Impact Slammiversary Review

Slammiversary opens up with a nice vignette talking about how Slammiversary officially started last night at midnight when The Good Brothers announced they were coming to Impact. During this segment they show all of the potential free agents that could show up tonight.

Open Challenge by the Rascalz

Now we open the actual show with the Rascalz coming to the ring for their open challenge. The challenge is accepted by the returning Motor City Machine Guns, Chris Sabin and Alex Shelley! This match starts out strong and has a lot of action throughout the match with many near falls and a tag team clinic by the Rascalz. After a clinic by the Rascalz in the first half of the match the MCMG have singled out Wentz and have been working on both his back and his shoulders for the last 6-7 min. Dez gets the hot tag and has completely changed the momentum of the match. The Rascalz are now getting the majority of the offense in and have gotten a few near falls. Such great tandem offense by MCMG as they try to close out the match. The MCMG hit their finisher and pick up a win in their return to Impact.

       Overall this was a great opening match and will keep you interested throughout. This match was a clinic on what tag team wrestling is all about. Overall rating for this match 4 stars.

We head into the back with Taya Valkyrie telling Johnny Bravo that he needs to make sure that he doesn't mess up tonight and remember the most important thing about the gauntlet match, Taya must win. Then after she walks away, Rosemary walks up to Johnny and says, you have to remember that Rosemary must win tonight.

TNA World Championship

Next up we have Moose vs Tommy Dreamer for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in an "Old School Rules" match..This match has been hard hitting from the beginning and then Dreamer introduced the garbage cans and steel chairs. They are going back and forth with Moose getting most of the offense in. After screaming "This is So easy" Tommy reverses it and almost gets a pin out of it. After that Moose takes control again and goes out and grab more chairs and starts throwing them in the ring. He does a modified urinagi and then a standing moonsault and gets a 2 count. Moose then goes for the moonsault off the 2nd rope and dreamer moves out of the way then hits Moose with a DDT into a chair and gets a close near fall. Dreamer goes out and grabs a little black bag from under the ring and pours it onto the mat and out comes the thumb tacks. As Dreamer's eye is close to the mat, Moose says i hate ECW and that causes Dreamer to "hulk up" and get a hit in until Moose reverse it and slams Dreamer into the mat. Then he hits the Lights out and pins Dreamer for the 1, 2, 3.

       Was a very solid match and could've had more old school feel to it but was happy with the winner. Rating for this match gets a 3 stars.

#1 Contenders Gauntlet Match (Knockout Championship)

Next up we have the Gauntlet Battle Royal for the #1 contendership for the Knockouts Championship. Starting the match we have Kylie Ray and Tasha Steelz. Good action between the two and we have the next entrant coming out right now. The next participant is Taya Valkyrie and it was Johnny Bravo impersonating her and is immediately eliminated. Next we have Kimber Lee coming out as the 4th entrant. All 3 are going back and forth until the next entrant comes out. Kiera Hogan heads into the rings and immediately super-kicks Kylie Rae. Hogan and Steels are working together at the moment but that could change in a flash. Next coming out is Susie aka Su Yung. She comes in and helps out Kylie Rae and attacks Hogan and Steelz. Steelz gets eliminated and then we get the next entrant, Katie Forbes. Hogan tries to make a friend in Forbes but doesn't last long. Next coming out we have Madison Rayne, coming off the commentary table to try to get the shot at the title again. Rayne and Hogan are going at it and the next entrant is Havok. Havok comes in and is cleaning house, hitting everyone that comes up to her. And now the real Taya Valkyrie comes out after Johnny Bravo came out for her as 3 because she didn't like coming out that early. Taya eliminates Katie Forbes as Alisha Edwards comes out as the next entrant. Rae is trying to bench press Edwards and Havok comes up behind her and does it instead. Next we have Naveah is in and then after that we have Rosemary coming out and that brings out all the entrants… Now we transition into a battle royal and after that goes into a 1 on 1 match to determine the winner. Susie was eliminated and then Havok was eliminated by Kylie Rae. After that Rae eliminated Madison Rayne and we are down to 7 left. Edwards and Naveah have both been eliminated and leaves us with the final five, Hogan, Rosemary, Taya, Rae, and Kimber Lee. Hogan gets eliminated and the final 4 face off. Rae continues her domination as she eliminates Lee. Taya and Rosemary team up against Rae and Rae is trying her all to fight back. Taya was trying to get rid of Rae but accidentally eliminated Rosemary. We are down to the final 2 and this match begins. Just as fast as is began it was over, Kylie Rae hits a destroyer on Taya, into a super-kick then gets a 1, 2, 3.

