#LAWTAKE - TNA REBELLION 4/20/24
Welcome into tonights #LawTake of TNA Rebellion live from Vegas. TNA has been promoting this PPV for some weeks now so it was inevitable that the show would deliver some quality. The show was advertised as having some special returns for the PPV and boy oh boy were they interesting. lets get into the rundown shall we…
My boy Young GOAT Myron Reed joining TNA and pairing with the Rascalz is pretty refreshing. Homie is a future X Division champion himself.
ABC and Leon Slater would beat the Rascalz trio with ease on the pre-show in a match that truly should have been on the main card instead.
The TNA Digital Media Title aka the Pre-Show Title was defended by Crazzy Steve in a losing effort against Laredo Kid in a rather surprising effort. Hopefully this title gets more elevation as time goes on.
This pre-show was extensive as we got a Knockouts Tag Title defense with Decay fighting Spitfire. We’ve seen these two teams fight back and forth recurrently so a retention was fine. The one knock about this division is the lack of actual teams and competition just makes these belts feel like a revolving door of feuds.
I was so ready for this PPV to get underway I would have lost it if we had another pre-show match.
Ali retains the X Division title against Jake Something in a very solid showing. Ali as X Division champion is fun to see. I called this well before his WWE release and it’s come to fruition. I don’t know how long this reign will be but I can’t see it ending anytime soon.
My only real gripe with this match was Ali’s Secret Service faction with the elongated interference. The referee is truly an idiot.
Jake Something needs Something to do other than be a strong handed loser.
In a match that should have been left off this PPV, Joe Hendry vs Rich Swann was nothing to write home about. AJ Francis showed up, caused distraction (the theme of this PPV), then we got a Shawne Merriman cameo/turn on Hendry. Rich Swann feels so far removed from his pandemic run as Impact Champion. This match could have been on Impact. Francis/Hendry continues.
Holy smokes, in another match that should have been saved for Thursday nights Eric Young fought Kazarian in a Full Metal Mayhem match. I am over these two. I am over Kazarian, I am over Eric Young. I wish both would really hang it up and give this TNA nostalgia act curtains. TNA insists on giving us a Kazarian push and Eric Young has done everything possible besides be the General Manager of TNA.
Kazarian better not be a TNA champion any time soon despite his trajectory of trying to be one with Kazarian getting his much needed big win. Lets wrap this feud up once and for all.
Mike Santana is bykeeee! Maclin and Santana will have a really solid feud if they were to continue this. Maclin is on a tirade to get back to the TNA World Title., Mike Santana is on a per-date deal apparently and that’s fine for now. I marked Santana as a contender for Moose eventually and the wheels are in motion for it.
The only real gripe with the match was it did Santana no favors with his move set. He manuevers pretty generically, so he doesn’t feel like a big star per-say. His name, his cache hold the weight but the move set just doesn’t jump off the page. A few more matches and credible opponents should do the job as time goes on.
The System retained the TNA Tag Titles against Speedball Mountain of Mike Bailey and Trent Seven. Just like Lance Archer for AEW, Shinesuke for WWE, when Mike Bailey is on the screen you can almost guarantee a loss is on the horizon and just like that - it happened.
I want more for Mike Bailey I truly do. Tonight was not his time as The System are just getting into gear as champions of the Tag Division. I do not see Myers and Edwards losing the belts anytime soon. Bring on the babyface tag teams for more multi-team matches.
In the match I was eager for, Hammerstone vs Josh Alexander in a Last Man Standing match was really good. I am a huge fan of Hammerstone since MLW and Josh’s resume speaks for itself. The fact that it’s two Alexander’s fighting one another I am not a fan of for note purposes but alas we are here.
A LMS match that didn’t feature so much gore and weapons, but just a straight up fight between two guys that can’t stand each other. The thumbtacks being involved was a solid move and actually felt important since it wasn't much else violence involved in this match.
What I was not a fan of was Hammerstone taking an L after pretty much putting the beats on Alexander for that final stretch of the match, including a Nightmare Pendulum on thumbtacks.
I have no clue where either man goes from here besides an inevitable rematch inside a Lethal Lockdown maybe. I will say, either should be fighting Moose for the TNA World Title considering who made their debut later tonight…
Gresham is going through a rebrand of sorts as he embraces his Octopus mask. I think a strong run in the X Division is up next for Gresham unless he ends up as fodder for Moose next, which would not be bad either.
In one of the whackiest Knockout Title matches I’ve seen in years, Jordynn Grave vs Steph DeLander SHOULD have been way better than it was. 12 minutes of chaos was not what I expected.
Walk with me - the referee spent most of the match out of commission, Kon and The Good Hands and PCO showed up for absolutely no reason other than to do dumb shit with each other and continue their feud sadly, oh and to attack a woman. Sami Callihan makes his return save much to no surprise or major pop from the crowd because quite frankly where else would Sami go in todays climate?
If there was a time to take the title of Grace, SDL would have been the right time as it would have been fresh and a change of pace. We’ve seen Grace do all she can do as Champion every time she wins it and I only see the train steamrolling past the rest of the division as it’s pretty dense at the moment.
Xia Li coming in eventually will add a HUGE shot in the arm to the Knockouts Division.
I sense a major hardcore multi-person tag with all the parties in this match for the next PPV and I am already shrugging at the idea.
Speaking of the next PPV, Slammiversary is June 20th in Montreal. If we don’t get a Scott D’Amore return I feel like we will see Eric Young in a prominent role just to show allegiance to a Team Canada throwback. BIG SIGH.
The main event felt like forever to get here and to be quite honest, I did not want this match to happen as soon as it did. I did not want to see Moose defend against Nemeth just because it could cut Nemeths momentum down early into his TNA run & we KNOW Moose isn’t losing. They could have saved this match for Slammiversary in June or Bound For Glory in October.
Now truthfully, this match was not good. They both felt like they were in two different worlds - Nemeth still wrestling like he’s on the second hour of WWE Raw and Moose just making this feel more of a comedy match than serious. Look no further than the finishing sequence - Nemeth misses a superkick which allows Moose to hit his Spear (where he flips forward, leaving Nemeth standing still) for the pin (while picking Nemeth’s shoulder up during the cover) to retain the title. HUH???
No wonder this match didn't make the highlights as it was not memorable whatsoever. And to end all of this comedy, Matt Hardy was the surprise return! Complete with a blow-out, his Broken gear, the “DELETE!” chant, and a Twist of Fate. Matt Hardy is coming for the TNA World Title? Why, WHY, WHYYYY? This CAN’T be the Slammiversary main event. Hell, this can’t be the end of Moose’s title reign!
Who sanctioned a Matt Hardy return? I guess for the nostalgia pop and that this was the origins of the gimmick, sure. The crowd’s “DELETE!” chant felt so unexpectedly weak. The TNA Main event scene needs a giant shot in the arm as well as the Knockouts division. Truly confusing ending and I don’t think revisiting Matt Hardy as TNA Champion is what is best for business with this company.
Overall… this PPV was a 4/10. This new era TNA has not been satisfying to say the least. Why would I give this show a 4/10? Reread my Law Takes and spot out any of the highlights I gave this show. I couldn’t. TNA needs to do better if they don’t want to really be a throwback in regards to how comically bad the product can be.