As we reach the mid point of the year, it’s time to do some early reflection on the year that has been 2024; In terms of professional wrestling we have seen big news coming out of WWE, AEW and TNA with latter launching it’s re-branding back to old TNA name at the Hard To Kill PPV.
TNA has had it’s ups and downs this year with their current status seeing the company running a wave of momentum following their partnership with WWE, number of returns including Mike Santana, Sami Callihan and the Hardy Boyz plus the tickets sales for the upcoming Slammiversary has been the best in over a decade.
Naturally, there have been some incredible that have happened since the rebranding, but which ones currently stand out as being contenders for being match of the year?
Well here’s my two cents on this topic…
Honorable Mentions
Nic Nemeth vs. Alex Shelley (TNA IMPACT- April 4th)
Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone (Hard To Kill)
Ace Austin vs. Mike Bailey vs. Kushida (Xplosion: April 5th)
Trent Seven vs. Mustafa Ali (Against All Odds)
Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey (TNA IMPACT-
ABC vs. Speedball Mountain (TNA IMPACT-
Jordynne Grace vs. Trinity (TNA IMPACT-
Knockouts Ultimate X Match (Hard To Kill)
Steve Maclin vs. Mike Santana (Rebellion)
Mustafa Ali vs. Ace Austin (Under Siege)
#10. Jordynne Grace vs. Gisele Shaw (No Surrender)
Jordynne Grace’s third run with the title has seen her make history due in large part to her appearances in the WWE, but when she isn’t making surprise appearances on NXT or the Royal Rumble, she’s defending the Knockouts World Title in solid matches like the one she had with Gisele Shaw at No Surrender.
The winner of the 2024 Knockouts Ultimate X match at Hard To Kill, Gisele Shaw faced ‘The Juggernaut’ in the semi main event and while Grace does dominate for most of the match, Shaw is more than capable to battle the champion with Shaw’s biggest moments seeing her hit a Spanish Fly on Grace from the ring apron to floor and delivering a slap so powerful it almost looked like it knocked a tooth out Jordynne’s mouth.
In the end, Grace would copple together some moves before hitting the Grace Driver and retaining the Knockouts World Title in spectular fashion.
#9. Leon Slater and ABC vs. The Rascalz (Countdown to Rebellion)
How good does a preshow match have to be to go on a list of the best matches in 2024? This good ladies and gentlemen…As six of TNA’s resident high flyers put on an incredible six man tag team match to kick off Countdown to Rebellion.
Everything about this match works so well with the Rascalz double and triple teaming the opposition in various points in the bout, ABC continuing to prove why their a cohesive unit and one of the best tag teams in wrestler today and of course you can’t forget Leon Slater, who is a human highlight reel throughout which is no easy feat considering the other wrestlers his in the ring with.
The crowd are all in for this match with not a single dull moment anywhere and further proves why TNA’s X Division as well as it’s tag team continues to capture the wrestling world’s imagination.
#8. Josh Alexander vs. Hammerstone: Last Man Standing Match (Rebellion)
On the list of best signings TNA has done in 2024 up to this point, perhaps the best would have to be their signing of former MLW star, Hammerstone who’s short but short time in the promotion has produced some bangers with his most being noticeable against former world champion Josh Alexander.
After their first ever meeting at Hard To Kill which saw the Walking Weapon come out on top and Hammerstone cheating to win the rematch at Sacrifice, the feud culminated in a last man standing match at Rebellion.
Both competitors take turns leveling each other in the ring and the outside with there even being a point in the match where both Alexander and Hammerstone are on the ring apron slamming each with moves.
Moments like Hammerstone whacking Josh in the face with his own head gear to a wobbly Alexander backing up into a torture rack are indeed memorable, but it’s only until we get to the final stretch of the match we get see how painful this match can be when a bag of thumbtacks get brought in and both men get sent into tacks following a top rope Nightmare Pendulum by Hammerstone.
The action heads to the entrance ramp with Josh being able to hit his finisher onto Hammerstone and puts his Arizona native away to secure the victory and his head gear.
#7. Mustafa Ali vs. Jake Something (Rebellion)
So I talked earlier about the six man tag match on the preshow starting things off on the right track which is true, but in terms of the actual pay-per-view itself you can’t find a better opening contest then the one between Jake Something and Mustafa Ali for the TNA X Division Championship.
