Picking up where they last left off nearly two months ago at the Sacrifice pay-per-view event on March 27, Mike Santana went “Front Toward Enemy” with Steve Maclin and prevailed. “The Realest” remains the TNA World Championship after their main event rematch on this week’s episode of “TNA Impact.”
Valiantly enraged after waiting so long, Maclin came in hot in the early goings of the match, as he slammed the champion’s face twice into the steel post before dragging out a table. To the fans’ delight, the table was used not on Santana, but on Maclin. “The Real Deal” drove Maclin head-first into the table. Like a shark smelling blood in the water, Maclin stayed on top of a knee injury that Santana obtained at some point in the match. Bouncing back, Santana sent Maclin crashing through the table with a superkick. Playing possum, Maclin tried to hit a K.I.A., but Santana countered quickly, by turning it into his Spin the Block finisher to retain.
Learning of this impromptu contest by on-screen Director of Operations Daria Rae last week, the last time Santana and Maclin saw one another, they were unable to continue their match after concerns were that Maclin had suffered a reported concussion after a kick to the jaw. Luckily, the former Impact World Champion was officially cleared to compete last week, thus setting up tonight’s high-profile match.
Tonight’s match marks the fifth title defense Santana has had so far in his second reign, which began at the “Impact” premiere on AMC this past January. Outside of Maclin, Santana has put his title on the line against other former world champions, Eddie Edwards and Rich Swann. Now, Santana has another waiting in the wings in Eric Young, as he won a Number One Contenders Battle Royal last Thursday. When their match will take place hasn’t been announced as of this report. However, TNA’s annual summertime event, Slammiversary, is just around the corner, on Sunday, June 28, at the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts.
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