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Jeff Hardy (artist Travis Beaven © PWTorch)

SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

The following report originally published 20 years ago this week here at PWTorch.com…

TNA 2 Hour Impact Special
Aired November 3rd, 2005
Taped at Universal Studios Orlando, FL
Aired on Spike TV at 9:00 PM (ET/PT)
Report by Paul Madavi, PW Torch TNA Specialist

The Lowdown: TNA Comes Through with 2 Hour Special

Mike Tenay announces that tonight is a night of firsts to kick off the show. The camera pans around the Impact Zone, before a video package airs. The video package goes over some of the recent history of TNA, including footage of Hogan, Nash, Sting, and Hey Yo (Scott Hall)! Afterwards, the package focuses on the current stars of the promotion. We then begin the show with our first match of the evening.

(1) Lance Hoyt & Jeff Hardy & Sabu defeat The Diamonds in the Rough (Simon Diamond & Elix Skipper, & David Young) at 2:52. Jeff Hardy makes his way down to the ring first, during which they air a clip of his suicide dive from Bound for Glory. Hoyt comes down next, wearing his sunglasses over his skully, for some reason. Sabu makes his way down next, steel chair in hand. His right arm is wrapped up, probably from the barbed wire from earlier in the taping. The Diamonds in the Rough make their way down in unison.

6:43 into the show and the bell rings. Simon Diamond and Lance Hoyt kick off the action. Hoyt hits a side slam early. Diamond ducks a big boot attempt, and tags in Young. Hoyt tags in Hardy. While Hardy and Young wrestle, Tenay asks the TV audience to call up their wrestling friends who don’t know about TNA and have them tune in. Jeff Hardy hits a twisting dive on Young. He tags in Sabu, but Young is able to tag in Skipper. Skipper and Young hit a double face plant on Sabu. Skipper works over Sabu briefly, before Young tags back in. Sabu manages to turn a whip from Young into a mid rope moonsault. This allows him to tag in Hardy. Everything breaks down, as all six men get in the ring. During the ensuing shmoz, Jeff Hardy is able to hit his Swanton bomb on Elix Skipper for the pin.

After the match, Sabu crawls around the ring, and sells an ankle injury. At this point, Abyss runs in and hits a Black Hole Slam on Sabu. Jeff Hardy and Lance Hoyt fend off Abyss and tend to Sabu.

The Breakdown

Psychology: This was a very short match, so it featured little very little psychology. I’m not sure what the point was, other than to give the babyface heavyweights some air time, which is fine. No real story to tell, other than some back and forth action until a shmoz led to a quick pin.

Action: Quick, fast, hard hitting action from the get go was the M.O. here. With little time to develop a sequence of moves, the effort fell a little flat.

Entertainment: Not a bad match to get the crowd and TV audience warmed up. It certainly lacked anything of real interest though.

Impact Scale Rating: 4.0/10 – There wasn’t much to this match, but the wrestlers kept it moving along well enough. There were a couple of nice spots.

[Commercial Break]

Backstage, Shane Douglas interviews Jeff Jarrett. He says tonight is the biggest night of his career as Larry Zybysko has granted him a rematch with Rhino for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Jarrett says management hates him, and he hates them. Tonight he needs to get the job done, otherwise he’s gone. However, it’s moments like this that define Jeff Jarrett. Jarrett compares certain historically famous moments to his upcoming victory. Monty Brown walks in and cuts a promo on Jarrett. He says that he is the one who deserves the title shot. However, he’ll settle for taking on the winner. He says he hopes Jarrett wins so he can take the belt from him. Both Jarrett and Brown do a decent job on the promo.

(2) Monty Brown defeats Brian Gamble at 2:17. Monty Brown makes his way to the ring, neck twitching all the while. Brian Gamble awaits him in the ring.

The bell rings at 19:59. Brown and Gamble circle each other briefly, before they lock up. Brown quickly takes control with a couple of clubbing blows. He hits a butterfly over the head suplex. He then hits his backbreaker and fall away slam. Brown whips Gamble and hits him with The Pounce. The crowd starts chanting “one more time,” and Brown obliges. He hits a second Pounce. Gamble can’t stand as Brown hits a third Pounce at the request of the crowd. This one is for the pin.

After the match, Brown drools on himself a little as the camera gets up close. Brown mugs for the camera.

Psychology: This was another straight forward Monty Brown squash match, putting over Brown as a devastating force. Nice work by Gamble who went limp after the first Pounce, forcing Brown to prop him up for the next two.

Action: Brown looked pretty good throughout the match, hitting all of his signature moves.

Entertainment: This match was made a little more entertaining that it actually was by the crowd being so into it, and Brown actually giving them what they wanted with a couple of extra finishers.

Impact Scale Rating: 5.0/10 – The interaction between Brown and the Impact Zone audience made this a better than average squash match.

A video package for Rhino airs. During the package, Tenay touts Rhino having won three matches during Bound for Glory.

[Commercial Break]

A video package for the X Division airs. The package includes much highlight footage and spits out a few of the key X Division names.

(3) A.J. Styles & Sonjay Dutt & Austin Aries defeat Christopher Daniels & Samoa Joe & Alex Shelley at 9:53. Christopher Daniels comes out first. He waits for Shelley near the chute. Samoa Joe comes out neck, towel over his shoulders. The heels then walk down to the ring in unison. Austin Aries is the first babyface out of the chute. Sonjay Dutt is next. The Playa from the Himalaya and Aries bump knuckles. Styles then comes out to the ring to the loudest cheers of the entire entrance. The faces come down to the ring together.

The bell rings at 31:54. Alex Shelley and Austin Aries start the match, and what sounds like a “ROH” chant can be heard. Shelley and Aries lock up. They chain wrestle for a while, which culminates in a dropkick from Aries. They chain wrestle again, leading to a drop toe hold for Aries. Aries then hits a twisting splash on Shelley. Aries tags in Dutt. They both hit their elbow spots, leading to Dutt picking up a two-count. Dutt works a nice springboard arm drag spot, before walking the rope for a chop drop. Aries manages to recover and hit a back suplex, allowing him to tag in Samoa Joe. Joe nails Dutt with four stiff kicks. He whips Dutt into a corner and hits a couple of running high knees. Samoa Joe is about to hit his face wash, when Daniels tags himself in a great heel move.

