| Rebellion | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Promotional poster featuring various TNA wrestlers | |||
| Promotion | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | ||
| Date | April 27, 2025 | ||
| City | Los Angeles, California | ||
| Venue | Galen Center | ||
| Pay-per-view chronology | |||
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| Rebellion chronology | |||
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The 2025Rebellion was aprofessional wrestlingpay-per-view (PPV)event produced byTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It took place on April 27, 2025, at theGalen Center inLos Angeles, California. It was the seventh event under theRebellion chronology and featured wrestlers fromWWE'sNXT brand due to the ongoing partnership between the two promotions.
Ten matches were contested at the event, including two on the pre-show. In the main event,Joe Hendry defeatedFrankie Kazarian and NXT'sEthan Page to retain theTNA World Championship. In other prominent matches, The Nemeth Brothers (Nic Nemeth andRyan Nemeth) defeatedThe Hardys (Jeff Hardy andMatt Hardy) to win theTNA World Tag Team Championship,Masha Slamovich defeatedTessa Blanchard to retain theTNA Knockouts World Championship, andMike Santana defeatedMustafa Ali in aFalls Count Anywhere match. The event is also notable for the TNA debut ofIndi Hartwell and an appearance by NXT wrestlerTrick Williams.
Rebellion is aprofessional wrestling event produced byTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling. It is annually held during the month of April, and the event was first held in 2019.[1] On December 4, 2024, TNA announced Rebellion would take place on April 27, 2025, at theGalen Center inLos Angeles, California.[2]
The event featuredprofessional wrestling matches that involve different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds andstorylines. Wrestlers portrayedvillains,heroes, orless distinguishable characters in scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.[3]
Before the March 27 episode ofTNA Impact! went on air,The System (Eddie Edwards,Alisha Edwards,Brian Myers,JDC, andTNA X Division ChampionMoose) came to the ring for a promo. There, Edwards lambasted his teammates for what he perceived to be poor performances atSacrifice. In particular, he singled out Moose for his title defense in aladder match againstJeff Hardy, calling him out for beingafraid of heights.[4] As such, Edwards told Moose he needed to "face his fears" by announcing he would defend the X Division Championship at Rebellion in anUltimate X match.[5] On the April 3TNA Impact!, TNA revealedLeon Slater,Matt Cardona, andEl Hijo del Vikingo as the first three participants in the match.[6] Two weeks later on April 17,KC Navarro defeatedCody Deaner to qualify for the Ultimate X match.[7] On April 24,Sidney Akeem, who faced Moose atUnbreakable in a non-title match several days ago, was confirmed as the final participant in the match.[8]
At Sacrifice,TNA World ChampionJoe Hendry,TNA World Tag Team ChampionMatt Hardy,Elijah, Leon Slater, andNic Nemeth defeated The System (Eddie Edwards, Brian Myers, and JDC) andThe Colóns (Eddie Colón andOrlando Colón) in a10-man tag team steel cage match. However, after the match, Nic and his brotherRyan Nemeth, locked themselves in the cage with Hardy, proceeding to beat him down and cut his head open while preventing their teammates from stopping them.[9][10] The Nemeths would explain their actions on the subsequent episode ofTNA Impact!, claiming that Matt and his brother Jeff were taking all the credit for TNA's recent resurgence rather than Nic. They'd later proclaim that they are the best brother tag team in wrestling history.[11][12] The following week, Nic defeated Slater in a singles match before he and Ryan concocted a post-match beatdown. The Hardys would run out to save Slater where'd they put a challenge out to The Nemeths for a TNA World Tag Team Championship match at Rebellion.[13][14] TNA would make the match official later that night.[15]
After making her TNA return atFinal Resolution,Tessa Blanchard vowed to retake what she called "her" Knockouts division. On the February 20 episode ofTNA Impact!, Blanchard would have her first interaction withTNA Knockouts World ChampionMasha Slamovich, who took her place in a match after Blanchard refused to compete.[16][17] On theTNA Impact!, following Sacrifice, Blanchard confronted Slamovich at the beginning of the show, letting her know that she would be targeting her title.[11][12] The following week, Slamovich defeatedNXT'sJacy Jayne in a non-title match with Blanchard banned from ringside. However, immediately following the match, Blanchard and Jayne attacked Slamovich before being run off byXia Brookside andLéi Ying Lee.[13][14] The week after, Blanchard teamed with Fatal Influence (Jayne andJazmyn Nyx) to defeat Slamovich, Brookside, and Lee in asix-woman tag team match, with Blanchard pinning Slamovich to earn the victory.[18][19] Later that night, TNA announced that Slamovich would defend the TNA Knockouts World Championship against Blanchard at Rebellion.[20]
