TNA Impact 10/29/2026: 3 Things We Hated & 3 Things We Loved

TNA continues to barrel ahead towards Destination X, with the first participants in the World X-Cup being announced tonight. As usual, the show brought us some in-ring action mixed with storyline advancement, but how did it hold up in terms of quality? About as well as usual, according to our crew.

Below you'll find our opinions on moments ranging from the latest Elegance Brand drama to the Slaughterhouse Syx main event. In between that, we've got thoughts on the video package hyping Shotzi Blackheart's arrival, the aforementioned World X-Cup announcement, and more.

If you're in need of a more detailed breakdown of tonight's show, feel free to take a look at our "TNA Impact" 10/29/2026 results live blog. Otherwise, read on to learn our thoughts on the latest installment.

TNA Destination X is just around the corner on November 15, and beyond Leon Slater defending the TNA World Championship against Trey Miguel, the card is looking a little light. With the pay-per-view only being just a little over two weeks away, I can't help but feel like it's about time for TNA to start announcing some more concrete things for the pay-per-view event.

TNA has announced the World X-Cup Tournament and Ultimate X Number One Contenders matches for the Knockouts Word and X-Division Championships. However, outside of Ricky Sosa and Fabian Aichner in the World X-Cup Tournament, the company has yet to officially announce any competitors taking part in any of these matches, which makes it harder for fans to get invested in the show without knowing who will be competing on it. 

To TNA's credit, they did announce a Knockouts World Championship match between Indi Hartwell and Shayna Baszler tonight, but all of it still didn't feel like it was quite enough of a fix. Considering that this episode of "Impact" really just was a whole bunch of nothing, there is no reason that TNA couldn't use this television time to at least announce some competitors for the pre-existing Destination X matches and use this television time to build some excitement for November 15. It feels like they're in the beginning stages of putting together a card when they really should be more in the middle of doing so instead of leaving it as a mystery.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

The end of the Elegance Brand seems to be nearing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Ash By Elegance, the group leader, has been absent from TNA programming for several months due to real-life health issues. George Iceman (aka The Personal Concierge) is reportedly approaching the end of his TNA contract. Tonight, Mr. Elegance joined the list of Elegance Brand departures/hiatuses when he suddenly quit the stable and stormed off during M's Knockouts Television Championship defense. I have to admit, it was justified, too.

In the midst of the match, M had accidentally booted Mr. Elegance off the apron. Shortly after, she and Heather then moved out of the way, putting their male cohort in the firing line for Jada Stone's moonsault. As a result, Mr. Elegance refused to help out M, and the overall Elegance Brand, any further.

A backstage segment involving Heather and Elayna Black later made the former think about her own position in the group. Heather appeared conflicted between staying loyal to her long-time tag team partner and potentially pursuing the title around her waist.

With Ash's absence indefinite and The Personal Concierge seemingly on his way out of TNA, it might be a good time to let the remaining three explore new avenues. M and Heather have proven themselves as a successful tag team. Those who've watched them work on the indies know they're perfectly capable as individuals, too.

A faction split may allow Heather and M to finally showcase their individual abilities on TNA television as well. And for Mr. Elegance, it would certainly allow a much-needed refresh for his character.

Written by Ella Jay

AJ Francis and John Skyler were wrestling week, the reasoning for which largely fell down to them being two guys on the roster. Expressions was there, too, making unwarranted advances to Mila Moore from the get-go.

That continued into the match itself, with production occasionally sparing the viewer from the ambling match in the ring to show Expressions unable to compose himself in front of Moore. In the space of a few seconds he stepped to her, stepped away from her, dropped to one knee, stepped to her, you get the picture. All the while she was repulsed. More to the point, it didn't really add anything to the match, yet managed to be more morbidly curious than whatever was going on inside the ring.

Those parallel subplots were converged for the end of the match, the white knight Skyler being bumped into Moore on the apron, Moore then falling to the floor because gravity has a hell of a scoop slam. Skyler then stared wide-eyed at Moore on the floor, neither committing to getting out of the ring and checking if she was okay, nor just ignoring her and getting on with the match that one could have been forgiven for forgetting was still ongoing.

Skyler got speared, then he got Down Payment-ed, and then he got pinned. Expressions continued to harass Moore while she was on the floor because he'd already committed to the creep caricature. It managed to be a Divas Era match between men, which is impressively revolting.

