The X-Division Championship will be on the line next Thursday as Josh Alexander will defend against TJP in Impact Wrestling's first-ever 60-minute Iron Man match.
The majority of the match will take place on their Before The Impact pre-show with "the conclusion" airing on Impact to lead off the show.
TJP and Fallah Bahh defeated Alexander and Petey Williams on this week's show with TJP getting the pin on the champion. The two have crossed paths in the Impact ring eight times since last year in both singles and tag team action.
TJP has two wins in their three singles matches including a successful title defense this past February when he was X-Division Champion.
Impact also announced three other matches for next week:
Knockouts Tag Team Champions Fire N' Flava (Kiera Hogan and Tasha Steelz) vs. Rachael Ellering and Jordynne Grace: This will be a title rematch for former champions Ellering and Grace. The two teams brawled on Thursday as they were part of a ten-woman tag team match. Hogan and Steelz regained the titles from Ellering and Grace at this month's Under Siege.
Satoshi Kojima vs. Deaner: Kojima challenged Violent by Design's Joe Doering for next month's Against All Odds which was later accepted. Doering's faction mate Deaner will try to soften up the New Japan star next week in his first official Impact match.
Jake Something vs. Rohit Raju in a tables match: Something and Raju have been feuding for weeks with Scott D'Amore making the match for next week.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Posted: May 27th, '21, 21:32
by Big Red Machine
I might have to go out of my way to see the Alexander vs. TJP match.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Posted: May 29th, '21, 20:02
by cero2k
So I'm not 100% on this. But apparently this will be the longest match in Impact/TNA history
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Posted: May 29th, '21, 21:16
by Big Red Machine
cero2k wrote: ↑May 29th, '21, 20:02
So I'm not 100% on this. But apparently this will be the longest match in Impact/TNA history
Probably. Every Ironman match they've done that I can think of was thirty minutes (and AJ and Daniels went to a five-minute overtime on at least one occasion). I'm certain none of the Lethal Lockdown matches went over an hour, and the only other very long match in TNA history I can think of is Jeff vs. Angle from No Surrender 2010, and that only went thirty.
Actually... Lashley and Eddie Edwards had a World Title match at Total Nonstop Deletion which never ended. They brawled off into the night, and I think the announcers insisted that the match was Falls Count Anywhere or something but we never saw it end, so that match might have technically been longer.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Posted: Jun 3rd, '21, 18:23
by cero2k
Big Red Machine wrote: ↑May 27th, '21, 21:32
I might have to go out of my way to see the Alexander vs. TJP match.
You definitely should check it out, and try to watch it as unspoiled as possible
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
As for what you need to know. Per my write up on F4W
Both men have feuded around the X-Division championship for months. They traded wins and losses since last year, both in singles and tag team matches, but as of late, Alexander has moved forward winning the title at Rebellion by defeating Austin and TJP in a three-way, the latter earning a shot at the title on last week’s Impact when he pinned Alexander in a tag team match.
In addition to that, Josh Alexander, ever since Ethan Page left, he became an X Division wrestling machine, and TJP is someone that has either been champion or chased the title too for some time now, and so it kinda came down to them wrestling so much against each other, that D'Amore said, if you guys wanna go, then let's give you a full hour and finally decide who the best guy is. They're both babyfaces.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
UPDATE, they're showing the whole match, including the stuff that I didn't see due to commercial at 2ET on the youtubes
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Posted: Jun 6th, '21, 15:48
by Big Red Machine
8.25/10
Hidden text.
Not going to say it wasn't exciting or anything, but it felt like they were setting up this big story about how Alexander needed to learn killer instinct (and that he would either lose the match because he didn't have it or he would develop it mid-match but then go overboard and it would be the beginning of a heel turn), but then it never went anywhere and he just bounced back after letting it get tied up and won the match in overtime without anything major happening. It was just sixty-plus minutes of wrestling.
Also, the piped-in crowd noise really bothered me. I think the reason it bothered me more here than in WWE is that in WWE they have faces up so I can pretend the noise is coming from the people I'm seeing react to things, but in TNA it's just clearly piped-in noise.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Not going to say it wasn't exciting or anything, but it felt like they were setting up this big story about how Alexander needed to learn killer instinct (and that he would either lose the match because he didn't have it or he would develop it mid-match but then go overboard and it would be the beginning of a heel turn), but then it never went anywhere and he just bounced back after letting it get tied up and won the match in overtime without anything major happening. It was just sixty-plus minutes of wrestling.
