Up until a few years ago, the TNA Plus Specials can best be described as hit or miss with many of the previous events not really having any bearing on the storylines that were told on IMPACT television or on PPV, leading many to wonder what the purpose was of having these shows in the first place.

Then somewhere between late 2020 into 2021, a different direction was taken when it came these specials as many of the matches that took place actually saw a lot of storyline development and title switches which gave the shows a sense of importance in terms of the outcomes and how they could affect the storylines being told going into the next episodes of IMPACT.

2021 was a year in which these specials were taken serious by the fans and became must see events…well at least some of them. His my ranking of all of the TNA Plus Specials in 2021 from worst to best.

#11. Hardcore Justice 

Considering it had been six years since the last Hardcore Justice took place and the fact that the show was at least in kayfabe booked by ECW Legend, Tommy Dreamer you would expect the show to deliver, but looking at where this show is placed on the list you can probably tell how things went…Ok first let’s start off with the positives.

The triple threat tag match between TJP & Fallah Bahh, Ace Austin & Madman Fulton and Josh Alexander & Petey Williams was a great way to kick off the show, the Mystery Crate match between Matt Cardona and Johnny Swinger was hilarious, the Knockouts Number One Contender Weapons match was good as was Deonna vs. Jazz for the Knockouts Championship even though the outcome was super predictable and the main event itself was ok for what it was…Now let’s get to the negatives.

The Chairly Legal match between Shera and Hernandez was uninteresting, Doc Gallows managed to make Black Taurus look like a jobber in a very one sided match that almost went nine minutes, Sami Callihan squashed Sam Beale in a match that went a little over four minutes and as mentioned previously the outcome to the Knockouts title between Purrazzo and Jazz was predictable and the main event was ok which isn’t something you want to say about a main event match in 2021.

Not this show isn’t entriely bad…of course not, but what drags it to the bottom of this list are the matches that meant nothing or were unintentional squashes and the fact that nothing of real importance really came out of this match aside from Su’s return and Tenille Dashwood becoming number one contender…Simply put it, there’s a reason we haven’t had another Hardcore Justice show after this one.

#10. Genesis

Much like the previous entry, the outcome for many of the matches at this event didn’t really mean much albeit with the ability of hindsight, having said that the matches on this card were much easier to enjoy compared to the ones at Hardcore Justice.

The majority of the show centered around the return of the Super X Cup tournament which saw a number of impressive performances from the likes of Cousin Jake, Crazzy Steve, KC Narravo, Blake Christian and eventual winner Ace Austin…Just a shame winning the tournament didn’t give the winner a shot at the X Division or World Title.

Outside of the tournament the only other matches that took place was Jordynne Grace taking on her former tag team partner and wrestling legend, Jazz and the main event between Willie Mack and Moose in an ‘I Quit’ match.

While the match between Grace and Jazz was okay for a first time ever bout, it’s the main event that’s one of the biggest highlights of the show with Moose relentless beating the crap out of Willie Mack for most of the 26 minutes that made up the match with the ending sequence seeing then world champion, Rich Swann begging Moose to stop before giving the former football star a shot at the world title which leads to Moose saying ‘I Quit’ realizing that he got what he wanted and that’s to become number one contender for the world championship.

Overall, a very forgettable show with an number of great performances.

#9. No Surrender

No Surrender could basically be seen as a mixed bag of an event with saw some important very things come out of it.

Things went started off alright with Decay beating the team of Larry D, Acey Romero and Tenille Dashwood and the makeshift team of Hernandez & Brian Myers were able to defeat Eddie Edwards and Matt Cardona in a tag bout that lasted almost 10 minutes.

From here the show was cooking on all cylinders as the former Cousin Jake now Jake Something defeated Deaner in an emotional grudge match, Josh Alexander won the first ever Triple Threat Revolver match to win a shot at the X Division Championship, Fire N’ Flava retained the Knockouts Tag Team Championships in No Disqualification match against Havok and Neveah, TJP retained his X Division title against Rohit Raju and the team of Jordynne Grace, Jazz and ODB defeated Deonna Purrazzo, Susan and Kimber Lee in a servable six women tag team match.

And now let’s talk about the stuff that drags this show down…The three way tag match for the IMPACT Tag Team Championships saw Chris Sabin and James Storm, AEW’s Isiah Kassidy and Marq Quen aka Private Party challenge Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson for the titles and while the action was fine…the fact of the matter is that the inclusion of Sabin and Storm into this match was soley to give the Good Brothers someone to pin in order to prevent Private Party from looking weak and it’s safe to say this among other things were the early stages of how the partnership between AEW and IMPACT Wrestling was going to be one sided from a booking perspective.

