’ve kept calling them TNA even when they didn’t? And while the show has seen a considerable improvement in the years since the first changeover to Impact back in 2017, the show did some very TNA things that still made it TNA.
But that was then and this is… well, it’s still then. But it’s a bold new era for TNA and with Scott D’Amore leading the charge, I’m sure everything will be just fine and el dandy for TNA…
Wait, what’s that?
They fired Scott D’Amore soon after?
Really?
Well… fuck that, then.
Okay, well… let’s dive into Hard To Kill, shall we?
Ginele Shaw defeated… hold on, I’m checking my notes here… ahem… Tasha Steelz, Alisha Edwards , Dani Luna, Jody Threat, and the debuting in TNA Xia Brookside, who is the only person in this match that I vaguely recognize outside of Shaw. This was an Ultimate X match to determine a new challenger for the Knockouts title at some future date. Well, it’s an Ultimate X match and this plays like every Ultimate X match that I’ve seen; lots of crazy spots and high-flying shenanigans going on for a dozen minutes or so until someone eventually wins.
PCO defeated Dirty Dango (paired up with Oleg Prudius – the former Vladomir Koslov in WWE… amazing that I still remember the guy… and also some other guy named Alpha Bravo) via DQ when someone named Alpha Bravo prevented the pinfall attempt, which prompted Rhino to come in for the save… and then Santino Marella (yes, that Santino Marella, who somehow got to use the name and even kept the accent) who decides to book a six-man tag match, playa… no wait, that’s the other guy’s schtick, sorry.
PCO/Rhino/Jake Something defeated Dirty Dango/Oleg Prudius/Alpha Bravo in a six-man match. Perfectly acceptable quick little six-man match that saw PCO finish off that Bravo dude with a moonsault thing. This feels like something that is better suited for TV, but I guess they needed to fill time with something and this is what they came up with. Still, pretty quick match with some fun PCO stuff, so I ain’t complaining.
Decay (Rosemary and Havok) defeated TNA Knockouts Tag-Team Champions MK Ultra (two ladies whose names escape me, sorry) to win the tag titles. Last time I checked, Rosemary was pretending to be a “normal” wrestler and pretty much ditched the spooky stuff… so I imagine that I missed something here. I’m almost inclined to say that this was a thing that happened, even though the match was just fine for the most part and that’s mostly due to the fact that I wasn’t feeling this match. The spooky characters being tag champs… well, that’s something I guess. Just not for me.
X-Division Champion Chris Sabin defeated El Hijo del Vikingo and Kushida in a three-way match to retain the title. Fun, fast-paced match with some neat spots that flew about a dozen minutes. Nice to see Chris Sabin still around after all these years and still putting on great showings. The guy hasn’t missed a beat since I first saw him way back when.
Alexander Hammerstone (formerly of MLW fame) defeated Josh Alexander in a match that came about because Hammerstone had issued an open challenge and Josh accepted. This was absolutely tremendous stuff; a match that was more of a showcase of what Hammerstone is all about and boy, did he impress me with his hard-hitting style. Josh held up his end of the deal and we got a great back-and-forth fight that put a smile on my face. I’m actually looking forward to what Hammerstone brings to the table in TNA; they’ve got something in this guy that I hope gets him a good run.
TNA Tag-Team Champions ABC defeated The Rascalz, The Grizzled Young Veterans, and the team of Laredo Kid/Mike Bailey in a four-way match to retain the titles. Gotta admit; not a fan of this match. Not to say that it was bad or anything, but I’ve never been a fan of these four-way tag-match where there’s so many things going on at once that it’s hard to keep track. Yes, I’m old and slow. Get off my lawn.
Jordynne Grace defeated TNA Knockouts Champion Trinity to win the title and send GLOW GIRL back to WWE… and then Grace herself would appear at the Rumble in a one-off appearance, but we’ve already touched on that. Anyway, this was a pretty good match and a nice way for Trinity to bow out of TNA so before making her (non) surprise return to WWE.
(Ed. Note: Glow Girl would appear in a couple more episodes of Impact before calling it a run at a respectable nine-ish months. Anyone willing to take bets on whether Mercedes’ AEW run lasts as long as that?)
MOOSE defeated TNA World Heavyweight Champion Alex Shelley to win the title… and then Nic Nemeth – the former Dolph Ziggler – superkicked MOOSE and ran into the crowd so he can tear off his shirt and reveal a TNA shirt underneath. Well, would you look at that? First TNA PPV under the new TNA banner and we’re already bringing in former WWE guys into the mix. I wonder if Tony Khan should feel threatened by this… actually, that is a lie. I really don’t care. Hey, you know what? That was a great main event with a classic power versus speed dynamic that you’d expect from a match between a big guy and a not so big guy. MOOSE may be a heel with a heel faction, but you can’t help but happy that he finally gets to call himself a TNA World Champion and it actually counts. That’s a nice wholesome moment.
Yeah, so I rather liked this Hard To Kill show. I wouldn’t call it an absolute unfortgettable classic showing or anything like that, but it was a fun way to kill off roughly three hours of sorts. Most of the matches were pretty good, some were even great, and even the weaker aspects of the show was mostly lack of interest than the quality of work. For what was supposed to be the kickstart of a new era, I’d say TNA was off to a good start.
Now whether they could continue this momentum with D’Amore at the helm is another story entirely… but I’ll give them this much. I’m actually considering giving TNA another shot for a slightly longer term. Yes, previous attempts at long term investment in this company has resulted in programming that eventually made me jump off the boat, but the last couple shows that I’ve seen have been pretty good and if they continue things at this level, I’d be more than happy to give this another run. If nothing else, it’d be nice to write about a TNA show that DIDN’T completely suck.
dtm666 