Also, the piped-in crowd noise really bothered me. I think the reason it bothered me more here than in WWE is that in WWE they have faces up so I can pretend the noise is coming from the people I'm seeing react to things, but in TNA it's just clearly piped-in noise.
I have no idea how you got to that story, but it's understandable since you're coming in cold and watching the match on a void.
I much prefer how Impact does the sound, it's not just noise for the sake of noise, they have someone pipping in highs and lows and certain reactions. They play around with the volume and it comes off more natural to what we're seeing in the match. I would feel way more disconnected with noise and faces not actually reacting, i'd feel the noise and video are on different times
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Not going to say it wasn't exciting or anything, but it felt like they were setting up this big story about how Alexander needed to learn killer instinct (and that he would either lose the match because he didn't have it or he would develop it mid-match but then go overboard and it would be the beginning of a heel turn), but then it never went anywhere and he just bounced back after letting it get tied up and won the match in overtime without anything major happening. It was just sixty-plus minutes of wrestling.
Also, the piped-in crowd noise really bothered me. I think the reason it bothered me more here than in WWE is that in WWE they have faces up so I can pretend the noise is coming from the people I'm seeing react to things, but in TNA it's just clearly piped-in noise.
I have no idea how you got to that story, but it's understandable since you're coming in cold and watching the match on a void.
My own observations, plus listening to Josh.
Hidden text.
Obviously Alexander was chasing his finisher, too, but that happens in most matches. The work on the knee didn't go anywhere and was infrequent enough that it didn't really feel like a story to me.
cero2k wrote: ↑Jun 6th, '21, 20:08
I much prefer how Impact does the sound, it's not just noise for the sake of noise, they have someone pipping in highs and lows and certain reactions. They play around with the volume and it comes off more natural to what we're seeing in the match. I would feel way more disconnected with noise and faces not actually reacting, i'd feel the noise and video are on different times
TNA's noise is (lacking a better term) "better" noise, in that it comes off as more realistic to how actual people would react. It's more the fact that it's so clearly being piped in by the promotion that bothers me. I'd rather they just have no noise like ROH and NXT UK do.
The "faces not reacting" thing isn't really a problem because there are so many faces that it's always possible that the people reacting aren't in the section you're looking at (and I'm looking at the match rather than the face, so it's even less of an issue for me).
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
cero2k wrote: ↑Jun 6th, '21, 20:08
My own observations, plus listening to Josh.
Hidden text.
Obviously Alexander was chasing his finisher, too, but that happens in most matches. The work on the knee didn't go anywhere and was infrequent enough that it didn't really feel like a story to me.
The ankle lock IS his finisher. divine intervention is something that he barely started using now that he's wrestling smaller guys, so chasing the ankle lock felt obvious to me for the duration of the match, while divine intervention kinda came when things became desperate.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
cero2k wrote: ↑Jun 6th, '21, 20:08
My own observations, plus listening to Josh.
Hidden text.
Obviously Alexander was chasing his finisher, too, but that happens in most matches. The work on the knee didn't go anywhere and was infrequent enough that it didn't really feel like a story to me.
The ankle lock IS his finisher. divine intervention is something that he barely started using now that he's wrestling smaller guys, so chasing the ankle lock felt obvious to me for the duration of the match, while divine intervention kinda came when things became desperate.
He had set been setting it up a few times throughout. Josh and D'Lo didn't put the ankle lock over as his finisher.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Posted: Jun 7th, '21, 12:40
by cero2k
Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Jun 7th, '21, 12:16
He had set been setting it up a few times throughout. Josh and D'Lo didn't put the ankle lock over as his finisher.
