10 Great Impact Wrestling Midcard Matches (That Were Overshadowed By The Main Event)

Since its debut show in 2002, Impact Wrestling (formerly known as TNA) has delivered its fair share of great matches over the years. Fans of Impact can point to a number of bangers from across the promotion’s history from modern classics like Josh Alexander vs. Mike Bailey to legendary bouts like Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe.

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That said, not every great match gets the credit it deserves. There are loads of Impact shows with awesome midcard matches that end up getting overshadowed by whatever’s going on in the main event, be it a notable plot twist, a marquee matchup, or just a main event that really delivered in the in-ring department. Let’s take a look at 10 of these overlooked matchups, and the main events that dominated the conversation that night.

10 Trey Miguel vs. El Phantasmo vs. Steve Maclin (Bound For Glory, 10/23/2021)

The main event of 2021’s Bound for Glory was a big one that kicked off the following year of storytelling. Cashing in Option C of the X-Division Championship, Josh Alexander defeated Christian Cage for the Impact World Champion in the main event only for Moose to cash in his Gauntlet for the Gold trophy to get a cheap World Title win over Alexander. Meanwhile, in the midcard, Trey Miguel, El Phantasmo, and Steve Maclin fought over the now-vacant X-Division belt in an exciting match, with Miguel winning the bout to become the top star of the division.

9 AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels (Destination X, 7/8/2012)

It’s tough to imagine a match between standout career rivals AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels being overshadowed, but this Last Man Standing match is a victim of circumstance. For one thing, as good as it was, it was part of the bizarre, infamous Claire Lynch storyline. On top of that, the main event of Destination X was a big one. X-Division mainstay Austin Aries made it to the main event scene, and in this classic match proved successful in dethroning Bobby Roode, who at the time was the longest-reigning Impact World Champion in history, at 256 days.

8 Abyss vs. Sabu (Unbreakable, 9/11/2005)

Speaking of AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels, at Unbreakable 2005 they — along with fellow rival Samoa Joe — delivered one of the greatest Impact matches of all time in their three-way main event for Daniels’ X-Division Title. It has every right to overshadow the rest of the card, but Abyss put on a great match in the midcard that night.

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Taking part in a No DQ match, Abyss and ECW legend Sabu put on a fun hardcore match with lots of creatively violent spots, albeit one that nobody’s ever going to talk about thanks to the main event.

7 Samoa Joe vs. Monty Brown vs. Rhyno (Hard Justice 2006)

In the midcard of Hard Justice 2006, Samoa Joe, Rhyno, and terminally underrated Impact star Monty Brown tangled in a three-way Falls Count Anywhere match, which proved to be a brutal brawl. Even on paper it sounds more exciting than the main event here, with aging legend Sting challenging frequent main eventer and Impact founder Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World Heavyweight Title. While the match was fairly well-received, what drew a lot of attention in the main event was the heel turn of Christian Cage, who turned on sting to help Jarrett get the win.

6 Brian Cage vs. Dezmond Xavier vs. DJ Z vs. Ej Hijo Del Fantasma vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Trevor Lee (Redemption, 4/22/2018)

Redemption 2018 brought an exciting three-way main event as Lucha Brothers Pentagon Jr. and Fenix challenged Austin Aries for the Impact World Title in a three-way match that had Pentagon emerging as the new Champion. But just as exciting was the six-way match in the middle of the show. Despite there not exactly being any stakes, the match proved to be a highlight of Redemption thanks to a strong array of talent that included Brian Cage, El Hijo Del Fantasma (a.k.a. WWE’s Santos Escobar), and NJPW star Taiji Ishimori.

5 James Storm vs. Chris Harris (Sacrifice, 5/13/2007)

When showcasing midcard matches, it can be easy to balk at a main event featuring the bigger stars, but Sacrifice 2007 really delivered with its three-way match for the NWA World Title. With Christian Cage defending against Sting and Kurt Angle, fans were not disappointed with this action-packed match. But earlier on the card was a much more emotional affair as the former America’s Most Wanted — Impact’s first great tag team — exploded, with Chris Harris and James Storm putting on a ridiculously violent Texas Death Match.

4 Beer Money Inc. vs Abyss & Matt Morgan vs. LAX vs. Team 3D (Bound For Glory 4, 10/12/2008)

Over a year after that Texas Death Match, James Storm found a new partner in Bobby Roode, and as Beer Money Inc. they successfully defended the Impact World Tag Team Title against some of the company’s best duos in the company’s most violent stipulation: the Monster’s Ball Match. Unfortunately, this happened at Bound for Glory 2008 — the same night as the formation of the Main Event Mafia.

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In the main event, Samoa Joe defended the Impact World Title against the newly heel Sting in a fun match that included that infamous dropkick down the stairs that didn’t actually injure Joe. The match would end with Kevin Nash also turning heel and helping Sting win the belt, with the MEM revealing its existence shortly after.

3 Gail Kim vs. Tessa Blanchard (Rebellion, 4/28/2019)

The Impact World Tag Team Title main evented 2019’s Rebellion as the months-long rivalry between Santana and Ortiz of LAX and The Lucha Brothers led to an awesomely violent Full Metal Mayhem Match to end the feud. But lower on the card was another important bout: Gail Kim’s retirement match. Taking on would-be Impact top star Tessa Blanchard, Kim passed the torch in her hometown of Toronto in an intense match before the seven-time Knockouts Champion settled into a backstage role in the company.

2 Petey Williams vs. Chris Sabin (Turning Point, 12/5/2004)

Impact’s second ever traditional pay-per-view,Turning Point 2004’s main event focused on the tag team division, with America’s Most Wanted taking on Triple X — Elix Skipper and Christopher Daniels — in a cage match where the losing team had to split up. It’s one of Impact’s all-time great bouts, famous for Skipper’s iconic cage walk hurricanrana off of the Six Sides of Steel. Earlier on the card, however, X-Division Champion Petey Williams defended the title against Chris Sabin, with the two stealing the show in an 18-minute effort.

1 AJ Styles vs. Christian Cage (Genesis, 11/19/2006)

Genesis 2006 offered two dream matches, albeit one more high-profile than the other. In the main event, Kurt Angle made his pay-per-view debut taking on Samoa Joe and ending Joe’s 18-month undefeated streak in spectacular fashion. Lower on the card, however, there was another first-time (on television) matchup as AJ Styles wrestled a match against Christian Cage. For many fans, Angle/Joe was the better match, but Styles/Cage is also worthy of praise as the two put on a strong effort.