TNA celebrated its 10th anniversary in style with Slammiversary, which turned out to be one of the best pay-per-views in the company’s recent history. The show featured strong matches throughout the show, with the X Division Championship and World Tag Team Championship matches being among the best of the year in a must-see show in front of the strongest domestic crowd in company history.
Celebrating 10 years of TNA, the main event saw the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on the line as Bobby Roode looked to extend his record reign in a one-fall contest against Sting, who earlier in the night became the first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame.
After Sting returned two weeks ago on Impact, he’s had Roode’s number, tapping him out twice to the Scorpion Deathlock, one in a lumberjack match and then as the deciding factor in a six-man tag team match. Roode looked to avoid that same fate tonight.
Roode looking to avoid Sting in the early going, but Sting trying to go for the Scorpion Deathlock each time he gets Roode to the canvas. Roode goes to talk a walk up the ramp but Sting quickly catches up and brings him back. Roode, though, finally gets some significant offense when he snaps Sting’s neck off the top rope as Sting pulled him into the ring.
Roode getting something going now. He hits a snap mare and then a big boot, then forcing Sting to kick out of a pinfall attempt. Roode goes to work with a sleeper hold right in the middle of the ring. Sting scoots his way out and reverses the hold, but Roode hits a back suplex that puts a quick end to that. But Sting gets going and hits a big superplex and then locks in the Scorpion Deathlock. Roode is so close to tapping but he knows the stakes and is trying to hang on as long as he can. He finally makes it to the ropes.
Roode pulls himself out of the ring and takes a walk again only to have Sting easily catch him and throw him twice into the guard railing. More shots into the railing. Sting brings Roode back into the ring, but Roode rolls right through the outside. He’s right onto the railing and Sting comes flying in with a Stinger Splash on the rail. They are near the announce table and Sting applies the Scorpion Deathlock on the announce table. Roode taps, but it’s outside the ring, so it doesn’t mean anything. Sting releases the hold. Roode grabs the case of James Storm beer at ringside and grabs a bottle from it. He goes to hit Sting with it but Sting grabs it away. Referee Brian Hebner grabs it and dispatches of it, but doesn’t see Roode grab another, this one he does break over Sting’s head. Hebner comes back in and doesn’t see the glass everywhere and counts the pinfall as Roode retains the title.
But Sting isn’t done after the match. He clotheslines Roode over the top rope and then beats him up the stage. He hits a suplex on the stage, throws him into a steel truss and then hits a Scorpion Deathdrop off the stage through a bunch of stuff.
The next TNA pay-per-view is Destination X on July 8.
Following a video package, Mike Tenay and Taz welcome us to tonight’s show, a nine-match affair from Arlington, Texas.
Hulk Hogan is out to the ring to start the show. He says things are changing and he likes pushing people’s buttons. And he’s going to do that with the very first match by making the match between Austin Aries and Samoa Joe for the X Division Championship.
Match #1 – TNA X Division Championship – (c) Austin Aries (Minneapolis, Minn.) vs. Samoa Joe (Isle of Samoa)
Aries tries to come through the ropes with the suicide dive early in the match, but Joe has him well scouted and kicks him right in the face as he comes though. Joe all over Aries now. Joe with a big forearm that sends Aries to the outside. He goes for a suicide dive but Aries slides into the ring, but Joe lands on his feet right in time for Aries to drill him with his signature suicide dive.
They trade strikes but Joe hits a power bomb and then turns that into a modified crab, which he then turns into the Regal Stretch and then into a crucifix and a pin attempt which Aries kicks out at two.
Joe loads Aries up on the top rope and is looking for the Muscle Buster but Aries fighting it. Joe kicks Aries in the head and goes to the middle rope, but Aries fights him off and sends him to the canvas. Aries stands up and hits a 450 splash but Joe kicks out at two.
They go back to trading strikes from their knees. Aries goes for a roaring elbow but Joe grabs him and locks on a sleeper but Joe pulls him back into the Coquina Clutch, but Aries rolls through but Joe kicks out at two. Aries avoids a charging Joe but runs right back into a uranage. Joe loads Aries up on the top again and chops him. Now he has him up for the Muscle Buster, but Aries slips out and hits a crucifix slam. Kick to the head and then a discus forearm for Aries before a gigantic dropkick in the corner. He follows that up with the brainbuster and that does it.
Winner via pinfall AND STILL TNA X Division Champion: Austin Aries
Match Rating: 9/10
Match #2 – Kid Kash (Nashville, Tenn.) vs. Hernandez (Houston, Texas)
Back-and-forth match. Kash hits a tornado DDT that plants Hernandez, but takes too much time gloating and Hernandez hits a slingshot shoulder block at short range. He follows with a series of clotheslines and a big corner splash and another shoulderblock.
