TNA’s final iMPACT! before the calendar flips didn’t just set the table for 2026 — it kicked the legs out from under it. A surprise battle royal winner punched his ticket to a TNA World Title match on the first iMPACT! of 2026, the TNA vs. NXT fight spiraled into a violent steel cage main event, and the closing image was the kind of betrayal that doesn’t wash off in a week. 

Here are the full results

• 20-Man No. 1 Contender’s Battle Royal (TNA World Title): Bear Bronson won (earning a TNA World Title shot on the first iMPACT! of 2026)  
• Léi Yǐng Lee & Xia Brookside def. Tessa Blanchard & Mila Moore  
• Steel Cage Match: Team TNA (Mike Santana, Jeff Hardy, Matt Hardy, Steve Maclin & Santino Marella) def. Team NXT (Channing “Stacks” Lorenzo, Lexis King, Tyson Dupont, Tyriek Igwe & Brooks Jensen)  

Holiday hangover energy, year-end stakes, and the road to Genesis

Bear Bronson shocks the world and walks into the title picture

The night opened with the 20-man battle royal to determine who challenges TNA World Champion Frankie Kazarian on the first iMPACT! of 2026 — and it immediately felt like TNA’s way of saying: new year, new threats, no mercy. 

The story inside the match wasn’t just eliminations — it was grudges flaring in real time. A.J. Francis took the opportunity to drag Rich Swann into the dirt, yanking him out and attacking him to keep his own agenda alive. 

Then came the swerve: Bear Bronson outlasted the chaos, surviving late pressure from Ryan Nemeth and Eric Young before eliminating Young to win it all. And with that, Bronson didn’t just win a match — he won a moment, the kind that turns “free agent” into “must-watch.” 

TNA later reinforced the stakes: Kazarian vs. Bronson is locked in for the Jan. 1, 2026 iMPACT!. 

Knockouts tag action — and the next challenger steps forward

The Knockouts division stayed front-and-center as Léi Yǐng Lee (the Knockouts World Champion) teamed with Xia Brookside to face Tessa Blanchard & Mila Moore. Lee and Brookside came away with the win, keeping the champion’s momentum rolling into the turn of the year. 

Elijah’s concert gets hijacked by violence

Elijah’s in-ring concert wasn’t allowed to breathe. The segment escalated into an attack that ended with Elijah laid out by a guitar shot, keeping that rivalry burning and leaving the audience with the unmistakable message: nobody gets a “fun” segment when grudges are this hot. 

Main event steel cage: Team TNA survives — but the real damage is what happened after

The TNA vs. NXT cage match felt like a collision of identities: TNA defending its house, NXT trying to prove it can take it. And before the match could even fully settle into its rhythm, it got ugly — Matt Hardy was attacked before entering, putting Team TNA in a hole. 

Then it got weirder — and darker. The Righteous became a factor, abducting Hardy during the chaos and turning the match from “brand war” into something more sinister. 

Still, Team TNA found a way through: the finish saw the TNA side secure the victory, with coverage noting Mike Santana pinning Brooks Jensen as the decisive moment. 

And then… the closing scene happened.

After Team TNA’s win, Arianna Grace turned on her father, Santino Marella, aligning with Stacks and leaving Santino laid out to end the show. It wasn’t just betrayal — it was humiliation, the kind that turns “next week” into a reckoning. 

Here is a quick rundown of the upcoming TNA Genesis PPV card

TNA Genesis takes place January 17, 2026 at the Curtis Culwell Center (Dallas/Garland, TX). 

Officially announced (as of the Dec. 18 iMPACT! fallout coverage):

• TNA World Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs. Mike Santana  
• JDC Retirement Match: JDC vs. Eddie Edwards  

Here is the updated card for the first TNA iMPACT! show of 2026

TNA iMPACT! — January 1, 2026 (announced):

• TNA World Championship: Frankie Kazarian (c) vs. Bear Bronson  

What to watch

• Bronson vs. Kazarian: Is this a “welcome to the deep end” defense for Kazarian… or the start of a real 2026 breakout run?  
• Who ordered the kidnapping? The Hardy situation isn’t just a side angle — it’s the kind of thing that can swallow an entire tag division if it keeps escalating.  
• Santino’s revenge: Arianna and Stacks didn’t just turn heel — they declared war on family, and that’s the sort of angle TNA loves to stretch into something messy and memorable.  

Closing thoughts

Dec. 18 felt like TNA drawing a hard line under 2025: new contenders rising fast, invasions getting violent, and the kind of betrayal that changes how you look at a character forever. If this was the final step into the new year, the first iMPACT! of 2026 isn’t just “another episode” — it’s a checkpoint, because now the title scene, the tag scene, and the TNA/NXT fallout all have consequences waiting at the door.  

Make sure to subscribe to our Late Night Crew Wrestling YouTube Channel. Follow @yorkjavon, @kspowerwheels & @LateNightCrewYT on X.