‘TNA Wrestling: No Surrender 2024’ PPV Review
Welcome to this review of TNA’s No Surrender 2024 – which has a STACKED card featuring not one but TWO Countdown to… matches, the first of which saw The Rascalz (Trey Miguel & Zachary Wentz) defeat Speedball Mountain (Mike Bailey & Trent Seven); and the second saw The System (Eddie Edwards & Brian Myers) defeat KUSHIDA & Kevin Knight. As I’ve said previously TNA know how to put a pay-per-view together, hopefully this show continues that trend.
Match #1: Eric Young def. Frankie Kazarian
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
It’s a stalemate in the early going as both competitors match each other’s pace and offense. Kazarian gains the first advantage of the match with a back suplex, followed by a side Russian leg sweep. Kazarian goes for his signature springboard leg drop but Young rolls out of the way. Young begins to build momentum with a series of clotheslines. Young flies with a top rope elbow drop. Kazarian catches him with a slingshot cutter for a near fall. Kazarian spikes Young with Fade to Black but Young kicks out again. Kazarian begins arguing with the referee, allowing Young to pin him off the distraction.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #2: TNA World Tag Team Championship Match 3 in Best of 3 Series – ABC (Ace Austin & Chris Bey) def. Grizzled Young Vets (Zack Gibson & James Drake)
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
The Grizzled Young Vets gain the early advantage as Drake dropkicks Bey off the apron. Drake and Gibson drop Bey throat-first on the top rope. Gibson hits a vertical suplex, bringing Bey back into the ring from the apron. Bey dropkicks Gibson to create some much-needed separation. Bey is about to tag in Austin when Drake knocks him off the apron. Gibson goads Austin into entering the ring illegally, allowing Drake to choke Bey with his scarf. Minutes later, Austin is finally tagged into the match and he is on fire. Austin takes out both of the Grizzled Young Vets with a double springboard dropkick. Ausitn Soars to Glory, colliding with Gibson on the floor. Austin stomps Drake’s head into the mat but Gibson breaks the pin attempt. Bey hits a big Frog Splash on Gibson before Austin connects with a twisting Moonsault to Drake. The Grizzled Young Vets counter 1, 2 Sweet into a pair of submissions. Drake and Gibson hit an innovative Doomsday Device to Austin on the outside. Back in the ring, Drake goes Coast to Coast but Bey kicks out in time. Austin gets payback as he chokes Drake with the scarf. ABC hit 1, 2 Sweet to score the victory and retain the TNA World Tag Team Titles.
My Score: 4 out of 5
Match #3: PCO def. Kon (DQ)
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
PCO hits a clothesline out of the corner. PCO dives through the ropes but Kon swats him out of mid-air. Both men go toppling over the top rope to the floor. Kon avoids the De-animator, causing Kon to collide with the apron. Kon attacks him with a steel chair, causing the disqualification.
My Score: 2 out of 5
Match #4: Knockouts World Tag Team Championship – MK Ultra (Masha Slamovich & Killer Kelly) def. Decay (Rosemary & Havok)
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
Havok whips Rosemary into Slamovich in the corner. Rosemary bites Slamovich but when she hits the ropes, Kelly trips her up from the outside. MK Ultra gain control off the interference as they employ quick tags and bring the fight to Rosemary. Rosemary creates separation with a clothesline to Kelly. They exchange strikes in the middle of the ring before a running boot from Slamovich breaks things up. Rosemary counters the Snow Plow into a sit-down slam. Rosemary tags in Havok who goes on the attack. Havok spikes Kelly with the Death Valley Driver for two. Decay almost put Kelly away with double team offense but Slamovich breaks the pin. Slamovich counters a spear from Rosemary into the Snow Plow to win. MK Ultra are the new TNA World Tag Team Champions!
