Mustafa Ali remains the TNA International Champion after surviving a chaotic triple threat main event against Jason Hotch and Trey Miguel on the September 24 episode of TNA Impact.
The two-time champion entered the match with pressure coming from every direction. Hotch had a personal score to settle after losing the championship to Ali at Lockdown, while Miguel brought the experience of a former titleholder and the speed to capitalize whenever either opponent was compromised. By the end of the night, neither challenger was able to put Ali away. The champion instead found an opening in the closing moments, striking Miguel with the International Championship and scoring the deciding pinfall.
It was Ali’s first defense since he regained the title last month, and the match made clear that his return to the top of the International Championship division will not be a simple one. He left with the belt, but only after Hotch and Miguel repeatedly came close to taking it from him.
Hotch and Miguel put Ali under immediate pressure
The bell had barely sounded before Hotch attacked Ali. The former allies have carried plenty of bad blood into their rivalry, and Hotch did not waste any time trying to overwhelm the man who defeated him inside a steel cage at Lockdown.
For more background on this topic, read Mila Moore and John Skyler Walk Out on Mustafa Ali’s Order 4 on TNA iMPACT.
Ali’s problems escalated quickly when Miguel joined the assault. Rather than immediately fighting one another, Hotch and Miguel briefly worked together to batter the champion with a series of kicks. That cooperation did not turn the match into a sustained alliance, but it served its purpose in the early going: Ali was isolated and forced to absorb punishment from both challengers.
The champion entered the contest dealing with another setback as well. Only minutes before the match, Ali learned that Mila Moore and John Skyler were leaving Order 4. The news added another layer of uncertainty around Ali at a crucial moment, especially given the role Order 4 has played in his recent history. Yet Ali was able to channel that frustration once the match began.
After being worn down by Hotch and Miguel, Ali fired back with a precise dive to the floor that took out both opponents. It gave him room to recover and reminded the challengers that, despite the numbers-game problems he faced at the opening bell, the champion remained capable of changing the momentum in an instant.
Three former champions trade momentum
The match was built around the fact that all three competitors knew what it meant to hold the TNA International Championship. Ali came in as the reigning two-time champion. Hotch and Miguel each entered as former champions, and all three showed the urgency expected from wrestlers who understand the value of the title.
As the match progressed, alliances of convenience gave way to a rapid exchange of attacks and near falls. No competitor could afford to focus too long on one rival without leaving himself exposed to the other. That dynamic became even more evident after the final commercial break, when all three men took the action to the high-rise district.
Hotch produced one of the match’s biggest sequences there, sending both Ali and Miguel crashing down with a double Spanish Fly. The move briefly put Hotch in position to seize control of the bout and regain the championship he lost at Lockdown.
Ali responded with a piledriver on Hotch and attempted to end the match. The champion came within a fraction of retaining, but Hotch escaped the cover at 2.9. The kickout was a major turning point, as it denied Ali the clean finishing sequence he had been looking for and kept all three men in contention.
Miguel then surged into the picture with back-to-back Canadian Destroyers, sending Hotch and Ali reeling. He followed that burst with a quick Meteora on Ali, but the champion kicked out at two. Miguel’s combination came close to producing a title change, showing why he remained such a dangerous factor even as the issues between Ali and Hotch dominated the match’s personal stakes.
Hotch answered again with a double DDT, bringing both of his opponents down and creating yet another opening. The constant shifts made it impossible for any wrestler to build a lasting advantage. Every potential conclusion was interrupted, countered, or narrowly avoided.
The championship becomes the deciding factor
The closing stretch also brought Tasha Steelz into the situation. Steelz retrieved the TNA International Championship for Ali, giving the champion access to the title belt at ringside. Before that could immediately benefit Ali, however, Hotch stopped Steelz and planted her with a double stomp.
That moment added to the disorder surrounding the finish. Hotch had neutralized Steelz, Miguel was still looking for a chance to strike, and Ali was searching for a way to preserve a championship reign that had already been threatened several times in the match.
Ali ultimately found that opening when he used the International Championship on Miguel. With Miguel down, Ali secured the victory and retained the title. The finish ensured that the belt stayed with its current holder, though it also came through a decisive use of the championship as a weapon rather than a conventional closing maneuver.
For Hotch, the result is another bitter disappointment in a rivalry that has become deeply personal. He had the chance to regain the championship after coming within inches of victory on multiple occasions, but Ali again left him empty-handed. Hotch’s history with Ali, including his former role under Ali’s command in Order 4, continues to make their conflict one of the defining issues surrounding the International Championship.
Miguel also had a credible claim to the title during the match. His Meteora on Ali resulted in a near fall, and his Canadian Destroyers changed the pace at a key stage of the contest. But the triple threat structure offered no protection once Ali gained control of the belt, and Miguel became the man caught by the final blow.
Ali’s Lockdown win remains central to the rivalry
Ali regained the TNA International Championship at Lockdown in Chicago, defeating Hotch in a barbaric steel cage match in Ali’s hometown. That win marked a major moment for Ali, both because it returned the title to him and because it came against a former ally who had once operated under his leadership in Order 4.
The Lockdown result also set the stage for the rematch environment seen on Impact. Hotch was not simply another challenger looking to climb the division. He was pursuing revenge for a loss to someone with whom he shares a long and complicated past. Adding Miguel to the match increased the competitive stakes, but it did not erase the unresolved hostility between Ali and Hotch.
Ali’s successful defense now gives him a measure of momentum following the cage-match victory. He has regained the International Championship and successfully defended it against two former champions in one night. At the same time, the circumstances of the finish leave significant questions around the division. Hotch was not pinned, and Miguel took the title shot that ended the match.
Those details matter because neither challenger was decisively removed from the championship conversation. Hotch can point to his near fall escape and his continued pursuit of Ali. Miguel can point to the offense that nearly ended Ali’s reign before the championship belt altered the outcome. Ali has survived the immediate challenge, but the competitive field around him remains active.
Order 4 changes add uncertainty for the champion
The departure of Mila Moore and John Skyler from Order 4 added an important development to Ali’s night. Ali heard that news shortly before he was scheduled to defend the International Championship, a difficult distraction ahead of a main-event triple threat.
While the immediate in-ring result went Ali’s way, the changes leave uncertainty around Order 4 moving forward. Ali’s relationship with the group has already been a major part of his story with Hotch, making the loss of Moore and Skyler notable even beyond this particular title defense.
For now, though, the clearest outcome is that Ali is still champion. He endured an early two-on-one assault, survived Hotch’s double Spanish Fly and double DDT, kicked out of Miguel’s Meteora, and took advantage of the chaotic final moments to keep the TNA International Championship around his waist.
Ali’s reign continues after an eventful episode of Impact. The champion may have escaped with the belt, but the manner of his victory and the unresolved issues with both Hotch and Miguel ensure that the TNA International Championship picture remains anything but settled.
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Darryl Polo
Darryl Polo is a passionate wrestling fan covering WWE, AEW, TNA and beyond. He loves great rivalries, breakout stars and the moments that keep fans talking long after the bell. How we work.