        What a match the gauntlet was. Lots of action throughout, many team opportunities as well as teams turning on each other. Overall it is 3.75 stars.

Heath Slater shows up and gets in the ring with a mic and says he is ready to fight for the Impact World Championship. He came here to make an impact. Rohit Raju comes out and interrupts Slater and says you're late, it's 8pm est, not 8pm central LOL. Rohit makes fun of Slater's match vs Drew and then Rohit hits Slater and then Slater turns it around and hits Rohit with the sweetness.(Surprise #2 of the evening)

X Division Championship

Now we have the X Division Championship with the challenger, Chris Bey coming out first. Then the champion comes out, Willie Mack. We start the match with both men staring at each other. Willie takes it to Bey inside the ring until Bey tries to get a break. Mack tries to punt Bey but it gets blocked and then Bey reverses it with a leg sweep and gets Mack on to the outside. They Mack turns it around on Bey, kicks him in the back of the head then drops him on his neck and both are outside the ring until a 5 count. Mack dominates the match for the next few minutes until Bey starts to get some offense with multiple moves. Bey goes high flying off the top rope but Mack turns it into a powerbomb and both men are laying on the mat and get to an 8 count before both get up. Bey gets a couple near falls until Mack hits the xploder into the bottom turnbuckle and Mack gets a 2 count. Bey tries to pin Mack again and only gets a 2 fall. Mack hits a stunner then goes for the 6 star frog splash and Bey rolls out of the way. Bey then hits Mack with some crazy moves off the ropes, then hits the Art of finesse and picks up the win. We have a new X Division Champion!!!.

       Wow Wow Wow what a match that was and the moves done by both men were just unbelievable. Overall rating for the match, 4 stars.

We go to the back and Slater is going through the halls and he meets up with Rhino but one of the guys in charge tells Slater that he needs to leave as he is a member of the Impact roster. Rhino tells him to show up on Tuesday and make sure he has his phone.

Tag Team Championship

Next we have the Tag Team Championship match. First coming out is Sami Callahan and Ken Shamrock who are challenging for the belts. Coming out next are the current champions, The North.Shamrock started the match and was trying to get both the arm bar submissions and ankle locks for the quick victory. He tags in Callahan and he takes it to both members of The North and is working well with Shamrock right now as they are tagging in and out. The North now has Shamrock in their corner and are working him over. Lots of back and forth action with both teams taking control at times. The North have currently taken control and are working over Callahan with constant tags in and out to prevent him from tagging in Shamrock, We had a double ankle lock until Callahan was able to break the hold. Shamrock and Callahan get into it and then turn on the attack to The North. Shamrock looks lost in the ring and then kicks Callahan in the head with a high kick. Alexander gets to the top rope but Shamrock gets over to him and gives him a top rope belly to belly. Then Shamrock went and did a dive over the top rope and looks like he killed himself. The North now double team Shamrock and get the pin to remain tag team champions.

       Overall the match was solid at the beginning but got worse as the match went along. Overall rating: 2.75 stars

After the match, the North grab the mic and want to know why no one wants to hear about their accomplishments for the last year since they have held the title for one calendar year. They say no one has better chemistry or tactics… until MCMG show up on stage. They say while you had the belts for a year, you look like us but it's not about how you say you are the greatest and you don't need to keep reminding people that you are the greatest. On Tuesday MCMG will face The North for the Tag Titles.

We head to the back with Gia Miller saying that the Good Brothers are in the back but when she knocks on the door, Rich Swann answers the door. Swann says he has his eyes on the winner of the Impact Championship.