Dutt manages to recover from Daniel’s kicks enough to get on the second rope and hit a hurricanrana. He leaps to tag in Styles, who surges on Daniels. Styles hits a couple of arm drags and a dropkick. Samoa Joe tags himself in. Joe opens up with a kick to the knee. They work the ropes, which leads to a dropkick by Styles. He follows up with a deadlock w/ bridge. Shelley steps out to break it up, but Dutt runs in and slaps on an octopus submission hold. Daniels then comes out to break it up, but Aries attacks him. He applies a head scissors w/ leg lace, which leads to the crowd chanting “TNA.”

The ref clears out the illegal men, which leads to Austin Aries surging on all the heels as they run back in. Aries hits a suicide dive on Daniels and Shelley at ringside. However, this allows Joe to nails him with a running kick. Joe drags Aries back in the ring. He hits a chop, a kick, and a big knee drop for a two-count. Joe then follows up with a ridiculous powerslam. Joe then tags in Daniels, who signals this is the end of the match. He goes for a flying forearm, but Aries ducks, which leads to Daniels hitting Joe. Styles is tagged in. He works Joe over with a couple of flying forearms, and then finally takes him down with a top rope forearm. Styles hits an amazing facebuster on Shelley in the ring.

Thing break down as Daniels runs in and hits a backbreaker on Styles, Dutt hits a facebuster on Daniels, Joe hits a massive clothesline on Dutt, and Aries hits his crucifix bomb on Joe. Aries signals for the 450 splash, but is pushed off the top rope by Shelley. Shelley then hits a suicide dive on Aries. The crowd chants “TNA” once again. Back in the ring, A.J. Styles is left alone with Joe and Daniels. Daniels and Joe take turns missing Styles and hitting each other with their offense. Shelley runs in to break up a Styles Clash attempt on Daniels. However, A.J. just manages to hit in on Shelley for the pin

Psychology: This was an excellent tag team match that flowed very nicely from spot to spot. Despite having a lot of big spots early on, the wrestlers still managed to build to a strong, exciting finish. Samoa Joe provided an interesting stylistic variation in the match; he came off as smart and brutal. All the wrestlers gained some good heat coming out of this match. The storyline was very much back and forth, but they planted some nice seeds of dissent between Samoa Joe and Christopher Daniels in the process, to give the match a little extra spice.

Action: Austin Aries really shone in this match. His offense was crisp, exciting, daring, and dynamic. Samoa Joe was stiff and menacing with every move he made. Overall, this was an impressive, action packed match. Everyone was performing at a very high level, and they blended their styles together well.

Entertainment: This was an extremely entertaining 10 minute match. TNA really did a good job of setting up this match with the two short squashes. The crowd went nuts, and the wrestlers worked their butts off. Very simple (but well thought out) psychology combined with top notch action make this an excellent wrestling match. This match is Monday replay worthy.

Impact Scale Rating: 8.0/10 – Really, 10 minutes of wrestling doesn’t get anymore fun than this.

A video package for Jeff Jarrett airs. It sells him as a despicable heel, who considers TNA his personal playground.

[Commercial Break]

We return to Shane Douglas interviewing Rhino. Douglas described Rhino’s title ascension as courageous. Rhino’s arms look as big as my torso. Rhino says he’s proven he’s got the heart of a champion. Raven interrupts the interview, and says Rhino stole his title. Zybysko runs in with security. They haul him out, and Zybysko yells. Rhino ignores the mess, turns to the camera and gets pretty intense as he tells Jarrett to expect a Gore! Gore! Gore!

A video package airs recapping the Team 3D versus AMW feud. It’s a nice summary of the feud with all the key moments spliced together very well.

(4) Team 3D (Brother Devon & Brother Ray) defeat Team Canada (Bobby Rood & Eric Young w/ Scott D’Amore & A1) at 14:28. Our wrestling neighbors from the North make their way out first. Devon and Ray come out looking tough and ready to rumble.

The bell rings at 52:59. Devon and Eric Young start off the match. Young stomps around a little before tagging in Bobby Roode. Roode and Ray lock up, but Roode quickly ducks under. Roode and Ray work the ropes for a while, leading to a flying shoulder tackle by Devon. Devon follows with a leg drop for a two-count. Roode recovers and drives Devon into his corner, tagging in Young. Young is quickly dominated by a Devon body slam. Ray tags in and hits a series of elbow drops. Ray hits a delayed suplex. Young gets in an eye poke, and Roode runs in, but Ray handles both of them. Devon goes for “wassup” but is thrown off the ropes by Bobby Roode. The heels begin to dominate as we go to commercial

[Commercial Break]

When we return, Roode is in control of Devon. Young and Roode isolate Devon for a while with some clubbing blows and holds. Devon recovers with a powerslam after a few minutes, but the ref is distracted and does not see or hear him tag in Ray. The heels then continue to isolate Devon. Bobby Roode and Young hits a knee and elbow drop respectively. Devon eventually hits a double clothesline and tags in Ray, who surges on both heels. He tosses Roode out of the ring, and hits a side slam on Young for a two-count. He follows up with a neckbreaker. Roode runs in, but gets a Samoan drop for his trouble. Ray gets a two-count on a powerbomb, which is broken up by Roode. They hit the 3D on Bobby Roode, who rolls out of the ring. Young gets back in the ring. A1 threatens to run in with the stick, delaying the 3D. However, 3LK comes down to ringside and takes care of Team Canada. This allows Team 3D to finish off Young with a 3d for the pin.

Psychology: This match displayed some more traditional tag team psychology, with lots of surges and a strong heel isolation period. The back and forth action was well played and provided nice swings of momentum. The isolation period lasted far too long.

Action: The action was very good until an unnecessarily long and particularly boring isolation period killed all the momentum. They recovered well from the

Entertainment: This was a good match, but very formulaic. The majority of the match was well executed and fun, except for the brutally boring isolation period.

