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Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)’s roster features some of the brightest young talent in the industry who have mixed in well with the veterans in the organization.
On Thursday nights, pro wrestling fans can tune into “Impact” and see a handful of wrestlers who are sure to be household names in the next few years if they aren’t already.
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Matt Hardy and Jeff Hardy enter the ring during “NXT” at Andrew J. Brady Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on Feb. 25, 2025. (WWE via Getty Images)
Matt Hardy, one half of the TNA world tag team champions, named a handful of wrestlers fans should be paying attention to in a recent interview with Fox News Digital, especially with the company’s Lockdown pay-per-view around the corner.
“I think someone who is, well, someone who has been a star for a while, and I think right now he’s in his best era ever, he’s in his prime, that is Mustafa Ali,” he said. “And the guy he’s working with, Jason Hotch, is just starting to become a star and I think he’s going to be a big deal when it’s all said and done at TNA. See so much potential in him.”
Hotch won the TNA International Championship against Ali in an epic match on “Impact.” The two are set for a rematch at Lockdown on Aug. 23.
“Leon Slater is a guy that’s there. He kind of sat underneath myself and Jeff’s learning tree. For 21 years old, he has it in here,” Hardy continued. “So, it’s so powerful how much knowledge and how good he is and how aware he is and how he knows what’s going on at 21 years old.”
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Leon Slater enters the arena during “NXT” at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 21, 2025. (WWE via Getty Images)
Slater was nearly the longest reigning TNA X Division champion in the company’s history before Cedric Alexander defeated him for the title. Alexander will put the title on the line at Lockdown. If Slater loses, his near-300-day reign will be erased from the TNA history books.
Hardy also told Fox News Digital that Ricky Sosa is another talent to watch. Sosa signed with TNA earlier this year as he became a viral sensation for his entrance while on the independent scene.
“Also, Ricky Sosa, another guy’s 21. I think he’s going to be a big star there,” Hardy said. “Leon, hopefully he stays with TNA for a little while longer. He may end up leaving, going to WWE or AEW, whatever else, but he is going to be a big star. Leon Slater, Ricky Sosa, watch out for Jason Hotch. Those are three guys that are really ascending right now, those three.”
Matt and Jeff Hardy are set to defend the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Nic and Ryan Nemeth at Lockdown.
Mustafa Ali enters the arena during Showdown at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., on Oct. 7, 2025. (Kevin Sabitus/WWE via Getty Images)
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Lockdown will take place at the Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago. Each match will take place inside a steel cage.
