TNA Impact 7/23/2026: 3 Things We Hated & 3 Things We Loved

We've all made it through another two hours of "TNA Impact," and your trusty Wrestling Inc. crew is here to deliver our thoughts on the show's highs and lows. Tonight, the lows were a little easier to come by than the highs, though we managed to find a few things to enjoy.

Without a doubt, the most unusual thing to take place throughout the episode was the Righteous Deletion match, which took up a significant chunk of time in the middle of the show. As you might expect, we have plenty to say about that match. You'll also be able to read about some disappointing developments in the Knockouts TV Championship tournament, as well as the opening tag match involving Frankie Kazarian, AJ Francis, Elijah, and Moose.

There isn't enough room to cover everything from tonight's show, so be sure to check out our "TNA Impact" 7/23/2026 results to find out all that took place. Otherwise, you're ready to dive into our opinion on tonight's "Impact," and feel free to share your own takes in the comments.

I don't know if "TNA Impact" ran short on screentime tonight, but the brief tag team match pitting Frankie Kazarian and AJ Francis against Moose and Elijah did none of these competitors any favors.

Yes, Francis did avenge his Slammversary loss in a way when he pinned Elijah to secure the win for his team tonight. The three-and-a-half minute duration surrounding their match didn't encourage me to invest in their story, however.

Frankie Kazarian and Moose are both former TNA World Champions, yet somehow, they've emerged as background characters in an ongoing war between two music artists and a manager named Expressions. To non-wrestling fans, that sentence may likely seem false. But in fact, it's reality.

Don't get me wrong, there's a time and a place for those brief blips and shenanigan matches. The kickoff segment of an "Impact" filled with championship matches and Knockouts tournament action was not that, though.

Openers typically set the tone for wrestling television programs. And I want it to be something I can sink my teeth into. Unfortunately, tonight's opener didn't even give me a chance to absorb the action because I simply blinked and suddenly Francis pinned Elijah to signal its end.

Written by Ella Jay

Tonight's episode of "TNA Impact" was not the strongest. I'd say most of its content was rather disappointing, actually. Its opener ended way sooner than expected. A time-limit draw forced very capable women out of the Knockouts Television Championship tournament. The System cut the same promo, just in a different font. Alisha Edwards then lost her opening round tourney matchup despite receiving outside help. All of this left us feeling unfulfilled. 

Fortunately, TNA has at least set themselves up to potentially bounce back next week.

As previously announced, Nic Nemeth will defend his TNA World Championship against Jeff Hardy, who currently reigns as a TNA World Tag Team Champion, on next week's live edition of "Impact." It's something that I'm looking the most forward to since Rosemary's adventures in the Undead Realm. Even with no build to it, this title match has an abundance of potential. It's a rare instance where a faceoff speaks for itself.

Nic Nemeth has proven himself to be one of wrestling's most talented individuals, from his selling to his resiliency to his talking skills. Jeff Hardy, on the other hand, remains one of wrestling's most fearless stars, unafraid to go up high and down below. Both are also no stranger to major singles championship gold, and should Hardy dethrone Nemeth, he'd be recognized as a double champion in TNA. Conversely, if Nemeth retains his title, one would expect a future TNA World Tag Team Championship opportunity alongside his brother Ryan to happen in the near future.

Nemeth vs. Hardy presents exciting possibilities, both in the ring and in the aftermath. More importantly, it's given me something to eagerly await after witnessing an overall subpar program.

Written by Ella Jay

Heading into this week's show, Mustafa Ali declared that there would be a vote held among the TNA roster to determine the number-one contender to his International Championship. Considering the fact that Ali is a heel, one would think that he'd have some kind of plan up his sleeve to set himself up for an easy opponent. Instead, one of his Order Four stablemates won the vote, apparently organically. That means Ali, in the storyline, had nothing planned to influence the outcome of the votes. What kind of villain is this guy supposed to be?

The idea of building up Jason Hotch as the next challenger is fine, but I would've preferred a more sensical way of getting there. Why did Ali come up with this idea in the first place? Was it out of the goodness of his heart? What was the ideal outcome of this for him?