Impact Scale Rating: 5.5/10 – I hate isolation based tag team matches. If they had come up with something a little more interesting than the standard isolation spot, I would’ve given this match another point.

[Commercial Break]

(5) Petey Williams (w/ Scott D’Amore) defeats Chris Sabin and Matt Bentley (w/ Traci) at 15:15. This is an Ultimate X rematch. The winner is #1 contender. Williams makes his way down first. Chris Sabin is next, and gets some good cheers. Bentley and Traci strike their pose and come down to the ring.

The bell rings at 1:16:20. Sabin and Bentley double team Williams to start the match. They then take turns pulling each other off the turnbuckle, going for an early victory. They battle for a minute, until Williams gets back into the action. Williams gets a dropkick in the back, driving his head into the scaffolding. Sabin climbs up on Williams, but receives a superplex from Bentley. Williams then decides to stalk Traci, but it leads to Bentley whooping his ass outside of the ring. Sabin tries to use the opportunity to steal the match, but he is caught by Bentley at the top rope. Bentley then hits a top rope, spinning neckbreaker. Jeff Hardy Girl gets a close up. Wassup JHG! Sabin hits a running dropkick on Williams, after he is put in the tree of woe. Sabin repeats the spot, but cannot climb to the top turnbuckle. After a couple of out of the ring dives, all three competitors wind up trying to recover at ringside

[Commercial Break]

When we return, Williams is hanging from the suspension rope, but Sabin lands a dropkick, knocking Williams off the rope. Bentley hits a running kick on Sabin. Bentley climbs up and almost gets his hands on the X, but is caught by a Williams power bomb. The X is now hanging by only one strap. Williams climbs to the top rope, but Sabin jumps up there and hits a release overhead German suplex, which is unbelievable. Bentley then climbs up to the suspension cable. He wraps his legs around the cable to avoid being pulled down. Sabin stands underneath him, trying to figure something out. When Williams rushes, Sabin kicks him in the stomach and sets him up for a powerbomb. With Williams on Sabin’s shoulders, Bentley hits a dropkick on Williams, which in turn hits Sabin with a hurricanrana, in another amazing spot. Bentley hits a superkick on Williams. Sabin, however, then hits a Cradleshock on Bentley. Sabin then climbs up onto the suspension ropes. Williams hits an inverted atomic drop on Sabin off the ropes. Williams then hits a Canadian Destroyer. Bentley climbs the ropes, and once again cradles it as D’Amore runs in. Traci runs in and takes down D’Amore. Williams then climbs up to the ropes and he and Bentley trade mid-air kicks. Williams hits a low blow, and unhooks the carabineer to grab the X and win the match.

After the match, Williams tries to celebrate, and D’Amore yells and yells. They hug in the middle of the ring.

Psychology: Well, this was a spotfest, so psychology was not a primary concern, which is a shame, because this match really lends itself to interesting storytelling as much as it does to incredible spots. There’s so much to take advantage of that it’s a shame more thought wasn’t put into getting from spot to spot. Never the less, the finish of the match was built to relatively well, even if the low blow is a disappointing way to win the match.

Action: The action was the true shining gem of this match. The competitors delivered non stop action, much of which was mind bending.

Entertainment: This is a fun match to watch, but throughout, the missing psychological elements gnaw at viewer, not because the match is not good without them, but because it could’ve been much, much more.

Impact Scale Rating: 7.0/10 – Despite lacking psychology, the match still provides the viewer with a lot of fun, innovative wrestling on cable television.

[Commercial Break]

(6) Jeff Jarrett defeats Rhino at 12:57. This match is for the NWA Heavyweight Championship. Jeff Jarrett makes his way to the ring first, guitar in hand. Rhino rushes down to the ring as per usual. Rhino gets a good ovation and his name chanted. Jeremy Borash announces the competitors in the middle of the ring, which is a nice touch for the big match. The belt is held aloft as we break for commercial

[Commercial Break]

The bell rings at 1:46:20. The competitors lock up after a little cat and mouse. They break up and lock up again. Rhino hits a shoulder block off the ropes, but Jarrett counters with a dropkick off the ropes directly after. Jarrett hits a drop toe hold and proceeds to strut, but Rhino gets up right away and takes advantage with a press slam. Rhino sets up for an early Gore, but Jarrett bails out of the ring. Rhino follows him out, and throws him over the railing into the crowd. They brawl around the crowd for a while. A fan holds up a steel chair, and Rhino whips Jarrett’s head into it. Rhino continues to dominate Jarrett in the crowd.

Back at ringside, Rhino pulls out a table from underneath the ring. Jarrett sneak attacks Rhino and tosses him back in the ring. Rhino recovers with a back elbows and sets up for a Rhino driver. Gail Kim shows up and distracts Rhino long enough to allow Jarrett to shove Rhino off the top rope out to ringside. Jarrett then bounces Rhino off the various metal parts at ringside. Back in the, ring Jarrett dominates Rhino, and then applies a standing gut wrench. Jarrett then goes to a headlock. Rhino breaks out, and hits a mediocre fireman’s carry into a neckbreaker. Both men rest for a minute before getting up. Rhino surges on Jarrett, but Jarrett recovers with a kick to the knee.

This leads to a figure four leg lock by Jarrett. Rhino turns it over. Gail Kim goes for a leg drop, but Rhino rolls out of the way. Rhino then presses Kim, which leads to a roll up by Jarrett for a two-count. Rhino hits a spinebuster for a two-count, catching Jarrett arguing with the ref. Jarrett comes right out of the pin attempt punching. However, Rhino hits a belly to belly suplex. Rhino sets up another Gore. Jarrett side steps the Gore. Rhino then goes for a clothesline, and misses Jarrett, but hits the ref. Jarrett misses with the guitar, which leads to a Gore. However, the ref is out so no pin is counted. AMW then come to ringside, as Rhino wields the guitar. AMW manage to get to Rhino after Jarrett hits a low blow. They hit The Death Sentence on the table set up at ringside earlier in the match. This leads to Jarrett hitting The Stroke for the pin.