It's an ankle lock, it's a finisher by default, it doesn't really need an introduction. I think it's one of those things that you're not gonna get unless you've been watching Alexander wrestle as of late. He finishes matches with the Ankle lock, but he's slowly getting over the other move. Ankle lock is also a move that he goes for at all time in a match, it's similar to Suzuki using a sleeper. So all complains on commentary are warranted, they're not the best, but it be pretty tiresome if the marked every time that he went for the ankle lock
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Jun 7th, '21, 12:16
He had set been setting it up a few times throughout. Josh and D'Lo didn't put the ankle lock over as his finisher.
It's an ankle lock, it's a finisher by default, it doesn't really need an introduction. I think it's one of those things that you're not gonna get unless you've been watching Alexander wrestle as of late. He finishes matches with the Ankle lock, but he's slowly getting over the other move. Ankle lock is also a move that he goes for at all time in a match, it's similar to Suzuki using a sleeper. So all complains on commentary are warranted, they're not the best, but it be pretty tiresome if the marked every time that he went for the ankle lock
I certainly took it as a "generic finisher" (I kind of operate that way for all ankle locks, heel hooks, and, grounded armbars, and to a lesser degree standard piledrivers, really flippy flips, and if in Japan or somewhere that likes to think of themselves as strong-style, big lariats), but they didn't do enough with the injured leg story until the last few minutes for it to really feel like a story rather than (lacking a better term) "just another nearfall" (like hitting a piledriver in a match where the story has been you working over the other guy's arm).
And I don't think it would be tiresome at all if they made a big deal about him going for the ankle lock every time he went for it. Hell, that's what the play by play guy is supposed to do.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Posted: Jun 7th, '21, 13:26
by cero2k
Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Jun 7th, '21, 12:50
And I don't think it would be tiresome at all if they made a big deal about him going for the ankle lock every time he went for it. Hell, that's what the play by play guy is supposed to do.
I think there is a happy medium, in an hour match with constant teases of the ankle lock, getting excited for each is too much I think, especially if the match is already planned to not deliver a single Ankle Lock finish at all. I think certain executions could had been better hyped, but pick and choose to not overdo it.
Matthews is known for overdoing the excitement when it comes to finish teases and a lot of people hate him for it. It's not necessarily a bad thing that they didn't try to sell you that hard.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
Big Red Machine wrote: ↑Jun 7th, '21, 12:50
And I don't think it would be tiresome at all if they made a big deal about him going for the ankle lock every time he went for it. Hell, that's what the play by play guy is supposed to do.
I think there is a happy medium, in an hour match with constant teases of the ankle lock, getting excited for each is too much I think, especially if the match is already planned to not deliver a single Ankle Lock finish at all. I think certain executions could had been better hyped, but pick and choose to not overdo it.
Matthews is known for overdoing the excitement when it comes to finish teases and a lot of people hate him for it. It's not necessarily a bad thing that they didn't try to sell you that hard.
All it takes is an "OH! He's going for that ankle again!" But a lot of how it is sold by the announcers should depend on how close he gets to locking in the hold. If he shoots in and gets stopped, you just need a "you saw him going for that ankle again." If he manages to grab the ankle and pulls the other guy up but the other guy worms out before he can lock it in, then you get more frantic.
I don't see how someone can get upset at an announcer for getting excited about a finisher tease. That's the announcer's job.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
I don't see how someone can get upset at an announcer for getting excited about a finisher tease. That's the announcer's job.
When your announcer treats every single pin attempt as "1..2...WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!...KICKOUT!" type of hype, it gets really tiresome, and I'm coming from a side that doesn't dislike Matthews that much.
As much as I dislike Striker, I do like how he switches from getting excited to analyzing whether a pin was cocky/weak/well applied/what it missed/and so on.
Re: Josh Alexander vs. TJP Ironman match set for Impact, Kojima vs Joe Doering for Against All Odds
I don't see how someone can get upset at an announcer for getting excited about a finisher tease. That's the announcer's job.
When your announcer treats every single pin attempt as "1..2...WE HAVE A NEW CHAMPION!...KICKOUT!" type of hype, it gets really tiresome, and I'm coming from a side that doesn't dislike Matthews that much.
As much as I dislike Striker, I do like how he switches from getting excited to analyzing whether a pin was cocky/weak/well applied/what it missed/and so on.
Ah. Okay. I thought you meant people were angry at him for making a big deal out of someone going for or hitting a finisher.