It looks like we're going to have to move beyond those questions and get onboard with this Hotch push. If I know anything about storytelling, based on the segments Hotch took part in tonight, he's going to become more of a presence on "Impact," whether he beats Ali or not.

Written by Nick Miller

As part of the never-ending story between the Hardys and the Righteous this week saw them fight hopefully for the last time in a "Righteous Deletion" cinematic match. It was no Firefly Funhouse match but it was actually a really fun time.

The Righteous just worked as opponents in this format, melding with the intensely bizarre "Broken" Hardys. There was fighting outside, teleporting to a ring on the compound, and then fighting in that ring.

There was Matt Hardy trying to drown Dutch in his swimming pool, invoking a fever dream from the perspective of Dutch where both teams were reminiscing their feud as friends. Then he was told that Vincent had died and a whole bunch of other weird s*** happened, including a cameo from "Willow" Jeff Hardy, before they were fighting by the Lake of Reincarnation.

It was quite funny to hear Dutch running over and pointing out that Matt Hardy tried to kill him. But then they had a fireworks shoot-out. Which... yeah, it was a fireworks shoot-out. Enough said. The Righteous got the better and brought the Lily of the Valley into play, looking to poison Jeff Hardy with it until Matt rather dramatically took it instead.

He was fine once he took a dip in the Lake and then Jeff emerged as the "Antichrist." And then they finished the match on top with a Swanton Bomb off of an elevated bulldozer bucket onto the Righteous on tables.

It was start to finish, top to bottom insanity. It was dumb, it was stupid, but it was gripping and it became a live question of: "What on Earth is happening and what is about to happen?"

The cinematic format really worked well with these two teams much better than another in-ring bout, plunder or not, would have. And, hopefully, it proved to be the perfect conclusion to their rivalry. The Righteous were taking into the Lake, setting up their re-emergence at a later date perhaps with different characters. It was just a cool showcase, at the very least.

Written by Max Everett

I have always felt strongly that draws shouldn't be a thing when it comes to tournaments in professional wrestling, as I just think that there should be a definitive answer when it comes to who advances to the next round regardless of if it's the first round, quarterfinals, semifinals, or finals. It makes things feel a little more clear cut, and doesn't leave any room for any kind of controversy or confusion. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that I was not a fan of the first round match between Elayna Black and Wendy Choo for the TNA Knockouts Television Championship Tournament ending in a time-limit draw.

It would've been one thing if this match had a twenty plus minute time limit attached to it, with Black and Choo being given enough time here for it to make a little more sense and really get the fans behind them. However, Black and Choo were only given about ten or so minutes here and it made absolutely no sense for a match in a tournament that's meant to introduce a new championship into TNA Wrestling to only have a mere ten minutes for a winner to be determined. It felt far too fast, and at the very least needed more time allotted to the match in order for it to have a shot at being pulled off.

I also didn't like the fact that M By Elegance was given an automatic bye into the semifinals. I felt like there should've been a rematch between Black and Choo or another match of some kind to determine who M faces in the quarterfinals. It makes M look weak by not having her earn her spot in the semifinals, and feels like a really cheap way to get The Elegance Brand some extra heat when they already have enough as is.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

Last week, in this very column, I wrote about the final segment leading to this match being less-than-ideal, while also pointing out that they'd probably have a good match. Sure enough, Nic Nemeth and KC Navarro put on a strong, fast-paced performance for this episode with the world title on the line.

They played off the storyline they've been putting together for a while now, which gave them a sort-of compass to follow while putting together the sequences for the match. Nemeth spent much of the match dominating, broken up by spurts of momentum from Navarro. Things grew more and more even throughout the match, with Navarro scoring several near-falls. Finally, Nemeth put Navarro away with his Danger Zone finisher. It might have been a pretty typical underdog story, but as long as it's executed well like it was tonight, that's perfectly fine.

The outcome was extremely obvious, both because it's Nemeth's first defense and because his next has already been announced, as previously mentioned. Nonetheless, this was an enjoyable enough main event, allowing Nemeth to get this title reign off on the right foot.

Written by Nick Miller