After the match, AMW, Jarrett, and Gail Kim celebrate in the ring. We cut to backstage footage of Team 3D cuffed to some railing, bleeding profusely. Tenay and West scream wildly as we go off air.

Psychology: This match actually featured the best story telling of the night. Lots of interference at the end of a match like this would usually be a bad thing. However, given that Rhino had a mere two week reign, it makes sense to have him screwed out of the title, so that he doesn’t look like a fluke champion – even though that’s essentially what he was. The match was well laid out and had good timing. The back and forth action was tilted to give Rhino the edge. Furthermore, they did a good job of contrasting the wrestling styles of Rhino and Jarrett.

Action: Rhino and Jarrett probably packed in as much action as they’re going to in a match. Jarrett and Rhino worked well together, showing good timing. There were a couple of sloppy moments, and a weak looking figure four, but otherwise solid.

Entertainment: While it wasn’t the best match of the evening, this was a very capable main event. If you can get past the history of these two wrestlers prior to TNA, then they should’ve come off as two strong wrestlers working hard for the heavyweight title.

Impact Scale Rating: 6.5/10 – This was a solid main event with strong story telling and good action.

Overall Breakdown

Psychology: TNA hit a home run tonight. They proved that they could produce a very fun, very watchable two hour show that had a consistent amount of action. More importantly, they were able to stick with the Impact formula of putting over their stars with quick matches, and then providing one or two longer, stronger matches. It was a well balanced show. While it could’ve used one money promo or comedy segment to help give TNA a little personality, TNA still came off as a fresh, exciting product tonight, fulfilling their most important goal for the evening.

Action: It was an action packed evening, with each and every last match focusing heavily on providing as much action as possible. The action ranged from traditional to completely innovative. TNA really showed off their brand of wrestling action tonight.

Entertainment: From start to finish, this was a very entertaining show. Even Jeff Jarrett and Rhyno were able to put together an entertaining main event. The X Division really shone tonight, and proved beyond any doubt that they are the breath of refreshment that televised wrestling needs.

Impact Scale Rating: 7.5/10 – TNA effectively managed to spread Impact out into a two hour show. It was solid through out, and should have excited any wrestling fans looking for something new and different from WWE.

(Paul Madavi writes his Impact reviews from Madison, WI where the beer is fresh, and the cheese is aged. If you’d like to respond to any of the content above, please email him and make eventful his otherwise boring existence.)

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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

NXT HALLOWEEN HAVOC RESULTS
OCTOBER 25, 2025
PRESCOTT VALLEY, ARIZ. AT FINDLAY TOYOTA CENTER
STREAMED LIVE ON PEACOCK (U.S.) & NETFLIX (Intâ€ll)
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T

Ring Announcer: Mike Rome

-“Prescott” isn’t pronounced as you would think if you’ve never lived in Arizona, and Vic nailed it, so someone had the forethought to brief him. Some of tonight’s players were shown doing their thing and arriving at the venue. Tatum Paxley was shown wearing glasses, which is something we almost never see wrestlers doing, even in these semi-candid moments.

-There was a spooky female-narrated hype video for the event, outlining each of tonight’s matches interspersed with shots of the unforgiving desert (which is actually pretty forgiving in late October).

(1) JE’VON EVANS & LEON SLATER vs. MR. IGUANA & LA PARKA

Evans was introduced first and messed around, grabbing a skeleton prop from the set and talking to him on the way to the ring. Slater is the TNA X-Division champion and his work has to be seen to be believed (just like that of Evans, of course). We got a shot of the announcers, and Vic was wearing a Riddler suit. Nice reaction for La Parka, and a much bigger one for the bonkers Mr. Iguana.

Evans & La Parka started, and of course we had some speedy reversals and some lucha posturing early. The two went for lariats and went to a stalemate. La Parka danced a little and they went back to rights, then kicks. They vascillated between American-style cruiserweight wrestling and lucha libre near-falls and heavily-choreographed reversals. Iguana and Slater tagged in, both to cheers. Iguana played dead on an early bump to his back, then evaded a spot and hit a huracanrana, and they went to speedy reversals themselves, and Iguana did a cross-legged pose with his hand on his face like Jack Benny, for all the seventy-year-olds reading. Evans made a blind tag and he and Slater double-teamed Iguana and planted him on the mat, then danced a little as Iguana played dead again.

Parka tagged in and dumped both of his opponents, then tuned up the band. Iguana threw his stuffed iguana out to them, and they threw it back and forth to each other, treating it like a real animal to be avoided, until Iguana hit them with a plancha. Everyone got involved for a moment and it once again settled to Parka and Evans. Parka caught Evans, pressed him a couple of times, then slammed him for two. He tagged Iguana, who trapped Evans in the paradise lock, a move not seen regularly in WWE since Jack Gallagher. He sat on Evans and posed, then ran the ropes and dropkicked him in the back porch. Parka tagged in and covered for two. Evans got back into it by catching Parka for a snap suplex. He jumped for the hot tag but Parka expertly snatched him out of the air and slammed him back.

Both guys made tags shortly after. Slater got his shine segment by hitting Iguana with some quick offense. He got a “TNA” chant. There was a “Triple A” chant right after. Evans hit a dropkick on Iguana for two. Iguana caught Evans in an arm submission, but Evans lifted him and walked over to make the tag. Parka tagged in as well and he laid out Slater with a side suplex for two. Slater got in some chops and palm strikes. Parka took off one of his skeleton hand gloves and laid in a bunch of chops. Again, both men tagged.

Iguana opened his gear and asked for a chop. Evans obliged and Iguana did another flat-back bump. Iguana broke out his stuffed iguana and used it as a puppet and a weapon against his opponents until it got ripped off and tossed in the air, distracting him for a dropkick. Slater was the next to be featured, and he hit his awesome fly over the corner onto Iguana. Back inside, he hit a high cross-body on Parka, and made the tag. Evans tagged in, hit a frog splash and got a very long two. Evans and Slater hyped each other up, but behind them appeared the Iguana puppet, making for a very silly visual. Everyone got involved and the iguana was vaguely involved in the spots. Iguana smacked Slater with his iguana, leading to a powerslam by Parka, who got two – broken up as Evans knocked Iguana into the pile.