Kash goes to take a walk but Hernandez hits the back ropes and comes flying over the top rope with a dive. Unbelievable. Back in the ring, Hernandez fights Kash off on the top rope and comes down with a huge flying splash and that does it.
Winner via pinfall: Hernandez
Match Rating: 6/10
Match #3 – Robbie E & Robbie T (Seaside Heights, NJ) vs. Devon (New York City) & Garett Bischoff (Clearwater Beach, Fla.)
The Robbies isolate Bischoff. Bischoff hits a flapjack and starts to crawl toward Devon but Robbie E can’t cut him off and he gets the tag to Devon to a raucous ovation. Devon on fire with a huge shoulder block and a Thesz press. He follows that with a jumping head butt and a uranage.
Huge corner splash connects and another shoulder block for two when Robbie T breaks it up. T hits the ropes but Bischoff pulls down the ropes and then hits a crossbody onto him. In the ring, Devon plants E to the canvas and gets the win.
Winners via pinfall: Devon & Garett Bischoff
Match Rating: 6/10
Match #4 – No. 1 Contender’s Match – Mr. Anderson (Green Bay, Wisc.) vs. Rob Van Dam (Battle Creek, Mich.) vs. Jeff Hardy (Cameron, NC)
All three men all over the place. RVD with a split-legged moonsault on Anderson but Hardy breaks it up. RVD with a spin kick on Hardy, then he monkey flips Anderson onto Hardy. RVD using his kicks to his advantage here. Anderson catches RVD in a backslide, but Hardy uses it to leg drop RVD.
RVD and Anderson brawl on the outside, but Hardy goes to the top rope and wipes them both out with a big dive. Hardy puts RVD back in the ring and hits Whisper in the Wind for two. Hardy avoids a kick and goes for a suplex that he turns into the Twist of Fate. RVD down, Hardy’s shirt comes off and he heads to the top and hits the Swanton Bomb but Anderson breaks it up by grabbing the ref as RVD kicks out.
Anderson violently throws Hardy to the floor and goes to work on RVD, but RVD with an upright kick right to the grill. He goes for Rolling Thunder but Anderson hops up and grabs him in the Mic Check and hits it and gets the pin.
Winner via pinfall: Mr. Anderson
Match Rating: 8/10
Match #5 – Open Challenge – Crimson (Brooklyn, NY) vs. James Storm (Leiper’s Fork, Tenn.)
Storm returns from his two month hiatus and is all over Crimson. Crimson briefly gets some offense in but Storm fires right back and hits the Codebreaker, bringing the crowd to its feet. Storm follows with the Last Call Superkick and that does it!
Winner via pinfall: James Storm
Match Rating: 7/10
In the back, Austin Aries tells Jeremy Borash he’s ready for a main event slot.
Dixie Carter is out to the ring. She announces this is the largest domestic live crowd in TNA history. She asks the entire roster to join her on the stage. She thanks all of them and then welcomes the first inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame. It’s none other than Sting.
Carter gives a very heartfelt speech about what Sting has meant to the company and announces a formal Hall of Fame ceremony during Bound For Glory weekend. Sting is obviously unprepared for the announcement but thanks Carter, the roster and the fans and says tonight, it will be showtime.
Match #6 – TNA Knockouts Championship – (c) Gail Kim (Toronto, Ontario) vs. Miss Tessmacher (Houston, Texas)
Tessmacher is rolling early until Kim grabs a hold of her and drops her throat-first on the top rope. Kim with a hammerlock, but Tessmacher works to a vertical base and tries some elbows but Kim puts her right back to the canvas. Kim really working Tessmacher over here until Tessmacher hits a neckbreaker.
They trade strikes in the centre of the ring, but Tessmacher hits a series for clotheslines and a jumping forearm and the champ is reeling. Tessmacher goes for a move but misses and Kim responds with a big neckbreaker of her own. She rolls to the apron and as she stands, Kim knocks her to the floor. Tessmacher not moving as the referee counts, but Kim breaks it up and grabs Tessmacher and brings her back into the ring. She goes for Eat Defeat but stops and instead goes for Tessmacher’s finisher. But she gets countered into an Oklahoma roll and has her shoulders pinned to the mat for three!
Winner via pinfall and NEW TNA Knockouts Champion: Miss Tessmacher
Match Rating: 5/10
Match #7 – Bully Ray (New York City) vs. Joseph Park, Esq. (Chicago, Ill.)