AtBound for Glory on October 26, 2024,Frankie Kazarian won theCall Your Shot Gauntlet, earning a championship match of his choosing at any time for one calendar year. Later that night, Kazarian served as the special guest referee for theTNA World Championship match between champion Nic Nemeth and Joe Hendry. Kazarian attempted to invoke his championship opportunity during the match to no avail.[21][22] Over the next few months, Kazarian continued to feud with Hendry and made several unsuccessful attempts to call his shot, most notably atGenesis where Hendry defeated Nemeth to win the title.[23][24] On the April 3 episode ofTNA Impact!, Kazarian attacked Hendry and injured his arm (kayfabe). Hendry was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital. Later that night, Kazarian declared that he would be calling his shot for the TNA World Championship at Rebellion in his home state of California. However, NXT'sEthan Page made a surprise return to TNA and declared that after speaking with TNA Director of AuthoritySantino Marella, he would be challenging Hendry for the title at Rebellion (due to defeating Hendry in a match earlier in the year onNXT). Kazarian and Page subsequently brawled, with Page getting the upper hand.[18][19] Later that night, TNA announced that Hendry would defend the TNA World Championship against both Kazarian and Page in athree-way match at Rebellion.[25]
At Sacrifice,Mustafa Ali defeatedMike Santana due to interference from his cabinet Order 4 (Tasha Steelz and The Great Hands (John Skyler and Jason Hotch)). After the match, Ali took a beer from a fan and placed it in front of Santana, referencing Santana's battle with alcoholism and sobriety.[9][10] On the subsequent episode ofTNA Impact!, the two had a rematch with Order 4 banned from ringside. Santana won, but only via count out when Ali walked out. When asked about why he left byGia Miller, Ali vowed that he would be the one "addiction" that Santana couldn't beat.[11][12] Two weeks later, Santana showed a friend of his around who had been hired by TNA, who was also celebrating three months of sobriety. However, the man was then kidnapped by Order 4, where Ali reminded him of a car accident that he caused a year ago which left a young girl paralyzed. The man was later found unconscious by other backstage workers, seemingly having relapsed.[18][19] The following week, Ali facedAce Austin but intentionally got himself disqualified after using a chair. He was about to further assault Austin until he was confronted by Santana, and he and Order 4 retreated again. However, Santana hijacked their car and kidnapped Skyler, where he argued that Ali would rid himself of Skyler once he served his purpose to him.[26][27] TNA later announced a rematch between Santana and Ali would be set for Rebellion.[28] AtUnbreakable, it was announced that the match would be aFalls Count Anywhere match.[29][30]
At Unbreakable, before the main event to crown the inauguralTNA International Championship in athree-way match, it was announced that the title would be defended at Rebellion against the participant who was not involved in the decision.Steve Maclin would defeatEric Young andA. J. Francis, the latter of whom he pinned, to become the inaugural champion. Later that night, it was announced that Maclin would defend the TNA International Championship against Young at Rebellion.[31]
At Sacrifice,Ash by Elegance andHeather by Elegance defeated Spitfire (Dani Luna andJody Threat) in a 3-on-2handicap match with their manager, The Personal Concierge, to win theTNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship. As they were celebrating, however, they were confronted by NXT wrestlersLash Legend andJakara Jackson ofMeta-Four.[9][10] The subsequent episode ofTNA Impact! would feature Ash and Heather attempting to have a proper celebration, complete with Ash making a wish on a cake, but were interrupted by Spitfire, Meta-Four, and laterGigi Dolin andTatum Paxley; the confrontation escalating into a massive brawl.[11][12] This led to a non-title match between Ash and Heather, and Dolin and Paxley, with the champions securing the win. Post-match, Ash was about to blow out her cake from last week, but Dolin and Paxley would end up slamming her face into it. A distraught Ash would take a brief sabbatical from TNA after the incident.[13][14] The week after, Meta-Four would defeat Spitfire in a tag team match.[18][19] Two weeks later on April 17, Dolin and Paxley defeated Heather and interim partner Maggie Lee, with Dolin pinning Heather for the win.[7] Backstage, a distressed Heather, Lee, and the Personal Concierge worried over how Ash would react to the loss before being confronted again by the three other teams, who all wanted a title match. After much yelling between the three teams, Heather relented and granted all of them afour-way tag team match for the titles at Rebellion.[32]