Parka and Evans settled as the legal men, and Parka hit a brainbuster. He tagged Iguana and the two went up in the same corner, but Evans fought them and joined them. Slater cleared Parka off the corner and again it was bonzo gonzo for a bit. Slater hit a cutter on La Parka and as Evans dealt with Parka outside, Slater hit his top rope finisher on Iguana inside to get the duke.

WINNERS: Leon Slater & Je’Von Evans at 17:55.

(Wells’s Analysis: It didn’t have a lot of classic tag team action as all four are popular guys who work babyface, and it was often closer to a tornado match than a standard tag match, but it’s undeniable that it worked as an opener for the hot Arizona crowd)

-Blake Howard sat down for an interview with Ethan Page, who said the proof is there that he’s the greatest North American Champion of all time. I don’t know if this segment was shown to everyone, or just to premium subscribers as everyone else got a few commercials.

-Zaria, with more elaborate makeup than usual, tried to cheer up Sol Ruca and convinced her she’d be defending Ruca’s championship successfully after Ruca wasn’t cleared to compete tonight. Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley walked up and Izzi stirred crap, saying she didn’t know about that, but Paxley would be taking the Women’s Championship later tonight. She said when Paxley wins, the Culling all win, but she doesn’t think it’s the same for ZaRuca.

(2) EL HIJO DE DR. WAGNER JR. vs. ETHAN PAGE (c) – Day of the Dead match for the NXT North American Championship

Page had the left side of his face painted with Day of the Dead iconography, thought there was a red maple leaf around the eye black. They even photoshopped it onto his face on the ring video for tonight.

The two had some quick escapes and landed a large number of chops in the corner early. The match was contested in low light, which I guess is part of the Day of the Dead gimmick. The action spilled outside early, where Wagner got a chair from under the ring and laid in a big shot to Page’s back. A “we want tables” chant went out early, as usual when something more interesting is happening. The action went back inside shortly after, and Wagner put Page into the paradise lock and then set up a chair against his posterior, then dropkicked it. That kind of takes the wind out of the sails of the paradise lock spot in the previous match.

Wagner went out and got a trash can and lid, and held them up to get the pop before he brought them inside and slammed the can down on Page. He tried to powerbomb Page onto it, but Page slipped out the back. He ate the can from a Wagner shot for his trouble. Wagner went up but Page hit him with a thrust kick, then hit a jawbreaker using the trash can lid for two. He used the lid repeatedly on Wagner’s back, then fired up to boos.

The two fought over the rope with Wagner outside on the apron, and Page charged Wagner into a turnbuckle and he crumbled to the floor. There was a “We want tables”/”No we don’t” dueling chant. The two fought outside, and Page choked Wagner out with a femur from one of the skeletons (I didn’t see the bone very well during the spot, so I’m taking Vic’s word that it was the femur). Wagner started getting a table out, and the legs on one side were up. Page yanked Wagner down into the upturned table legs, and soon after there was blood splatter everywhere and Wagner was making some gutteral hacking sounds, so it may have been a worse spot than intended. Oh, never mind, Page’s forehead is caked in blood. I missed in real time how it happened. The ref had his gloves on, of course.

The action went back inside, where a chair was set up in a corner, and another on the mat. Page charged Wagner to the one in the corner and transitioned into a sidewalk slam onto the other chair, then covered fo two. The table was in the ring also, laying flat, upside-down. Page ripped away at Wagner’s mask to a chorus of boos. He snapped it from the eyes and pulled the top part back, and Wagner had face paint, though it was quickly fading with all the sweat. He shook and sold his rage at what Page had done, and Page sold fear that he made the wrong decision. Wagner went into a flurry, hitting a springboard gutbuster for a long two.

The two sold for a bit, and Wagner recovered enough for a thrust kick in the corner. He trapped a trash can between the ropes but against Page, and he jumped coast-to-coast to dropkick the can into Wagner for a long two, as Vic sold it as an inevitable finish (I didn’t buy it as a finish, but I appreciate that out of an announcer in the right dosage). Wagner fought Page taking off his mask, but it allowed Page to hit a powerslam onto the downed trash can, and get a near-fall that would have been convincing but Wagner was clearly watching the ref and waiting for the right moment to kick out. There was a “Let’s go Ethan”/”Ethan sucks” dueling chant that was close to even, which I can understand because we still haven’t seen enough out of Wagner to have a huge emotional attachment to him.

Wagner hit a couple of impact spots and then a moonsault for a long two. He sold frustration for just a bit, then set up the (as usual, branded) table and set it up near the corner. Wagner took Page up in the corner. They fought for position for a while, and Page slipped out underneath, then messed with Wagner’s mask and turned it around to blind him. Wagner kicked Page away, but Page threw salt into Wagner’s eyes and hit the Twisted Grin through the table to finish.

WINNER: Ethan Page at 18:21.

(Wells’s Analysis: A decent enough street fight that was elevated with the sub-story of the mask leading into all the most critical spots in the endgame. Page is reaching five months as champion and has quite a few big defenses at this point)

-Kelani Jordan, dressed as the red queen from Alice in Wonderland, was run upon by Jordynne Grace, dressed as Velma from Scooby-Doo. They had a chippy conversation about Jordan siding with TNA during the invasion, and it led to Grace giving Jordan a hard slap. Jordan said Grace would regret it.

-NXT: Gold Rush, a two-week Tuesday night event in NXT in mid-November, was promoted. Evolve, AAA and TNA will all be part of the shows.

-Kelly Kincaid sat down with Izzi Dame and Tatum Paxley in another segment that might be for Premium subscribers. Dame talked over Paxley a couple of times and said nobody else had her best interests at heart, and Lyra Valkyria is going to abandon Paxley again, and Dame will be there to pick up all of the broken pieces. Dame was pretty strong in this segment, and continues to become a better long-term prospect by the week after a long stretch of going nowhere until she got comfortable in her role with The Culling.