The main event saw Rich Swann defending his IMPACT World Championship against Tommy Dreamer who was turning 50 years old around the time and Rich wanted to reward the former ECW Champion with title match for all the years of work Tommy has done for the business and well the match was…meh at best or sluggish at worse as Swann’s high flying style of action had to be slowed down to in order to prevent the ECW Legend from getting completely gas throughout the 15 minute title match.

However, the biggest thing news to come out of No Surrender came after the show ended as a video package was splashed onto are screens with images of Tokyo, the New Japan logo and the then team of Juice Robinson and David Finlay walking towards the screen which indicated that NJPW and Impact would be partnering up again for the first time in 11 years.

#8. Against All Odds 

A little over a month after Under Siege (more on that show later), IMPACT Wrestling aired Against All Odds which like so many of the other shows we’ve discussed already have been a mixed bag.

The opening tag team street fight was good, the match between Joe Doering and Satoshi Kojima was also good and W. Morrissey continued to destroy wrestlers on the TNA Roster with Rich Swann being the unforunate victim this time around.

Violent By Design was able to retain their IMPACT World Tag Team Titles against Decay and the Knockouts truly delivered on this night with Tenille Dashwood beating long time rival Jordynne Grace, plus both Fire N’ Flava and Deonna Purrazzo retained their Knockouts tag team and singles titles respectively.

The only low point on the card would have to be the no contest finish to the five way X Division contender’s match and the main event which saw Kenny Omega retaining the Impact World Championship thanks in no small part to the interference of Mike and Nick Jackson aka Generation Me/The Young Bucks.

While most of the critics tended to rank this show highly, to be honest it was a good show that could have been great with the only thing watering it down being the outside interference in the main event…Once again a So/So event with a few matches that stand out.

#7. Emergence

A good TNA Plus Special this was as this event came off the heels of a jammed backed Slammiversary PPV where so much had changed.

The first half of the show saw rivalries come to ahead as Matt Cardona defeated Rohit Raju to kick things off, Steve Maclin defeated Petey Williams, Deonna Purrazzo and Matthew Rehwoldt defeated Trey Miguel and Melina in mix tag team action and the Good Brothers retained their tag team titles in a three way match.

The biggest highlights to come out of this show saw Ace Austin win a four way match to become the number one contender for the IMPACT World Championship, Christian Cage retaining his IMPACT World title against Brian Myers in the main event and of course the instant classic (no pun intended) match between Jake Something and Josh Alexander for the X Division Championship.

Outside of those matches, the eight person tag match was fine and match between Taylor Wilde and Madison Rayne was servable, but overall a good show.

#6. Under Siege

As one of a few new TNA Plus Specials in the company, Under Siege had to really deliver if it was to continue on as a yearly event…safe to say they succeeded.

The two opening contests were good for what they were but after the four way number one contender’s tag team match which was won by Ace Austin and Madman Fulton as well as W. Morrissey’s dominant victory over Willie Mack the show really began to pick up.

Fire N’ Flava regained their Knockouts Tag Titles from Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering, Josh Alexander and Bullet Club’s El Phantasmo put on a match of the year quality bout for the X Division Championship and Deonna Purrazzo retained her Knockouts Title against Havok.

The last two matches saw the team of Eddie Edwards, David Finlay and Juice Robinson defeat the Good Brothers and Kenny Omega in six man tag team action with Edwards being the first and only person on the TNA roster to defeat Omega during the AEW/IMPACT partnership and the main event saw Moose win a shot at Omega’s IMPACT World Championship after surviving five other competitors to do so…Really good stuff.

#5. Victory Road

A month after Emergence, IMPACT began it’s road to Bound For Glory with the return of Victory Road and it did kick things off on the right track.

Maclin defeated two former X Division champions in Petey Williams and TJP in a three way bout, Laredo Kid picked up the win in a five person scramble match plus the Bullet Club, Matt Cardona and Taylor Wilde defeated their rivals in FinJuice, Rohit Raju and Tenille Dashwood on this night.

Moose and W. Morrissey defeated the former enemies turn tag partners Eddie Edwards and Sami Callihan in tag team action as did Rosemary and Havok and the Good Brothers who retained their Tag Team Titles against Savannah Evans & Tasha Steelz and Rich Swann & Willie Mack respectively.

The biggest highlights of the show were the final two matches: Josh Alexander once again proved why he was one of the best X Division champions in recent history with a banger of a match against Chris Sabin and the main event which saw Christian Cage and Ace Austin putting on a great match for the World Title.

The show ends with Josh Alexander coming down to the ring to cash in ‘Option C’ and thereby punching his ticket for a shot at the world championship in the main event at Bound For Glory.

