Tonight's "TNA Impact" brought us a surprise title rematch, an expected title rematch, and Avery Styles' first one-on-one match. Was the show a success? That depends on who you ask, but as always, you can count on Wrestling Inc. to deliver your weekly dose of the good and the bad.

Below you'll find our thoughts on the main event, the arrival of Shotzi Blackheart, Cedric Alexander maintaining his spot in the X-Division title picture, and more. We weren't able to cover every single thing that happened, but the good news there is that you can find all the details in our "TNA Impact" 10/22/2026 live blog. With that in mind, go ahead and dig into our thoughts before sharing your own with us in the comments section.

If I were Cedric Alexander, I would have invoked my contractual rematch for the TNA X-Division Championship tonight, or even next week. Instead, the ex-titleholder jumped through two matches in which the numbers put him at a great disadvantage.

Alexander received his contractual rematch at Bound For Glory, where he and six others competed in a chaotic scramble for the X-Division Title. Unlike Scott Steiner, I know that meant Alexander's odds of winning back the championship were one in seven, or 14%. Had he waited until after BFG (in storyline), however, he could have elevated that number to 50% through a one-on-one against Amazing Red.

Alas, that didn't happen, as the seven-way scramble ultimately panned out in Red's favor, making him the new X-Division Champion.

On this week's "Impact," Alexander sought to secure another rematch by wrestling in a four-way number one contender's match, which meant his odds increased to 25%. Still not great, though, and like BFG, he didn't have to be pinned or submitted to lose.

The System member won in this case to earn himself a one-on-one title shot against Red next week. It should be a solid in-ring performance, too. I can't say that Alexander, a heel, took the most practical or realistic approach to get there, though.

Written by Ella Jay

Shayna Baszler has been a longtime favorite wrestler of mine, and I would be lying if I said I hadn't gotten used to seeing her not being utilized in WWE during her time in the company. With that in mind, it's a really nice change of pace to see TNA using her to her fullest potential by sending her right to the top of the Knockouts Division.

I know that Hartwell has just begun her reign as Knockouts World Champion, but she's already had enough singles and tag team matches with Brookside and her feud with Daria Rae is already growing old for me. The Knockouts World Championship picture has largely also been featuring the same players week after week, so it's a nice change of pace to have some fresh blood be infused into it to bring it back to life a little bit. 

If anyone in the Knockouts Division were to be a double champion (whether it actually comes to fruition or is just an idea to plant into minds of the TNA fans), Baszler would be the perfect pick. Her style makes her feel like a threat to anyone on the TNA roster. Whenever TNA decides to hold the match, Baszler and Hartwell should put on a banger of a match with one another and it will be something that I'm looking forward to seeing.

Written by Olivia Quinlan

It might be unfair to judge Avery Styles with less than 20 matches on his resume, especially against his father AJ Styles, legitimately one of the best wrestlers of all time. It would be fair to say he is green as grass, and TNA should be doing its best to put him in the ring with those who can pick up that slack. Joe Alonzo is not one of those guys.

Going beyond the god-awful shtick of blending the worst aspects of Sammy Guevara and Max Caster, cutting a promo on his way down to the ring to insult the Alabama crowd and reference Styles' "Chairgate" controversy, he's just not very good at the wrestling aspect either. It was hard to discern whether the worst part of all of this came before or after the bell had rung. Alonzo was actually waiting for the crowd to pop, proud as punch over a line about making Styles pick up chairs, only to be met by nothing but emphatic cricket chirping.

But then of course the bell rung and thus ensued a six-minute bout that did nothing but run a box grater over the synapses. Styles was gassed out within a fraction of those minutes, losing his footing on some of the more simple spots and otherwise doing little to really salvage something from the bout. That's okay in itself, it's not his job to carry a match at this stage in his career. The issue lies with the match-making and the creative behind it.

Not only was Alonzo nowhere near the right opponent for someone as new as Styles, but the match lasted longer than it had any right to. It exposed Styles' flaws while making him appear to struggle against a guy that lost in 22 seconds to Leon Slater. Styles might need to pay his dues but it feels unlikely he would need to pay them against a wrestler like Alonzo, especially if the goal is to present him as a hot prospect. This was a singles debut to forget for the "Phenomenal Son."

Written by Max Everett

Tonight's Knockouts tag team segment saw the best outcome for all the parties involved.

Earlier on "Impact," it became clear that Tasha Steelz's partnership with Special Agent 0 had come to an end. Allie and Kiera Hogan's Knockouts Tag Team Championship reign also came to an end less than two weeks ago. And as the old saying goes, when one door closes, another one opens.

Hogan and Allie had a fun little run as tag team partners. Their core character traits, though, vastly differ. Hogan has an extra layer of spice to her. Allie is quite possibly the most endearing member of the TNA roster. That's why I was happy to see them part ways tonight, with Hogan's spiciness coming to the surface to cast out her recent partner.

In turn, Hogan realigned herself with Steelz, with whom she previously enjoyed two KO Tag Team Title reigns as Fire N' Flava. For so long, we saw Steelz trapped behind a business attire and mentality in Order 4. Hogan, meanwhile, kept her diva-like attitude suppressed while she teamed with Allie. Together as Fire N' Flava, however, they can once again be their best selves (or at least what I consider to be the best versions).

On the other side, Allie has found a new ally in Shotzi Blackheart, a competitor of great unpredictability and fearlessness. Like Allie, it's hard to root against "The Ballsy Badass," too.

All in all, I'd argue that tonight's events panned out positively for all four women, even if Allie got stomped on in the process.

Written by Ella Jay

Is Harley Hudson "righteous" material? That seems to be an ongoing question across recent episodes of "Impact." However, the way the creative minds behind TNA are trying to tell it, it's sending me into a land of confusion. And for that, I have to hate it.

Here's the thing: I like both Hudson and The Righteous. Both of them bring different dynamics to the Knockouts and men's divisions, respectively. But it seems to me that there's a jump and a major skip with how they're handling this storyline. Take for example last week. Hudson asked to accompany the Righteous to the ring. They declined the offer, and then they lost to syX. Could she have been a major asset to them in their tables match? Perhaps.

Fast forward to this week, and the Righteous instruct Hudson to decide by next week if she'll either join them or not. How does that make sense?! Yes, they had Hudson's back at Bound for Glory, though it didn't do her any good, sad to say. So, what should we expect from this? I'm hoping this whole thing can do a 360 for the better. It has the juice — or dare I say the Kool-Aid — to suck us right back in. It just needs to be straightened out a bit.

Written by Brie Coder

Since "Impact" debuted on AMC earlier this year, no rivalry has been as strong as the one between Mustafa Ali and Jason Hotch. That feud seems to have been capped off tonight with Hotch earning a victory.

As is typical for a two-out-of-three falls match, tonight's main event started out fairly slow and picked up steam as things went along. Their hatred for each other was on full display, taking what opportunities they could find to enact brutal offense against their opponent, and there were plenty of counters to show how well they know each other.

Ali picked up the first fall with a roll-up, with Hotch picking up the next fairly quickly afterwards due to a DQ ruling against Ali. In the end, Hotch showed his resilience by outlasting the former Order 4 leader and picking up the win to keep his International title.

When the match was over, Hotch and Leon Slater met in the ring to celebrate the victory, with Slater putting over the fact that the two have risen up the card to become foundational members of the roster. It was a satisfying conclusion to a lengthy storyline, and I'm excited to see where Hotch's reign goes with Ali out of the picture.