It's a wonder how anyone arrived to the conclusion that this would be a good idea, even down to the initial process that saw Francis and Skyler booked in a match together. Neither are particularly compelling and the precedent for it hardly did them any favors. Skyler was framed as the white knight and then wound up actually hurting the proverbial damsel-in-distress on his way to losing a match in a frankly embarrassing manner. In all, it was pointless. It was bad. No one came out of it looking particularly great. It just sucked, and worst of all, it will probably continue next week.

Written by Max Everett

Shotzi Blackheart has yet to wrestle in TNA (at least not since 2019), but a video package played tonight to build more anticipation for the moment she finally steps in the ring. In it, Shotzi noted that she's been "obsessed" with the Knockouts division for quite some time now, and she finally decided to get actively involved. Among the names she teased working with was Rosemary, though it's not exactly clear whether she intends to partner with the injured star or work with her down the line, after Shotzi came to the aid of Rosemary's teammate Allie last week.

Whatever happens there, Shotzi's arrival is a welcome relief. After losing some talent in recent months (looking at you, Dani Luna), the Knockouts division is in need of some fresh blood to join the mainstays as well as newer additions like Shayna Baszler.

Although she had her moments in WWE, it felt like Shotzi never got the opportunity to shine there. Here's hoping she can reach her full potential in TNA.

Written by Nick Miller

The Hardys and the Syx continued their feud this week, and what better way to follow up a Falls Count Anywhere match than a Slaughterhouse Syx match? What is a Slaughterhouse Syx, one might ask? A match in the cleanest slaughterhouse known to man. A slaughterhouse one could have mistaken for being a boiler room or just a part of the backstage area at a wrestling show. But the setting does not matter if the match is great. Alas, this was a 2026 Hardys match.

That meant there was a lot of labored breathing and waddling that caused empathetic backache. It's really tough to reconcile the Hardys one watched growing up versus now, with matches like this not helping matters at all. This was a cinematic match that did nothing to utilize the format or even sand out some of the rough edges (there were a lot), one that had the soundtrack of a Doom clone for the most part, and then ended in slow-motion to "Amazing Grace." There is not enough Ayahuasca in the world to make that palatable.

There was also no blood, which is bizarre for a match in a slaughterhouse. It's nigh-on bizarre when there's an extreme match with people getting their heads battered in with steel chairs and chains. It's completely and utterly bizarre when the match ends with two people plunging axes into someone, albeit with a trashcan over their head. Either get some blood on the floor or don't pretend that the axes did anything but rattle the trashcan.

It might be an even better idea to not even flirt with the idea of using a weapon that literally cannot be gimmicked. No one was going to be disappointed if, rather than definitely not getting impaled with axes because that would be murder, Jeff Hardy went through a table or out of a window (it's a cinematic match) or something that doesn't require one to believe that he was exsanginuated before the match. There's a chance people were going to be disappointed either way, because it was a 2026 Hardys match against Joseph Sawyer and Samuel Shaw. Feels a little torturous for all involved, to be honest.

I want the Hardys to be good, much in the same way that I don't want age to catch up with me either. It is genuinely difficult to watch them put themselves through the physical labor of wrestling while never being able to recapture what made them great in the first place. It feels like matches like these hurt that legacy rather than feeling like the swansong they deserve. And that is frustrating, earnestly, as a fan.

Written by Max Everett

Based on the first two entrants announced tonight, I'm actually looking forward to seeing how the return of the World X-Cup will fare in a few weeks at Destination X. For TNA to give Ricky Sosa and Fabian Aichner a shot at it, I have to give this a love!

Since their arrivals, I have only seen big things ahead for these two. For Sosa, I was surprised to see him back on his feet tonight after that near back injury that he came out with after his October 15 match. Sure, the reports said it was a "severe back injury," possibly playing up the storyline. But that graze near the ladder didn't look so gentle. Since his debut in May, Aichner has challenged for the X-Division Title three times, yet still hasn't earned a title that he can call his first. Both men need this match, and what better representation for their home countries than for them to be the faces of them in this upcoming tournament of sorts.

I have never seen a World X-Cup event, and I'm excited to find out who else participates in this uniquely stylized contest, since other wrestlers from around the world can join. I wonder who will represent the United States? Oh! I think I figured it out. It has to be Nic Nemeth, right?

Written by Brie Coder