TNA and NXT had a showdown on Impact (Dec. 18, 2025). There was a lot going on with the steel cage match, Matt Hardy being kidnapped, and Arianna Grace betraying Santino Marella.
The steel cage match was
War Games style, but there weren’t many weapons nor any blood. It was straight fisticuffs for the most part.
Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Lexis King, Tyson Dupont, Tyriek Igwe, and Brooks Jensen were the invaders from NXT. Mike Santana, Matt Hardy, Jeff Hardy, Steve Maclin, and Santino Marella represented TNA. The motley crew cut a wild promo with classic Survivor Series vibes.
When it was time for the main event, Santana arrived first for his team driving a low rider in homage to Eddie Guerrero in El Paso, Texas.
NXT had the man advantage. The match was pretty standard with NXT gaining the edge, then the next TNA wrestler coming in hot. A monkey wrench was thrown into the formula when Matt Hardy arrived in the sixth spot. Tyriek Igwe jumped the line to smash Hardy from behind. Igwe pounded Hardy’s skull into the steel steps. Hardy never recovered, and he lied on the floor as the match progressed.
After Stacks arrived in the ninth spot, familiar music played for The Righteous. Vincent and Dutch grabbed Hardy’s body to carry to the back. The Righteous’ motives were questionable, and Hardy did not return.
Santino was the final man on the scene, and the match was officially underway for a potential finish via pinfall or submission. Without Hardy, TNA was down in odds 5 to 4.
There were two big moves in the match. Maclin hung Stacks on the cage for a spear.
Maclin climbed to the top of the cage with the intention of a flying headbutt, but he was cut off by NXT goons. Santana and Santino came from down under for a huge Tower of Doom suplex.
That was the beginning of the end. Santino hit the Cobra on Jensen, and Santana unloaded the Spin the Block lariat to pin Jensen for the win. TNA was victorious despite the odds.
The match was over, however, the story didn’t end there.
Bodies cleared out of the cage leaving Santino alone to confront his son-in-law. Santino had a twinkle in his eye to get payback on Stacks. That’s when Arianna Grace entered the cage. She sidled up to her father to deescalate the tension with a hug. Then the unthinkable happened. Arianna kicked Santino in the groin. She betrayed her father in favor of her husband. Sonna ma gun!
Arianna locked the cage door behind her, so Stacks had free reign to pummel Santino with punches. Maclin climbed back into the cage, and Stacks scurried away. As Arianna exited past Santana, she accused him of being a deadbeat dad just like Santino.
Santino sat on the steps with a broken heart.
Arianna’s swerve to her father was a gut punch. This is professional wrestling after all, so I thought there might be a small chance that she would help NXT win. I didn’t expect the heel turn to happen like this. It’s now reasonable to assume that Arianna was the mole double-crossing TNA to help NXT gain access for the invasion angle.
The show closed with a scene from The Righteous explaining their plot to Matt Hardy. I still don’t know what’s going on here, but I think Vincent and Dutch revealed themselves to be heels, as if there was any doubt. Vincent believes that the Hardys can ascend even higher to become immortal. Is the way to test this theory by murdering the Hardys? Surely this can lead to a Broken Universe fight.
TNA posted video of the full steel cage match for your enjoyment.
Share your thoughts on TNA beating NXT inside the steel cage, Arianna Grace betraying her father, and The Righteous’ plans for the Hardys.