#4. Sacrifice 

An often forgotten gem when it comes the IMPACT Plus Specials, Sacrifice was the last stop before the up-and-coming Rebellion pay per view as such some loose ends and new angles had to be addressed which this show does quite nicely.

The first half of the show could be seen as weak compared to the second half as the first three matches mostly consisted on tag team matches with which ranged from serious in ring action to over the top silliness and the Hold Harmless match (whatever that means) between Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers was good match between two solid workers.

The second half of the show was filmed to the brim with championship matches as Fire N’ Flava and Deonna Purrazzo retained their titles whilst new champions were crowned with Ace Austin winning the X Division Championship, David Finlay and Juice Robinson won the IMPACT World Tag Team Championships and in the main event, Rich Swann picked up the biggest win of his career defeating Moose to become the company’s first ever Undisputed World Champion thus setting the stage for the Winner Takes All main event of that year’s Rebellion show.

#3. Knockouts Knockdown

Ok, now we’ve reached the point of this list were all of these Specials can be seen as some of best of the entire of year if not some of the best TNA Plus Specials in company history.

The first Knockouts Knockdown since 2017 started things off with a 10 bell salute followed by a tribute video later in the show to commermorate the passing of Daffney Unger was tragically died mere weeks before the event at the age of 46.

From here, the fans bared witness to a tournament with the winner getting a future title shot at the Knockouts Championship and the end result saw a number of star making performances from names like Rachael Ellering, Lady Frost, Chelsea Green, Tasha Steelz and eventual winner Mercedes Martinez.

Elsewhere on the card, Savannah Evans won The Daffney Memorial Monster’s Ball match which also saw some incredible in-ring performances from all the ladies involved, Deonna Purrazzo beat Masha Slamovich before the latter was given a IMPACT Wrestling contract by Gail Kim and the main event saw Rosemary and Havok retain their Knockouts Tag Team Titles against Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood of The Influence.

Add in the announcement of Awesome Kong being the next inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame at Bound For Glory and as well as Jessica McKay and Cassie Lee aka The IInspiration (The IIconics in WWE) making their debut at BFG…and you’ve got an impressive night of women’s wrestling.

#2. Homecoming

Continuing the theme of TNA doing great one night only tournaments…step right up Homecoming 2021 in a which a number of matches consisting of mixed tag teams fight for the honor of being crowned the 2021 IMPACT Wrestling Homecoming King and Queen.

The tournament saw teams like Petey Williams and Jordynne Grace, Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona, Rachael Ellering and Tommy Dreamer, and the “team” of Brian Myers and legendary wrestling valet, Missy Hyatt and while the overall tournament itself doesn’t lead to anything major down the road it’s still a great concept to pair wrestlers who have a lot or little in common and see what happens next.

In the end, Deonna Purrazzo and “The Drama King” Matthew Rehwoldt (making his IMPACT Debut) won the tournament and became the inaugural Queen and King, but that’s not the only thing this show had to offer.

Homecoming saw Deaner defeat Willie Mack in a servable bout, Josh Alexander retained his X Division Championship against Black Taurus in what was easily match of the night and in the main event Eddie Edwards put his rivalry with W. Morrissey (aka Big Cass aka Big Bill in WWE & AEW respectively) to rest in a soild hardcore match.

Yes, many of the pairings are random especially if you didn’t watch any episodes of IMPACT leading up to the event, but the action throughout and the concept itself was done really well and makes it a fanastic one time TNA Plus Special.

 

#1. Turning Point

Fresh off the heels of that year’s Bound For Glory, Turning Point was a good sequel to one of the company’s biggest events of the year with many of the matches and moments on the show proving that.

Chris Sabin vs. Ace Austin in the opener bout is always a great to start off the show and The IInspiration had a much better match against Decay for the Knockouts Tag Titles than they did at BFG.

W. Morrissey beat Matt Cardona in a near nine minute match, Mickie James retained the Knockouts Championship over Mercedes Martinez, Trey Miguel remained the X Division Champion over Laredo Kid and Steve Maclin and in the main event, Moose successfully retains his newly won IMPACT World Championship over former friend, Eddie Edwards in a Full Metal Mayhem match.

The show is not perfect as matches like Rich Swann vs. VSK and Violent By Design vs. Heath and Rhino aren’t exactly on par with everything else on the card…But, the previously mentioned matches that were good-to-great and the preshow DMC match between Chelsea Green and Jordynne not to mention the shocking debut of Jonah (aka WWE’s Bronson Reed) is what elevates this show as one of the best TNA Plus Specials of 2021.

And that’s my list, what do you think was the best TNA Plus Special of 2021? Leave your thoughts down below. Be sure to follow Lace ‘Em Up on X @laceemupoffice and you can follow me on X @hakeemfullerton and I’ll see you in the next article.