In the lead up to this match, Ali criticized the idea of Jake getting a shot at the title as he didn’t fit the cruiserweight style of wrestling one would associate with the X Division…You know, despite the fact that guys like Samoa Joe and Abyss have been X Division Champion in the past with little to no problems at all.
As you can imagine this plan and his attempts at ducking Jake Something weren’t successful and thus the match was made official and on the surface this seems like a classic case of small man versus big man bout except this one stands out from your traditional David vs. Goliath match as both men as able to get the better of each other.
Ali uses everything from his quickness, intelligence and secret service bodyguards to outwit the much stronger challenger while Something utilizes not only his strenght but also his deceptive speed to outmaneuver the champion and it soon becomes a game of outsmarting the other to gain the advantage with Ali cheating to win and retain his title.
It’s been a great 2024 for the former WWE Cruiserweight Champion and while his bouts with Chris Sabin and Ace Austin deserve a mention, this opening match at Rebellion 2024 might be one of the best.
#6. Mike Bailey vs. Trent Seven (TNA IMPACT!- May 23rd)
The team of ‘Speedball’ Mike Bailey and Trent Seven also known as “Speedball Mountain” were officially introduced to the TNA fandom after Seven debuted at Final Resolution 2023 as Bailey’s tag partner against the Rascalz and it was on that night that Seven was signed to a contract with IMPACT (soon to be TNA Wrestling once again).
From there, the duo would go on to have some amazing matches against the rascalz, Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers and the ABC with the latter being defeated by Speedball Mountain which set the stage for this singles match between Bailey and Seven with the winner getting a shot a Mustafa Ali’s X Division title.
Unsurprisingly, Bailey’s high flying style of wrestling blends well with Seven’s no nonsense style of British wrestling with the match going in either direction in various points in the match.
However, once the champion showed up to watch the bout in person and getting acidentally kicked in the face by Bailey on the outside it became clear how things would turn out and sure enough a distraction by Ali and the interference of his new running buddy, Campaign Singh allowed Seven to pick up the victory and become the new number one contender for X Division title at Against All Odds…A match where came up short to Ali.
#5. Joe Hendry vs. Jake Something (TNA IMPACT!- July 4th)
Yes, this match did take place a week ago, but that certainly doesn’t stop this match from being one of the best for two wrestlers who have quickly risen to popularity with TNA.
In a match to determine who will be final competitor to join the six man world title match in the main event of Slammiversary, Jake Something took on Joe Hendry in the main event of the July Fourth edition of TNA IMPACT and to say the fans were invested would be a bit of an understatement. The crowd first start cheering for Hendry before it quickly turns into cheers for Jake only for the fans to then briefly turn on Something leading to chants of “You Suck” only to be balanced out with responses of “No he Don’t”.
Much like his bout with Mustafa Ali at Rebellion, Jake’s speed and strenght are once again on display here as Something’s aggression shows throughout most of the match. Hendry further demonstrates how serious he can be as a wrestler as his willingness to keep fighting in addition to the reaction his getting from the crowd help to make this match all the more enjoyable.
Hendry is able to pick up the victory and after short but heartfelt promo after the match, you can certainly see why the wrestling world is starting to believe in Joe Hendry.
#4. Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin (Sacrifice)
Well no one expected this match to be as great as it was…
Nic Nemeth’s run in TNA has been pretty good all things considered as his fought for the world championship in the main event of Rebellion, his had dream matches with names like Alex Shelley and Eddie Edwards plus his even partnered with his real life brother and pro wrestler, Ryan Nemeth in tag team action as well.
But if you’re looking for what might be Nemeth’s best match in TNA thus far, it would have to be his one-on-one match with Steve Maclin at this year’s Sacrifice event.
Following weeks of animosity between Nemeth and Maclin, the two held nothing back as the bout went over 14 minutes with Nemeth being the cagey veteran using his experience, speed and aglity against the former IMPACT World Champion’s raw power and intensity.
That moment where Maclin goes for his signature running shoulder tackle into his opponent hanging upside down only for Nemeth to move out of the way and Maclin taking a nasty landing to the outside under the time keepers table is about as holy shit as you could possibly get.