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TNA President Carlos Silva has fueled speculation that the legendary Hardy Boyz have re-signed with the company, posting a positive and forward-looking message on social media just one day before their historic match at the Bound For Glory pay-per-view. The message comes in the wake of a recent report from Fightful which stated that the one-year contracts Matt and Jeff Hardy signed in November 2024 were set to expire next month.

On Saturday, Silva took to his X (formerly Twitter) account to thank the brothers for their contributions to TNA. This may imply they’ve re-signed.

He wrote, “Thank you to Matt and Jeff for being part of the @ThisIsTNA team. Such a pleasure to work with you and look forward to many years of positive vibes together. @MATTHARDYBRAND @JEFFHARDYBRANDâ€

The post was made on the same day that The Hardys and their Bound For Glory opponents, Team 3D (The Dudley Boyz), appeared together at a special fan Q&A event in Saugus, Massachusetts. The uncertainty surrounding their contract status has added another layer of intrigue to their match at Bound For Glory tonight. They will face off in a Tables Match with both the TNA and NXT Tag Team Championships on the line.

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The Hardy Boyz are riding high on a wave of momentum as of October 12, 2025, ahead of their title defense against Team 3D at TNA Bound For Glory.

Jeff Hardy (48) and Matt Hardy (51) are in the dusk of their wrestling careers. Team 3D (Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley), who pioneered the TLC match alongside The Hardy Boyz and Edge & Christian, will wrestle for the last time this Sunday. They will challenge for the TNA Tag Team Championship and the NXT Tag Team Championship, both of which are currently in possession of The Hardys.

The Hardy Boyz Only Signed A One-Year Deal With TNA

The Hardy Boyz signed with TNA in November 2024 for another run. Fightful Select has confirmed those were one-year deals. Sources in the company have said that the deal has been mutually beneficial and a lot of positive has emerged from it. It should not surprise anyone that Jeff and Matt Hardy are still heavily in demand and have stayed hours after TNA shows to honor meet-and-greets.

While TNA hopes to retain them, at the time of this writing, their contracts will be up next month. Unless a contract extension has been discreetly negotiated, The Hardy Boyz will be on their way out sooner rather than later.

Matt Hardy Hints At Retirement From In-Ring Competition

During an episode of TNA Impact three months ago, Matt Hardy articulated his thoughts regarding the latest run of The Hardy Boyz. According to Matt, they don’t want to overstay their welcome, and the business will move on long after they retire.

Weâ€re being very real with ourselves, and we donâ€t want to overstay our welcome, because the business will move on after the Hardy Boyz are gone,†he said.

Meanwhile, Jeff Hardy has openly stated earlier this year that the “perfect ending” to his wrestling career would be a world title win and, most importantly, a WWE Hall of Fame induction.

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Bleacher Report catches you up on the latest news from the WWE Universe.

Hardy Boyz Become Dual Tag Team Champions

The Hardy Boyz made pro wrestling history on Tuesday night in their title vs. title match against DarkState at NXT vs. TNA ShowDown.

In the opening match of the show, which featured four matches pitting NXT and TNA wrestlers against each other, Matt and Jeff Hardy put their TNA World Tag Team Championships on the line against DarkState and the NXT tag team titles.

Thanks to a Jeff Hardy Swanton Bomb, the Hardy Boyz beat DarkState to retain the TNA tag titles and win the NXT Tag Team Championships, becoming the first team to ever hold those two titles simultaneously.

It is yet another feather in the cap of the Hardys, who were already widely considered to be among the best tag teams of all time.

Now, Matt and Jeff can add the distinction of being NXT tag team champs to a résumé that includes eight WWE tag team titles, four TNA tag team titles and one ROH tag team title.

On top of that, the Hardy Boyz will now carry the TNA and NXT tag straps into Bound for Glory on Sunday where they are set to face Team 3D, also known as the Dudley Boyz, in a tables match.

As part of the recent invasion angle, both TNA and NXT acquitted themselves well during Tuesday’s dual-branded show.

NXT got a pair of victories with Ethan Page beating Mustafa Ali and the NXT women’s team coming out on top in a Survivor Series elimination match, while the Hardys won for TNA, as did the men’s Survivor Series team.

All of that should make for a highly unpredictable Bound for Glory pay-per-view on Sunday, as championships from both TNA and NXT will both be on the line with wrestlers from both promotions featured heavily on the card.

Reported Survivor Series, Royal Rumble Plans for Reigns

Roman Reigns recently made his return to WWE programming, and some plans are reportedly already in place for him over the next few months.

According to Dave Meltzer of Wrestling Observer Radio (h/t Randall Ortman of Cageside Seats), current plans call for Reigns to compete in a WarGames match at Survivor Series next month and to be part of the men’s Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble in January.

Meltzer also speculated that WWE could be saving a World Heavyweight Championship singles match between Reigns and Seth Rollins for WrestleMania 42.

At Crown Jewel on Saturday, Reigns will face Bronson Reed in an Australian Street Fight. It will be a rematch of their meeting at Clash in Paris, which saw Reigns win before Reed and Bron Breakker viciously attacked him.

Given that Reigns is embroiled in a rivalry with The Vision, it would undoubtedly make sense for a Reigns-led team to face a Rollins-led team in a WarGames match at Survivor Series.

It promises to be a star-studded affair as well since Cody Rhodes and CM Punk have also been having their issues with Rollins.

Should Reigns shift his focus toward the Rumble coming out of Survivor Series and compete in the Rumble match, there is a distinct possibility that he could win it to set up a title match against Rollins at WrestleMania.

After all, Reigns has only one Royal Rumble win to his credit, and given that he is one of the top stars in WWE history, having him win another at some point feels like the right move.

Woods Reportedly Signs New WWE Contract

One of the greatest tag team wrestlers in WWE history is reportedly sticking around for the foreseeable future.

According to Fightful Select (h/t Ortman), Xavier Woods has signed a new contract with WWE, ending negotiations that “came down to the wire.”

Woods seemed to confirm the news on X, writing, “You’re gonna see my sexy face for a while longer even though you don’t deserve it.”

