TNA NO SURRENDER HITS & MISSES (2/23): Sabin vs. Mustafa Ali, Moose vs. Shelley, Gotch vs. Josh Alexander, Young vs. Kazarian, PCO vs. KON,

TNA HITS AND MISSES NO SURRENDER 2024
FEBRUARY 23, 2024
NEW ORLEANS, LA. AT THE ALARIO CENTER
AIRED LIVE ON TNA+ & TRILLER TV

Opinion by John Laslo, PWTorch Contributor

COUNTDOWN

THE RASCALZ (Trey Miguel & Zach Wentz) vs. SPEEDBALL MOUNTAIN (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven) – MINOR HIT

I dug this match. It was a pretty quick one, but it furthered the MIke Bailey and Trent Seven teaming. I feel like this is the match that we were supposed to get at Hard to Kill, but due to travel issues with Seven, we didn’t get it. It was a fun little match, and a great way to warm the crowd up.

THE SYSTEM (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) w/ Alisha Edwards vs. KUSHIDA & KEVIN KNIGHT – MINOR HIT

TNA is really getting behind Brian Myers, which frankly, is nice to see. He’s been underrated for far too long. This match could have been the main event of a normal episode of Impact, and given the amount of spot light that all four of the wrestlers got, they all came out of this looking good.

MAIN SHOW

(1) ERIC YOUNG vs FRANKIE KAZARIAN – SLIGHT MISS

This was a number one contenders match between Eric Young and Frankie Kazarian, with a big beat down of the ref at the end of the match. It served well enough as the start of the show by two great veteran performers, but I also feel like I’ve seen this before. I get that they need to line up some people to face Moose for the World Championship, but this seems overdone. Kazarian being on a tear seems like it will end with him in the contenders spot, but I think it probably won’t be until Slammiversary or Bound for Glory.

(2) ABC (Chris Bey & Ace Austin) (c) vs. THE GRIZZLED YOUNG VETS (Zack Gibson & James Drake) – TNA World Tag Team Title match – HIT

Tag guy heaven. I was already impressed with the previous two matches that these teams have had. I didn’t realize that they could improve on what had been done. On any other night, on any other card, this would have been the match of the night. I am still astounded by the ability of these wrestlers.

(3) PCO vs. KON – MISS

Wow, so this was the match I was least looking forward to. I was not wrong. It was lumber, slow, and even though it was a short match, it felt like forever. The post match action and another threat to the referee core was interesting, and it’s making Kon into a legitimate monster threat. However, I am dreading this becoming an ongoing feud between Kon and PCO, I would rather both of them move on from this.

(4) DECAY (Rosemary & Havok) (c) vs. MK ULTRA (Killer Kelly & Masha Slamovich) – TNA Knockouts Tag Team Title match- HIT

This was a much better match than the one where MK Ultra lost the titles. This should have been the return match, and MK Ultra should never have lost the tag titles. Don’t get me wrong, I love Decay, and I’m glad they are back, but I don’t think they should have won the tag titles. We are in this weird place because neither team NEEDS the titles to be considered a threat, however, there isn’t really anyone else. There are three women’s tag teams in TNA, so it almost doesn’t matter who holds the titles, but that is a different issue entirely. I’m also expecting that Rosemary and Killer Kelly will continue to do the lean back sit up thing against each other for the rest of time. Right now, we need Masha Slammovich to build up a little bit so that she can be a big threat for the Women’s World Title.

(5) JOSH ALEXANDER vs. SIMON GOTCH – HIT

I did not know Simon Gotch, but to be honest, this is probably the match I was most interested in. TNA came in and built an emotional core to this match that felt real. Normally, I’m a big fan of contrasting styles to get good matches, but this was a great example of masters of a style putting on a classic. This was a technical masterpiece that built to a perfect crescendo. TNA is playing out Josh Alexander’s world beater goals. I think for the rest of his now extended contract, we’re just going to see a lot of one offs coming and and impressing the heck out of everyone against Alexander.

(6) MOOSE (c) (w/Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards & Alisha Edwards) vs. ALEX SHELLEY (w/Kushida & Kevin Knight) – TNA World Title match- HIT

I was really mad that this got moved so far down the card. Given the matches that came after, I understood it. I think making a towel match the signature match of ‘No Surrender’ is actually a really good idea. There were a lot of really tense spots where they played with the throwing in the towel thing. It was a really great match, and a great nod to the overproduced gimmicky past of TNA.

(7) JORDYNNE GRACE (c) vs. GISELE SHAW — TNA Knockouts Title match – HIT

I am in shock. I honestly thought that Gisele Shaw was going to get it. She has been on the rise for a very long time now, and has really worked her way up through the ranks. It was a good match, but a bit short. I think that the time was starting to show, and they took it from this match rather than the main event.

(8) CHRIS SABIN (c) vs. MUSTAFA ALI — TNA X Division Title match – HIT

Damn. Holy Damn. Mustafa Ali can GO. I’ve heard great things, and I’ve seen clips from his recent indie work. This though, was another level. I wasn’t thrilled that one of the World Titles wasn’t the main event, but this though, damn. TNA refocusing on the X-Division by making it the main event was perfect. Chris Sabin really got to break out the extra gears that he normally stays away from, but showed why he’s the Ten Time X-Division champ. Mustafa Ali pushed to the moon though, debuting as the main event and winning the X-Division title, that’s big. Of the three big WWE cast off signings (Ali, Ash by Elegance, and Nic Nemeth), Ali is the only one that I can see sticking around for a long time, but I’m afraid he’s on per appearance or short term. Only time (and possibly back office leaks) will tell.

FINAL THOUGHTS – HIT

After spending the last few weeks in that ‘I can barely think’ level of sick, this was a great card to be able to pour my attention into. This card was a masterclass on short build up and great delivery. None of these had a long time to get ready for, but the little build that happened was important and built interest. The only match that is even close is Shaw vs. Grace, but that was more about Shaw’s total career rather than a build for a single match.