Knockout Championship

Up next we have the Impact Knockouts champions match with Deanna Purrazo facing off against Jordynne Grace. After Grace gets the upper hand at the beginning Purrazo gets out the ring and uses almost all of the 10 count before getting back in. Purazzo tries it again but Grace dives out the ring and takes it to her. Purrazo starts to get some offense in and is focusing on the arm/shoulder as her finishing move is the arm bar. Purrazo goes for a pin but Grace kicks out before the ref can even get to one. Purrazo get the arm bar in but Grace reverses it and tries to break out of it but then Purrazo gets Grace into a cross arm bar. Purrazo keeps going after Grace's arm until finally Grace is able to turn it around, hit a seated senton on Purrazo and gets a 2 count. Grace has put Purazzo into a rear naked choke and has her legs wrapped around her body. Purrazo is trying to fight out, rolls over and gets a 2 count. The action is going back and forth with Purrazo getting some offense in, she focuses on the arm of Grace. Purazzo gets Grace into an arm bar but her shoulders were down and Grace actually got a 2 count on her.They are going back and forth trading german suplexes and Purrazo hits the pendulum and gets a near fall. Grace hits Purazzo with 3 moves one after another and Purrazo was able to kick out at 2. Purrazo gets Grace into a double arm bar and Grace submits!. We have a new Knockouts Women's Champion, Deanna Purrazo!

       Well I'm a bit surprised by that win right there but overall that match as very solid and could be the stepping stone for Purrazo. Overall rating: 3.75 stars

Impact World Championship

Now we come to the main event of the evening. It is an Elimination Match for the Impact World Championship. First to enter the ring is Ace Austin, followed by Trey then Double E, Eddie Edwards… That leaves the final entrant and it is revealed as being, Rich Swann… not as exciting as I thought it was going to be but it is what it is. Well now we have the biggest surprise of the night. Eric Young!!!! He grabs a mic and announces this match is now a 5 way for the title!!!. Nonstop action since the bell rang and Swann looks like he hasn't lost a step since his injury. Madman gets sent to the back and is told if he doesn't leave Ace will be eliminated. Swann comes in with a hurricanrana. Edwards connects multiple chops on Swann and Young. Swann looks for another rana on Edwards, but Edwards blocks it. Austin looks for a backpack stunner. Edwards fights him off. Swann lands a backspring cutter. Young and Trey tangle. Trey double stomps on top of Young's back.The action is still happening fast and furious. We have not had any eliminations yet but Ace is taking it to Double E right now. Trey gets on the top rope and Ace drives Edwards into the corner and knocks Trey down. Trey hits Edwards with a double knee to break up the pin on Ace, rolls into EY who hits him with the piledriver and eliminates Trey with the 1, 2, 3. We are down to 4 in the match. Edwards is going for a suplex off the top right and Swann gets involved looking for a double superplex. EY then gets involved, grabs Swann and uses him to know Ace and Edwards through the time keepers table. EY goes for the piledriver but Swann reverses it into a roll up and gets the pin eliminating EY. We are down to 3. After he gets eliminated he attacks Swann and goes after his knee that he just came back from the injury. Swann is not crying in pain in the ring holding his knee. Ace goes for a figure four but Swann tries to roll up him and gets a 2 count. Ace hits his finishing move, The Fold , and pins Swann to bring us down to the final 2 competitors, Ace Austin and Eddie Edwards. Both are getting big shots in until Edwards takes control. He waits until Ace gets up and then they trade some more shots until Ace gets in control until Edwards is able to regain the momentum. Edwards hit Ace with the Boston Knee Party and was able to kick out at 2. Ace hits The Fold and Edwards kicks out at 2… Edwards then hits a second Boston Knee Party , then hits the Diehard and pins Ace to become the new Impact World Champion!

This match had a lot to take it and went a good 35 minutes and boy did they deliver. This match had so many moments that just built the story throughout. Overall rating: 4 stars

Gallows and Anderson's music hits, they stand in the ring with Austin and Fulton, they act like they are going to team with them but the Good Brothers turn on them and help out Eddie Edwards. They hit the magic killer and they celebrate in the ring with some brewski's.

As the announcers say that tonight was full of surprises they are cut off and we see 3 lines on the screen. Standing there is EC3 with a drink in his hand. He looks at it and then slams it against the wall. Tilts his head as he is looking into the camera as the screen goes black.

         Overall this was a very solid show with a lot of surprises throughout the night. We had 2 titles change hands in the X Division and the Knockouts Championship and we had the crowning of a NEW Impact World Champion. In addition to all of that we had multiple surprises tonight including the return of Rich Swann, Eric Young and The Good Brothers as well as the debut of Heath Slater. We are unsure what this means for EC3 but we do know that this should lead to some very interestings things to come. Overall rating for the show tonight would be a 4 star show.