Countdown to Emergence

Frankie Kazarian defeated Kushida. The Time Splitter hooked an armbar on the floor, and Kaz tapped out until the referee broke the hold. Since the action was outside the ring, the submission didn’t count. Upon re-entry to the ring, Kazarian kicked the ropes up into Kushida’s groin. I think Kaz plotted that cheat by messing up the apron on purpose. As the referee pulled the apron back into place for safety reasons, Kaz struck low behind the ref’s back. That cheap tactic directly led to the Fade to Black piledriver for Kazarian to win.

ABC demanded a fight with First Class, and they were okay with putting the tag titles on the line. Rich Swan was unable to compete, so AJ Francis brought in KC Navarro as his partner.

TNA Digital Media Championship & International Heavyweight Championship: PCO defeated Matt Cardona’s mystery monster to retain both titles. Cardona wasn’t even there, but the reveal was “The Indian Lion” Shera. PCO took out his frustration to win via moonsault. Steph De Lander was proud of her husband.

Emergence

X-Division Championship in Ultimate X: Zachary Wentz defeated Mike Bailey, Alexander Hammerstone, Jason Hotch, Riley Osborne, and Laredo Kid to win the title. Bailey entered as champion. Osborne arrived from NXT. High-flying flow with Hammerstone as the power hoss. The finish came down to Bailey and Wentz on the X ropes scrambling for the prize. They battled for hand position, and Wentz knocked Bailey down to the mat. Wentz unhooked the title belt to claim victory. (Full details here.)

Steve Maclin defeated Eric Young. Rugged fight. Maclin kicked out of a piledriver. When Young went for a second piledriver at the urging of the crowd, Maclin countered for a jackknife pin to steal the win. Afterward, Young offered a handshake of respect.

Jordynne Grace, Jody Threat, & Dani Luna defeated Ash by Elegance, Alisha Edwards, & Masha Slamovich. Alisha appeared to get knocked out for real when receiving a dive on the floor. Medical staff carried her to the back. The action continued, but the match never really got back on track. Grace smashed Slamovich on a spinning backfist and a musclebuster. For the finish, Ash missed a swanton, and Threat capitalized for an F5 to win.

TNA World Tag Team Championship: Ace Austin & Chris Bey defeated AJ Francis & KC Navarro to retain the titles. The finish was a tricky scene. During the fisticuffs, Navarro tagged himself in, but Ace knocked him off the apron. Francis was unaware of the tag and chokeslammed Bey. When Top Dolla made the cover, the referee informed him that he was the illegal man. Ace struck amidst the confusion for The Fold on Francis. Navarro hit Sliced Bread on Ace. Navarro got cocky, then Bey rolled him up to win.

Moose, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, & Johnny Dango Curtis defeated Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Joe Hendry, & Mike Santana. The finish came down to a flurry of moves. Matt hit a Side Effect on Edwards. Moose speared Matt. Santana clocked Moose with a discus lariat. Myers unloaded a Roster Cut clothesline on Santana. Jeff landed a swanton on Myers. Dango planted Jeff on a Falcon Arrow. Hendry hit the Standing Ovation slam on Dango. Edwards dumped Hendry on a Blue Thunder Bomb. Matt connected on a Twist of Fate to Edwards. 1, 2, Moose pulled Matt off the pin out of the ring. Matt responded with a Twist of Fate on the floor. The referee was out of position and missed Edwards kick Matt in the gonads. A Boston Knee Party from Edwards to Matt sealed the deal for the System.

TNA World Championship in 60-minute Iron Man match: Nic Nemeth defeated Josh Alexander to retain the title. Nemeth scored a 2-0 lead half way through. Alexander evened the score on two pinfalls from consecutive C4 spike piledivers with 15 minutes left. High drama down the stretch. Nemeth hit the Danger Zone with under 1 minute remaining. Instead of a pin, he executed a C4 spike piledriver of his own on Alexander. The score was 3-2 with 22 seconds to go. Alexander couldn’t rise to his feet as time ran out. Nemeth’s celebration was interrupted by JBL. John Bradshaw Layfield entered the ring and whispered to Nemeth. The world champ nodded his head in agreement. JBL exited. Show over.

TNA updates Alisha Edwards’ injury status after being knocked out in match.

A scary moment occurred in the women’s trios tag contest at Emergence (Aug. 30, 2024). Alisha Edwards was knocked out during the match. This was a real injury situation and not part of a storyline.

Alisha teamed with Masha Slamovich and Ash by Elegance to take on Jordynne Grace, Jody Threat, and Dani Luna. In the early going, Alisha was on the receiving end of a dive on the outside. The impact knocked Alisha out, and her arms went stiff.

Here is a glimpse of the aftermath. Spitfire tried to set up the next move on Alisha, but she wasn’t moving. When listening to the audio, I’m going to give the benefit of the doubt to the fan shouting, “She’s dead.” Alisha’s character is a trickster, so it would be easy to think she was faking. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The match continued, and Alisha was carried to the back by medical personnel.

After the show, Gia Miller provided an injury update from TNA. “Alisha Edwards as well was rendered unconscious and was knocked out in her match. She is also placed under concussion protocols.”

Grace issued a statement on social media.

When we have live events, streaming in front of thousands of people, you want everything to go perfect.

Sometimes that doesn’t happen, and it’s no one’s fault. Freak accidents happen.

We love you so fucking much @MrsAIPAlisha.

When we have live events, streaming in front of thousands of people, you want everything to go perfect.

Sometimes that doesn’t happen, and it’s no one’s fault. Freak accidents happen.

We love you so fucking much @MrsAIPAlisha.

— Jordynne Grace (@JordynneGrace) August 31, 2024

Source: CageSideSeats