The 39-year-old Woods has been with WWE since 2010, and he has been part of the iconic New Day tag team since 2014.

As part of New Day with Kofi Kingston and formerly Big E, Woods is a 12-time WWE tag team champion and one-time NXT champion.

He also won the King of the Ring tournament in 2021, which remains Woods’ biggest individual accomplishment to date.

Late last year, Woods and Kingston turned their backs on Big E, making New Day a heel act for the first time since the early part of its existence.

Xavier and Kofi parlayed that into more championship success, beating The War Raiders for the World Tag Team Championships at WrestleMania 41 before dropping them to The Judgment Day a couple of months later.

Recently, Woods and Kingston have been working with Grayson Waller, thus adding to the villainous nature of New Day.

On top of his in-ring work, Woods continues to be the face of the hugely popular and successful UpUpDownDown gaming YouTube channel, which only adds to the value Woods brings to WWE.

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SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)…

NXT TV RESULTS
OCTOBER 7, 2025
ORLANDO, FLA. AT CAPITOL WRESTLING CENTER
LIVE ON CW NETWORK
REPORT BY KELLY WELLS, PWTORCH CONTRIBUTOR

NXT Commentators: Vic Joseph, Booker T

Ring Announcer: Mike Rome

Backstage Correspondent(s): Sarah Schreiber

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO OUR POST-SHOW PODCAST

-The show opened with a hype video promising a once-in-a-lifetime showdown. Video clips were shown of the major players in tonight’s matches, with much of the footage coming from last week’s show that set this up. The two men’s teams were shown arriving, and Vic said that would be tonight’s main event. The women’s teams were shown arriving also.

(1) THE HARDY BOYZ (Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy) (TNA Tag Team Champions) vs. DARKSTATE (Dion Lennox & Osiris Griffin) (w/Cutler James & Saquon Shugars) (NXT Tag Team Champions) – Champions vs. Champions, winner takes all

DarkState tried to swarm, but the Hardy Boyz cleared the ring of them. Referee Adrian Butler sent James & Shugars to the back. The bell sounded and Jeff faced off with Lennox. In the audience, Bubba Ray and D-Von Dudley were shown, as members of both companies’ hall of fame. Jeff controlled Lennox and made a couple of early covers, but Lennox made a tag and Griffin grounded Jeff with basic power stuff. Griffin missed a standing leg drop and Matt tagged in. Matt fought off Griffin in a corner, but got caught on a charge. He set up a twist of fate but Lennox had made the blind tag and he grounded Jeff. The match went to commercial with no split-screen. [c]

Lennox was still dominating Jeff upon return. He went with some ground & pound followed by a splash. He tagged Griffin, who kept it up with some kicks, then a choke over the second rope. Lennox tagged in and laid out Jeff with a big DDT for two. The hot audience chanted for the Hardy Boyz. Griffin hit a big elbow for two. Lennox tagged in as the heat sequence reached five minutes. Jeff finally fought free of the would-be double team and hit the whisper in the wind on both men. He leaped for the hot tag. Matt hit a bunch of rights, a side effect on Lennox, and a spike DDT on Griffin. He battered Lennox in a corner, and the Hardyz teamed up for the Plot Twist for two. “This is awesome” chant.

DarkState hit a big spinebuster on Matt, then set up a Doomsday Device. Matt wriggled free in a very awkward spot, but the guys saved it without injury. Matt put down Lennox with a Twist of Fate. Jeff tagged in and immediately hit the Swanton Bomb for the win and the titles.

WINNERS: The Hardy Boyz at 10:43.

(Wells’s Analysis: No real surprise, as this was clearly set up to allow the Hardy Boyz to win another tag title they’ve never won before. DarkState really could have used the win as while they’re champions, the jury is still out on them, but between history – and the fact that TNA had yet to win an NXT Championship while NXT has repeatedly won TNA Championships, this outcome was inevitable. The match was okay, and was set up for the Hardy Boyz to play their greatest hits)

-Vic promoted the women’s Survivor Series match, up next. [c]

-While he didn’t mention their relationship, Vic was clearly jazzed to introduce TNA ring announcer McKenzie Mitchell (his wife, formerly of NXT).

(2) TEAM NXT (Jacy Jayne & Sol Ruca & Lola Vice & Jaida Parker) vs. TEAM TNA (Kelani Jordan & Mara Sade & The Iinspiration (Cassie Lee & Jessie McKay) – Survivor Series Style Match with Jordynne Grace as Special Referee

After Parker was introduced, she and Vice did Parker’s litte entrance dance together, and when Ruca got there, the three did hers, too. They were less excited about joining Jayne, but they did so.

Jayne and Jordan – the captains – started the match and went to quick mat reversals and near-falls. After a few shots neither could land, Vice tagged herself in, to the annoyance of Jayne. Jordan held Vice in an arm wringer and the Iinspiration made two tags, grounded Vice, and did a pose to cheers. Santino Marella and Carlos Silva watched on a monitor in a room somewhere in the CWC. Parker and Sade tagged in. Parker and Vice did a stereo hip attack on Sade. Sade threw some rights, then hit a neckbreaker and covered for two. Parker and Sade got chippy, and Grace tried to get control, but then she told them to just go ahead and fight. It was pier eight for a moment and all women got some shine as action spilled out to the ramp side. Ruca hit a plancha to the outside on all four TNA women, and the NXT team jumped up and down together excitedly, totally giving in to being a team for one week that will likely be ignored soon when it’s time to just be faces and heels again, and the match went to commercial, again with no split-screen. [c]