The bell rings and Park slowly inches out from the corner as Ray offers him the first shot. Park swings and misses and is stumbling all over the place. Ray puts his hands behind his back, but then slaps him and spits in his face. He slaps him again while berating him to do something. Ray charges Park in the corner but Park moves and wallops Ray across the face. He can’t believe it but then Ray comes back and hits him from behind.
Ray goes to the outside to grab a chair and comes back in, but Park kicks the rope in disgust and accidentally crotches Ray and the chair goes flying to Park’s feet. He picks it up backwards while Ray cowers, but again, Park turns his back and Ray takes advantage. He grabs the chair back and hits Park in the back with it. And again.
He takes Park to the outside and hits him with closed fists and then throws him back into the ring. Ray goes for a big back senton off the second rope but Park rolls away and Ray crashes and burns. He starts to Hulk Up and starts throwing bombs at Ray, beating him down in the corner. He’s rolling until Ray hits him with a big boot.
Now Ray goes to the floor, goes under the ring and grabs a table and a kendo stick. He stalks Park with the kendo stick, but Park punches him in the gut, takes the stick and absolutely kills Ray with it, but gets a two count after diving onto Ray. He charges Ray in the corner but Ray gets a back elbow up that sends Park flying to the outside. Park crawls under the ring and out the other side comes Abyss.
Ray is gloating to the crowd when he turns around right into the grasp of Abyss, who choke slams him through the table and goes back under the ring. Park comes back out from under and sees Ray down. He covers him and that’s it!
Winner via pinfall: Joseph Park
Match Rating: 6/10
Hulk Hogan is back out. He says he’s got one more surprise for everyone tonight. He brings out Christian Cage. The crowd chants for “one more match.” He makes a joke about how the last time he was in this ring, it had a few corners. He says even though a lot about TNA has changed, something that hasn’t changed is the fans. He says the fans should give themselves a round of applause. He says the fans voted for the top-10 moments in TNA history and he’s here to present No.1.
That top moment is Sting coming back to TNA in January 2006.
Match #8 – TNA World Tag Team Championship – (c) Christopher Daniels (Los Angeles, Calif.) & Kazarian (Anaheim, Calif.) vs. Kurt Angle (Pittsburgh, Pa.) & AJ Styles (Gainesville, Ga.)
Styles and Angle all over Daniels and Kazarian in the early-going. Styles is clearly motivated and angry. That is until the heels use a numbers game and kick Styles off the top rope and his leg gets caught between the ropes.
Daniels and Kazarian in complete control right now. Styles reverses a suplex and hits a neckbreaker and that gives him an opening to bring in Angle. Angle on fire on both Daniels and Kazarian. He hits a suplex on Daniels, sends Kazarian into orbit with one and then adds another to Daniels along with an Angle Slam for two, as Kazarian breaks it up. Angle goes after Kazarian and hits the triple Germans, except on the third, Kazarian grabs ahold of Daniels, so Angle just throws both of them. He locks in the ankle lock on Daniels but Kazarian kicks him in the head to break the hold.
Daniels goes for Angel’s Wings, but Angle back drops him and tags in Styles. He hits the springboard forearm on Kazarian, then hits a combo flip-over reverse DDT on Kazarian and a regular DDT on Daniels.
It’s all breaking down now. Kazarian lines Styles up, but Styles smashes him face-first into the canvas for two. Everyone is weary now in the ring. Styles puts Kazarian on the top turnbuckle and goes up with him. He wants a superplex, but Kazarian knocks him off only to have Angle run up the ropes and throw him off.
Daniels with an STO sweep on Angle and Daniels and Styles start a hockey fight. Styles goes for a clothesline but Daniels hit a uranage. This is crazy. Styles hits the Pele on Kazarian and tags Angle in, who hits a frog splash, but Daniels pulls the referee out. In response, Styles hits a springboard shooting star press onto Daniels. In the ring, Kazarian goes for the Fade to Black only to have Angle counter into the ankle lock. Kazarian tries for the ropes, can’t get them and has to tap!
Winners via submission and NEW TNA World Tag Team Champions: Kurt Angle & AJ Styles
Match Rating: 9/10
Match #9 – TNA World Heavyweight Championship – (c) Bobby Roode (Toronto, Ontario) vs. Sting (Venice Beach, Calif.)
Winner via pinfall and STILL TNA World Heavyweight Champion: Bobby Roode
Match Rating: 7/10
Event Rating: 10/10
Matt Bishop can be reached at bishop20@gmail.com. Please include your name and hometown. Click here to follow Matt on Twitter. Should be a good one!.