It’s great showing for both wrestlers and another example of how TNA’s opening matches to PPV’s or Plus Specials this year have been a major high point,
#3. Alex Shelley vs. Moose: No Surrender Match (No Surrender)
Once again we return to No Surrender for another title match this time for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in a rematch from the previous PPV but with a new stipulation added into the mix.
After securing his second world title in main event of Hard To Kill, Alex Shelley invoked his rematch at No Surrender in the first ever ‘No Surrender’ match where the participants would be accompanied to the ring with wrestlers acting as their cornermen, the match is no DQ and no Countout but the cornermen on each side can’t get physically involved outside of throwing the towel for their respective wrestler if they do throw the towel then their wrestler loses the match…Got all of that…Excellent.
Considering how much Moose will do anything to win his matches and Alex Shelley is notorious for having vicious mean streak when he wrestles then it should come as no surprise that both men used every trick in the book to injury a body part of their opponent and continue exploiting it until one side throws in the towel with everything from steel chairs, turnbuckle pads, steel chains, kendo sticks, trash cans and a fricken wrench being used as weapons to inflict pain on each other.
Ultimately, it was Kushida who threw in the towel for his friend Shelley to save him from getting ripped in half by Moose’s endless amounts of Spears much to the delight of the current champion and the disappointment of the former one.
In terms of his final world title match before he and partner Chris Sabin left the company in early 2024, Shelley certainly proved why he was world champion material but sadly it wasn’t enough on this night.
#2. Josh Alexander vs. Will Ospreay (TNA IMPACT- January 18th)
From the minute this match was announced, myself and so many other wrestling fans expected this match to be on a list like this and while it might not be number one, that does not take away from amazing of a contest this ended up being.
Alexander and Opsreay’s first encounter took place in late 2023 and it was a classic from every sense of the word, but for more on that check out my article on 10 Best IMPACT Matches of 2023.
Anyway, when the announcement was made that Ospreay would return to the newly rebranded TNA to face Josh Alexander again during the company’s TV tapings in Janaury of 2024 (the same tapings that Okada made his long awaited return to TNA), fans and critics alike couldn’t believe what was going with the former IMPACT Wrestling, but for all the right reasons.
When the time came for the match, it was as tremendous as their last encounter with Josh and Will exchanging counter after counter, big move after big move, and near fall after near fall with the fans evenly split on their support for each wrestler.
Ospreay at one point puts Alexander through a table with his signature Storm Driver which should’ve ended the match in a DQ until the referee used the lesser known rule of ‘Referees Disrection’ to keep the match going after there the match continue to delight the fans with Alexander hitting the C4 Spike and defeating the Billy Goat in the sqaure Circle.
It currently stands as the highest rated match in TNA Wrestling getting 5.5 stars from Dave Melzter and surpassing the previous two five star matches TNA had at Unbreakable 2005 and Bound For Glory 2023,
Yet in my opinion there is still one more match that gets the top spot from and that would be…
#1. The ABC vs. Grizzled Young Vets (No Surrender)
Our third and final entry from this year’s No Surrender event has to go to what is perhaps the best match on the entire card if not the best match of the year up to this point in TNA Wrestling.
In the finale to their Best of Three series for the TNA World Tag Team Titles, the ABC defended the belts against a very gamed GYV who targets the injured left arm and shoulder of Ace Austin while also making numerous attempts at cutting the ring in half to prevent frequent tags between Ace and Bey.
A back-and-forth contest between these two teams with the match going in either direction as the match continues to intensify with the Vets hitting doomsday device onto Ace Austin right outside of the ring culminating in the GYV having a numbers game advantage over Chris Bey, but the former X X Division Champion battles back right up until Ace grabs the scraf of GYV and uses it as a weapon but also as payback from their first encounter in this series.
One Art of Finesse combined with the Fold from the ABC, a three count and just like Ace Austin and Chris Bey retain the titles; A great match to wrap up a memorable feud and helped to further cement the ABC as one of the best tag teams currently competing in pro wrestling today.
And that’s my list, What do you think was the Best Match for TNA Wrestling in 2024 So Far? Let me know in the comments section and be sure to follow me Twitter/X @FullertonHakeem for TNA Wrestling content just like this.