TNA Impact’s October 22 episode was built around clear championship stakes, headlined by a 2-out-of-3 Falls Match for the TNA International Championship between titleholder Jason Hotch and Mustafa Ali. Best-of-three-falls matches are typically reserved for the biggest storylines on TNA programming, signaling that the promotion wanted this rivalry decided in definitive fashion rather than through a single pinfall or finish.
The broadcast also featured a number-one-contender match for the TNA X-Division Championship, with Rich Swann, KC Navarro, Cedric Alexander, and Fabian Aichner all vying for a future shot at the title. The X-Division has long been one of TNA’s signature attractions, prized for its fast-paced, high-flying style, and a four-way featuring names like Swann and Alexander — both established veterans with deep résumés across multiple promotions — gives the division an added layer of credibility heading into its next title picture.
Elsewhere on the card, Avery Styles squared off with Joe Alonzo in additional undercard action, the kind of matchup TNA often uses to continue building newer or developing talent on weekly television.
Taken together, the lineup reflects TNA’s current approach of leaning on its midcard titles — the International and X-Division Championships — to drive weekly storytelling rather than resting everything on a single main event. The International Championship in particular has become a prestige title under recent booking, and a best-of-three-falls stipulation suggests creative saw real value in making sure this chapter between Hotch and Ali felt consequential.
The X-Division number-one-contender match also matters for the bigger picture: whoever emerges from that four-way instantly becomes a focal point of the division heading into TNA’s next major push. With Swann, Navarro, Alexander, and Aichner all capable of working at a high level, the match was positioned as a showcase as much as a sorting mechanism for the next challenger.
As TNA continues to build out its weekly Impact tapings with an eye toward its next pay-per-view cycle, cards like this one — stacked with title implications across multiple weight classes and styles — underline how the company is trying to make every title picture feel active and moving. Fans invested in either the International or X-Division storylines will want to keep an eye on how both outcomes shape the weeks ahead on Impact.
Reporting and match coverage produced by the PW Exclusive team. Articles under this byline are drafted with AI assistance and reviewed before publication — see our editorial standards for how we work.
More from PW Exclusive Staff →
Join the discussion. Free MyPWE account — comment, react and get replies.
Create free account Log in