My Score: 3 out of 5
Match #5: Josh Alexander def. Simon Gotch
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
Both men exchange headbutts and chops in the early going. Gotch delivers a pinpoint knee strike to the chin of Alexander. Gotch leaps off the apron, driving his elbow into Alexander’s sternum. Back in the ring, Alexander tries to build momentum with a series of German suplexes but Gotch shuts him down with a big boot. Alexander hits a dropkick out of the corner to create some much needed separation between him and Gotch. The fight spills to the apron where Gotch crashes and burns on the senton. Alexander connects with his signature running crossbody, knocking Gotch to the floor. Both competitors make it back into the ring before the referee’s count of 10. Alexander turns him inside out with an Exploder suplex for two. Gotch pulls Alexander’s headgear around his throat, then locks in a submission. Alexander transitions into the Ankle Lock but Gotch breaks free. Alexander connects with the C4 Spike to win.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #6: TNA Championship No Surrender Rules Match – Moose def. Alex Shelley
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
The only way this match can end is if one of the competitors’ cornermen throws in the towel. Shelley locks in an armbar. The fight spills to the outside where Moose powerbombs Shelley into the hardest part of the ring. Shelley rakes the eyes, then takes the big man down with a chop block to the left knee. Shelley wraps a steel chair around the leg of Moose but Myers refuses to throw in the towel. Eddie grabs the chair out of Shelley’s hands, allowing Moose to drive him into the steel ring post. Shelley bends Moose’s finger with the use of a wrench. Turnabout is fair play as Moose traps Shelley’s hand in the turnbuckle and smashes it with a steel chair. KUSHIDA contemplates throwing in the towel but decides not to. Back in the ring, Shelley bounces back with a Dragon Screw. Shelley assaults him with a kendo stick. Eddie goads Shelley in, allowing him to pry the kendo stick out of his hands. Shelley powerbombs Moose from the top rope into a steel trash can below. Shelley hits a low blow, then locks in the Border City Stretch. Myers slides brass knuckles onto the fist of Moose as he strikes Shelley to break the hold. Shelley sends Moose crashing through a table in the corner. Shelley locks in a Border City Stretch with a steel chain. Knight launches himself off the back of KUSHIDA to take out The System on the outside. Alisha gets in the ring and the distraction allows Moose to spear Shelley, not once but twice. Moose wraps the steel chain around his own body and spears Shelley once again. Moose is about to spear him for a fourth time when KUSHIDA throws in the towel. The bell rings but Moose spears Shelley anyway.
My Score: 3.5 out of 5
Match #7: Knockouts World Championship – Jordynne Grace def. Gisele Shaw
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
Grace chases Shaw around the ring. Shaw attempts a dive but Grace cuts her off with an elbow. Grace hits a Fallaway Slam on the floor. Shaw uses the referee as a shield, then uses the opening to drive Grace into the turnbuckle. Grace bounces back with a series of powerslams, followed by an innovative spinning slam for two. Shaw soars with a twisting corkscrew off the top but it’s not enough. Shaw counters the Juggernaut Driver into a Spanish Fly off the apron to the floor. Shaw tosses her back into the ring for multiple two counts. Shaw goes for the Denouement but Grace counters into a Spinebuster. Moments later, Shaw successfully hits the Denouement but Grace grabs the bottom rope to break the pin. The action is back and forth with Grace gaining the upper-hand. Grace spikes her with the Juggernaut Driver to retain.
My Score: 2.5 out of 5
Match #8: X-Division Championship – Mustafa Ali def. Chris Sabin
The following is courtesy of tnawrestling.com:
Mustafa Ali challenges for the X-Division Championship in his TNA Wrestling debut. Sabin ties him up in a surfboard submission. Ali breaks free and disrespects Sabin. Sabin explodes with a running clothesline. Sabin picks Ali off the apron with a head scissors to the floor. Back in the ring, Sabin takes him down with a top rope crossbody. Ali turns the tide with a 450 Splash to the arm of Sabin. Moments later, Sabin creates an opening with a snap German suplex. Sabin hits his signature tornado DDT for two. Sabin locks in a Crossface but Ali makes it to the bottom rope. Sabin pulls back on the submission out of frustration. Sabin is caught in mid-air with a dropkick. Sabin avoids the 450 Splash, then sends Ali crashing into turnbuckle. Sabin wipes out Ali’s security with a crossbody from the top rope after they protected Ali at ringside. The Good Hands make their way to the ring to distract Sabin. Ali rolls him up with a handful of tights for two. Sabin hits the Clothesline from Hell, Michigan, followed by the Cradle Shock for a very close near fall. Ali counters a top rope Cradle Shock into a Sunset Flip. Ali connects with the 450 Splash to win the match and become the new X-Division Champion.
My Score: 3 out of 5
Final Verdict: 3.5/5
A pretty good pay-per-view, with some surprising title changes but not quite on a par with last month’s Hard to Kill. The highlight was easily the 3rd in the Best of 3 series tag team match, with PCO and Kon delivering the weakest match of the show. Everything else was good but not great, but even a good PPV from TNS is better than a great one from some other wrestling promotions! Overall this felt like something of a reset for the company… With new champs to take TNA’s weekly product forward into the rest of 2024.
