TNA Impact January 1st 2026 had two fun matches to close an otherwise dull show. While Bronson/Kazarian was an exciting slugfest and the three way Rascalz match exciting aerial action, the rest was meandering build to both Genesis and the AMC debut. The first half in particular really dragged, despite a few encouraging individual performances, and while the second half massively raised the energy and saved the show from failure, it still fell under par. Check out the last two matches, and feel free to skip the rest.
TNA Impact January 1st 2026 sees Bear Bronson get his shot at the TNA World Championship against Frankie Kazarian. The Righteous also convene to discuss their treatment of The Hardy’s. Elsewhere on the card, Mustafa Ali takes on the Home Town Man and The Rascalz collide for a shot at Leon Slater!
| TNA Impact January 1st 2026 Star Ratings | |
| Match / In Ring Promo | Result and Star Rating. |
| TNA Impact January 1st 2026 Opening Match The Angel Warriors vs The Elegance Brand | The Elegance Brand by Pinfall via Bow and Arrow/Dropkick Combination GOOD – 3 Stars |
| Mustafa Ali vs The Home Town Man | Mustafa Ali by Pinfall via 450 Splash SQUASH- Less Than 5 Minutes |
| NXT Outlaws Promo | Arianna Grace and Stacks gloat about turning on Santino BELOW AVERAGE- 2.25 Stars |
| Indi Hartwell, Jade Stone and Jody Threat vs The Diamond Collective | Mila Moore by Stolen Pinfall GOOD- 3.25 Stars |
| The Righteous/The Hardy’s Promo | The Righteous try and form a brotherhood with The Hardy’s. They refuse. AVERAGE- 2.75 Stars. |
| Zachary Wentz vs Trey Miguel vs Myron Reed- X-Division Number One Contenders Match | Myron Reed by Pinfall via 450 Splash GREAT- 3.75 Stars |
| The System Promo | The System set up an 8 Man Tag match next week Below Average- 2.25 Stars |
| Bear Bronson vs Frankie Kazarian | Frankie Kazarian by Pinfall via Fade To Black AMAZING- 4 Stars |
| TNA Impact January 1st 2026 Closing Promo Mike Santana Promo | Santana announces his match with Kazarian for the TNA Title has been moved to the AMC Debut GOOD- 3 Stars |
TNA Impact January 1st 2026 Highs:
TNA Impact soared the most this week in its final two matches, which were really the only reason to watch the show. The main event continued the rocket push of Bear Bronson with him unsuccessfully challenging Frankie Kazarian for the TNA Title. It was a strong title match with some great selling from Kaz and a crowd firmly behind the newcomer. The strikes looked really snug and stiff in the best way and the countout false finish was well done. While no one bought Bronson winning here, it’s great to see TNA make a statement push of a talented guy dealt so much misfortune over the past year.
The other in-ring highlight was the triple threat contenders match between the Rascalz, which was an expectedly exciting high octane affair with some great athleticism and innovation. I could give or take the dissention throughout the match, but I was fully here for the action on principle and Leon Slater provided some additional energy through his commentary. Leon and Myron should tear it up on the AMC debut, likely with a lot to prove.
Finally, a shout out to two performances that impressed me in the undercard matches. Firstly, women’s champion Lei Ying Lee who had good chemistry with the Elegance Brand and carried herself well like a champion. The other standout was Jada Stone in the 6 woman tag, demonstrating amazing ring awareness and nipping around the ring with flair and skill. With a struggling Knockout’s division, there are flourishes of light that shine through.
TNA Impact January 1st 2026 Lows-
Outside of the top 2 matches this was a rather dull and uneventful show. A run of the mill squash and two simple tags made the first hour of this show a bit of a drag to sit through, alongside some not exactly stellar segments. Ariana Grace gave a promo that left a lot to be desired when it came to her comfort in the heel character role, The System had a promo that could’ve been an email, and the Elijah sing-song to build his match with Ali was perfunctory and didn’t really get over. Much of the show just felt filled with a lack of energy, and beyond pushing the ‘AMC Era’ about 5 times a minute, it wasn’t much of a show to get me super hyped for it beyond match graphics and the final half hour. It probably didn’t help that outside of the three way match every result went the heel’s way, which made it all feel a bit dowr.
I am happy to see Santana get his rematch for the TNA Title, and with it happening on the AMC Debut he seems destined to get the title back. It’s indicative though of a company bouncing its ideas around at whim trying to make all their moving pieces work rather than a company of coherent ideas or motivations.
Finally, and perhaps the most baffling thing to me on the show was the through line of the Hardy’s and The Righteous. Despite being fans of both teams, very little of the spooky shrines or Hardy underacting filled me with dread. Instead I was left wondering why the man who captivated me with Broken Matt seemed so uninterested in putting on any sort of performance for the fellow spooky wrestlers. While I enjoyed the Righteous’ delivery enough to keep the segment afloat, it really did not connect with me and I think there are far more interesting avenues to explore than a pseudo Blair Witch shrine.
Summary-
TNA Impact January 1st 2026 had two fun matches to close an otherwise dull show. While Bronson/Kazarian was an exciting slugfest and the three way Rascalz match exciting aerial action, the rest was meandering build to both Genesis and the AMC debut. The first half in particular really dragged, despite a few encouraging individual performances, and while the second half massively raised the energy and saved the show from failure, it still fell under par. Check out the last two matches, and feel free to skip the rest.
Matches- 0.5/1
Show Structure- 0.5/1
Atmosphere- 0.75/1
Storytelling- 0.25/1
Production/Theme- 0.75/1
Overall Rating- 2.75/5 Stars
Photo Credit- TNA- January 1st 2026
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