Cassie Lee had Sol Ruca grounded, and Mara Sade tagged in to keep it up. The audience was doing the wave for some reason. Sade hit a knee drop on Ruca for two, then tagged each member of the Iinspiration, but Ruca hit them with a double suplex as they attempted to suplex her. Jordan and Jayne each tagged in, and Jayne played a babyface house of fire, which was…a strange decision. She hit a cannonball on Jordan in a corner, then a senton from the second buckle for two. Jordan hit a split-legged stunner and both Parker and Sade tagged in. Lee and McKay made tags again and Parker beat them both down and stacked them in the corner for the teardrop. She missed in the corner on Sade, who hit a reverse x-factor. Sade went up and completely missed a moonsault by overshooting Parker. Yikes. Parker hit a falcon arrow and got a near-fall, broken up by Ruca. Yet again, every woman got involved and hit impact moves. Parker laid out a bunch of TNA women, but Sade rolled her up for three. Immediately afterward, Ruca came in and hit the Sol Snatcher to eliminate Sade. I’m guessing the formula of TNA getting some quick rollups and NXT getting pins via finishers will continue. [c]

First elimination: Parker by Sade at 12:37

Second elimination: Sade by Ruca at 13:05

McKay & Jayne were going at it evenly. McKay got dumped but Lee quickly got her back to the ring. Vice made a hot tag and hit impact kicks on all of TNA. Vice hit Jordan and McKay with repeated hips in the corners, and Lee reentered. Vice finished off Lee with a backfist, and then finished McKay with a submission, with Jordan able to break it up but electing not to.

Third and fourth: The Iinspiration by Lola Vice at 19:00 and 19:24

Jordan hit the split-legged moonsault and had the visual pin on Jayne, but Grace was hung up with the Iinspiration and she didn’t get the pin. Jordan did, however, roll up Vice for the pin shortly after. McKenzie Mitchell said “The winners of the match, team – ” but thankfully caught herself at the last moment.

Fifth elimination: Vice by Jordan at 21:19

Fans chanted “traitor” at Jordan. She fought both women, but eventually got hit with a Sol Snatcher. Jayne tagged herself in and stole the pin.

Sixth elimination: Jordan by Jayne at 23:12.

WINNERS: Jacy Jayne & Sol Ruca at 23:12.

(Wells’s Analysis: Jayne continues to be a big priority for whatever reason. Vice got plenty of shine, scoring two eliminations, but didn’t get to survive; however, her elimination came at the hands of someone who’s actually NXT, so it’s not like she took a fall to TNA. The only NXT star to take a fall to TNA was Parker, and it was a flash rollup that did her in. Fun action through most of this, but Mara Sade’s completely missed moonsault and McKenzie Mitchell nearly calling the winner too early might reinforce the stereotypes that some WWE fans feel about most any other company)

-Mustafa Ali and Ethan Page separately walked through the back ahead of their match. [c]

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The Hardy Boyz have cemented themselves in further into pro wrestling history.

The ShowDown event on the October 7 episode of WWE NXT also featured a Tag Team Championship Unification Match that brought together two generations of tag team wrestling. Dion Lennox and Osiris Griffin of DarkState represented NXT as tag team champions, while TNA sent Matt and Jeff Hardy as with their tag team titles.

The two teams met with both championships on the line, each looking to walk away as the unified titleholders. Naturally, this was a match that a lot of people had their eyes on.

This match kicked off the historic show, and the Hardy Boyz showed up for their 3rd match in NXT ever, as they wore all white for the occasion. The Dudley Boyz and TNA President Carlos Silva were also at ringside for the match.

The Hardy Boyz are shoo-in WWE Hall of Famers, but they have never held the NXT Tag Team Titles. They walked into ShowDown with the full intention of adding another title to their vast collection.

Although only two members of DarkState were supposed to be in this match, all four members jumped the Hardy Boyz to start things off. Then Matt and Jeff fought them all off before the bell even rang. Then things got going, as both teams tried their best to keep up the matchâ€s momentum and gain an advantage.

They wrestled through a commercial break, and by the time we came back, Jeff Hardy was selling in the middle of the ring. Fans chanted for Hardy as the match continued. Then Jeff nailed a Whisper In The Wind on both DarkState members, so he could tag in his Broken brother.

Matt Hardy was able to get out of Doomsday Device and hit a Twist of Fate on each member. Jeff got the tag after that and he climbed up for a Swanton Bomb to win the match and claim the NXT Tag Team Titles. History was made at ShowDown, and now the Hardy Boyz will be around NXT much more often.

Whatâ€s your take on the tag team title match at ShowDown? Did the end surprise you at all? Let us know what you think in the comments section!

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A current WWE superstar paid homage to the legendary tag team The Hardy Boyz during this week’s episode of RAW.

Matt and Jeff Hardy are one of the most decorated and accomplished tag-teams not only in WWE, but in wrestling history. They are a 15-time world tag team champions across WWE, WCW, TNA and ROH promotions. As singles wrestlers, the brothers have done it all by themselves, with Jeff winning the World Heavyweight, WWE and TNA World Championships while Matt won the latter belt twice during the height of his “Broken” character.

On this week’s episode of RAW from Raleigh, North Carolina (Hardys’ home state), Bayley and Raquel Rodriguez squared off in a singles bout. During the match, The Role Model executed her version of Twist of Fate on Big Mami Cool outside the ring, paying tribute to the iconic brothers.

The homage didn’t end there when the competitors entered the squared circle. To set things up, Bayley dropped an elbow to Rodriguez from the top rope. The former multi-time women’s champion then went back to the top again and surprisingly delivered a Swanton Bomb, much to the delight of the fans in North Carolina.

Check out Bayley’s tribute below:

Unfortunately for Bayley, her Hardy Boyz callback wasn’t enough to beat Rodriguez, who defeated her with a Tejana Bomb following the interference of Roxanne Perez, her Judgment Day teammate.

WWE Legendary Duos The Hardy Boyz and The Dudley Boyz Sealed The Deal For Their Final Match Together

Over at TNA’s iMPACT! Wrestlinglast Thursday, The Hardys (also known as Hardy Boyz) and Team 3D’s (also known as The Dudley Boyz) final match together was officially confirmed.

The two legendary teams showed respect to one another and even seemingly mentioned Edge and Christian, though not directly.

At the end of the segment, Bully Ray (aka Bubba Ray Dudley) proposed that their upcoming last match will be for the TNA World Tag Team Championships in a Tables match. It will take place on the upcoming Bound for Glory pay-per-view in Lowell, Massachusetts.

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