Trey Miguel is headed to Destination X with the biggest opportunity of his recent TNA run in hand. Miguel won the five-man ladder match in the main event of this week’s TNA Impact, claiming a contract for a TNA World Championship match against Leon Slater.
The path to that contract was anything but straightforward. Miguel had to survive a field that included Moose, Ricky Sosa, Elijah and TNA International Champion Jason Hotch, while outside forces dramatically changed the closing stages of the match. Mustafa Ali returned to haunt Hotch, and former TNA World Champion Nic Nemeth inserted himself into the contest just as Elijah appeared ready to win.
In the end, Nemeth’s attempted theft created the opening Miguel needed. Miguel pulled Nemeth down from the ladder, sent him out of the ring, and climbed to retrieve the contract. The victory officially places Miguel opposite Slater at Destination X, set for November 15 in Edmonton, Canada.
The Hardys Set a High-Stakes Main Event
The ladder match came about during a special edition of Impact built around 35 years of The Hardys. With Matt and Jeff Hardy booking the show’s matches, they selected Miguel, Moose, Sosa, Elijah and Hotch to battle for the right to challenge the newly crowned TNA World Champion.
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That stipulation made the match especially significant because Slater’s championship reign is still in its earliest days. Slater captured the TNA World Championship from Nemeth at Bound For Glory on Sunday, ending Nemeth’s time at the top of the company and immediately changing the direction of the main-event picture.
The Hardys’ decision gave five very different competitors a direct route to Slater and the title. Moose brought the credentials of a former world champion and a familiar force near the top of TNA. Elijah entered as another established threat with the ability to capitalize in a chaotic environment. Hotch came in holding the International Championship, while Sosa had an opportunity to make a major statement against a field full of more decorated opposition. Miguel, meanwhile, entered the match seeking to turn a single victory into a career-changing championship challenge.
Ladder matches are built around urgency and timing as much as endurance. The wrestler who gets closest to the prize is not always the one who leaves with it, and that proved particularly true in this case. The contract was repeatedly within reach, but the final outcome hinged on interference from two men who were not originally in the match.
Mustafa Ali Costs Jason Hotch
Jason Hotch appeared to be in position to potentially add a world title opportunity to his International Championship when Mustafa Ali entered the ring. The issue between the two men had already been heightened by Hotch’s victory over Ali, and Ali used the ladder match to strike back at the man who beat him.
With Hotch close to securing the contract, Ali’s arrival cost him the chance to finish the climb. Their confrontation continued away from the ring, with Ali and Hotch brawling up the ramp. That effectively removed the International Champion from the remainder of the match and denied him a chance to pursue a second major prize at Destination X.
The interference carries clear consequences beyond the ladder match itself. Hotch remained champion when the night was over, but he lost a direct opportunity at Slater’s TNA World Championship because of Ali. The conflict was not resolved by Ali’s attack; if anything, it was intensified by the timing of it. Hotch now has a reason to seek an answer from Ali, while Ali has shown he is still focused on the man who defeated him.
For Miguel, Ali’s involvement eliminated one of the competitors who had been closest to the contract. It was an important development in a match where every interruption created new space for someone else to advance. Yet the most decisive outside involvement was still to come.
Nic Nemeth Tries to Take the Shortcut
Nemeth’s appearance provided the night’s most striking twist. Only days after losing the TNA World Championship to Slater at Bound For Glory, Nemeth invaded a match designed to determine Slater’s next challenger. His target at first was not Miguel, but Elijah.
Elijah had the contract in his hands when Nemeth intervened, preventing him from completing the win. That alone altered the result of the match, but Nemeth did not stop at denying Elijah. He climbed the ladder himself and tried to take the championship opportunity for his own.
It was a revealing move from the former champion. The contract had been created for the five announced participants, but Nemeth attempted to seize it rather than earning his way into a sanctioned title match. Whether that action leads to a formal response from TNA or simply intensifies his pursuit of Slater remains to be seen. What is certain is that Nemeth’s loss at Bound For Glory has not ended his interest in the TNA World Championship.
Miguel made sure Nemeth’s shortcut did not work. He pulled Nemeth off the ladder, threw him from the ring, and then made the climb himself. By taking the contract after stopping Nemeth’s attempted theft, Miguel did more than win a crowded ladder match. He prevented the former champion from immediately forcing his way back into the title picture.
That finish also left Elijah with a legitimate grievance. Elijah was holding the contract before Nemeth’s interference changed the course of the match. Miguel is the official winner and rightful challenger, but Elijah can point directly to the moment his own chance was taken from him. In a division with a new champion and several wrestlers pursuing the same prize, that frustration could become important in the weeks ahead.
Miguel Earns a Defining Opportunity
For Miguel, the win is a major breakthrough. Rather than receiving a title match through a straightforward ranking or an announced singles victory, he emerged from a volatile environment that demanded resilience against four opponents and the unexpected presence of Nemeth and Ali.
Miguel did not merely benefit from Nemeth’s arrival. He actively stopped Nemeth from taking control of the situation, then capitalized when the ladder was clear. That distinction matters as he prepares to face Slater. The road to Destination X will begin with Miguel holding a victory he can frame as earned under pressure, while Slater prepares for the first officially established defense of his new reign.
Slater’s title win over Nemeth at Bound For Glory set the stage for a new chapter in TNA’s main-event scene. The Destination X match now gives that chapter an immediate focal point. Slater will enter as the champion who just overcame Nemeth, while Miguel arrives as a challenger whose momentum was created in the main event of Impact.
The two men will also enter the event with different kinds of pressure. Slater must prove that his Bound For Glory victory was the beginning of a lasting championship run. Miguel has the chance to convert a ladder-match triumph into the most significant singles accomplishment available in TNA. A victory for Miguel would make his climb to the contract the first step toward a new world champion. A victory for Slater would establish an early successful defense while keeping the title in the hands of the man who took it from Nemeth.
Destination X Picture Takes Shape
Destination X on November 15 in Edmonton now has its TNA World Championship match: Leon Slater defending against Trey Miguel. The match was secured in dramatic fashion, but the ladder match also left multiple unresolved issues surrounding the championship scene.
- Nemeth is still pursuing a route back to the championship after losing it to Slater at Bound For Glory.
- Elijah was denied the contract while it was in his grasp because of Nemeth’s interference.
- Hotch was removed from contention by Mustafa Ali despite being close to the contract himself.
- Moose and Ricky Sosa left the match without the victory, though both were part of a field selected to compete for the title opportunity.
Those threads ensure that Miguel’s victory will not simply close the book on the ladder match. It clarified the immediate challenger, but it did not settle the wider chase around Slater’s championship. Nemeth’s actions in particular loom large, because he has already shown he is willing to disrupt a match he was not scheduled to enter in order to regain leverage.
Still, the contract belongs to Miguel. On a night celebrating The Hardys’ 35-year legacy, TNA’s main event produced a fresh championship challenger through a finish defined by instinct and opportunity. Miguel saw Nemeth trying to take what was not his, stopped him, and secured the match that could change his standing in TNA at Destination X.
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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.