TNA iMPACT! News – Righteous Deletion Shenanigans, TNA Knockouts TV Championship Tournament

Jeff Hardy brought back a memorable piece of TNA history during The Hardys’ latest title defense.

A cinematic Righteous Deletion match, filmed at the Hardy Compound, aired on the July 23 episode of TNA iMPACT!. Matt and Jeff Hardy defended the TNA World Tag Team Championships against The Righteous (Vincent and Dutch).

The match featured plenty of trademark Hardy Compound insanity, including Matt Hardy’s wife, Reby, and the couple’s children getting physically involved by hitting moves on Dutch inside the ring.

Following a fireworks-filled battle, The Righteous threw both Hardys into the Lake of Reincarnation. Matt and Jeff eventually resurfaced, but Jeff took things a step further by diving back into the lake. When he emerged again, he had transformed into his “Antichrist” persona and was carrying the custom TNA Immortal Championship belt he used during his 2010 run as TNA World Champion.

The bout reached its climax when Jeff climbed to the top of a forklift and launched a Swanton Bomb onto both members of The Righteous, allowing The Hardys to successfully retain the TNA World Tag Team Championships.

The TNA Knockouts Television Championship tournament continued on the July 23 edition of TNA iMPACT!, with two more first-round matches shaping the bracket.

In one of the night’s featured bouts, Elayna Black squared off against Wendy Choo in a match that reached the 10-minute time limit, resulting in a draw. The action took a chaotic turn when reigning TNA Knockouts World Champion Xia Brookside appeared at ringside and targeted Black. Choo attempted to protect her opponent by stepping in front of the champion, but Brookside struck Choo as well once she turned her back.

Because neither competitor was able to secure a victory before the time expired, both Black and Choo were eliminated from the tournament. As a result, M by Elegance automatically advances to the semifinals with a bye.

In the other tournament match, Jada Stone picked up a win over Alisha Edwards to move on to the next round. Stone will now face Jody Threat in the semifinals as the tournament to crown the inaugural TNA Knockouts Television Champion continues.

Jason Hotch will officially challenge for the TNA International Championship after deciding not to give up his title opportunity.

Current champion Mustafa Ali recently had members of the TNA roster vote on who should be next in line for his championship. The poll resulted in an unexpected winner, as fellow Order 4 member Jason Hotch earned the shot over the rest of the field.

Ali, however, was far from pleased with the outcome. After learning the results, he insisted that the locker room had only voted for Hotch as a joke and urged his stablemate to meet with management and relinquish the opportunity.

Before making a decision, Hotch crossed paths with former X-Division Champion Leon Slater outside of the management office. Slater encouraged him to accept the challenge, telling Hotch that the roster genuinely believes he has earned the opportunity.

Hotch also received a phone call from his wife, who echoed that advice and urged him not to walk away from the biggest title match of his career.

With that support behind him, Hotch informed Ali that he would not be forfeiting the championship opportunity. The TNA International Championship match between Mustafa Ali and Jason Hotch is now officially set for the July 30 episode of TNA iMPACT!.

You can check out the updated lineup for next week’s episode of TNA iMPACT! below:

* The System vs. Ricky Sosa & Leon Slater
* TNA Knockouts Television Title Tournament: Indi Hartwell vs. Thea Hail
* TNA International Championship: Mustafa Ali (c) vs. Jason Hotch

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