It is a clash of Canadians as Josh Alexander defends the Impact World Heavyweight Championship against the maniacal Eric Young tonight at Slammiversary. Here are our predictions and prognostications.
Josh Alexander (c) vs. Eric Young – Impact World Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | I see this as being a very brutal match with the underappreciated Eric Young doing whatever it takes to steal the belt away from Alexander but… | Josh Alexander |
| Jonathan Schwartz | Alexander, easily. Young was briefly a transitional champion but he’s old and weird and not in a good way. Alexander needs a lengthy reign, and to be set up again vs. Moose. | Josh Alexander |
| Bob Kapur | I’d love to see Josh’s wife Jade turn on him, join VBD, and cost Josh the title. But, realistically, I think they won’t take the title off him this early. | Josh Alexander |
Ace Austin (c) vs. Kenny King vs. Mike Bailey vs. Trey Miguel vs. Jack Evans vs. Alex Zayne – Ultimate X, Impact X Division Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | Coming off of an amazing performance at NJPW’s Best of the Super Juniors tournament which included Austin joining Bullet Club, Austin seems like the right man at the right time for Impact. A feud with his pal Alex Zayne though would be awesome. They are the two of the very best of their generation. | Ace Austin |
| Jonathan Schwartz | Austin retains. He just joined the Bullet Club. Taking the belt off him seems like a waste of momentum. | |
| Bob Kapur | While there is always a threat of the Bullet Club – or possibly Mad Man Fulton – interfering on Austin’s behalf, I think that faction is already strong enough in Impact. What I’d like to see is Honor No More pick up some gold to keep their storyline going strong. | Kenny King |
Tasha Steelz (c) vs. Chelsea Green vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Mia Yim – Queen of the Mountain, Impact Knockouts World Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | Steelz’s reign has been pretty lackluster. It is time for a change. Impact should crown Green so she can perhaps square off against James or place the title back on Purrazzo. | Chelsea Green |
| Jonathan Schwartz | Chelsea Green. Mickie James attempts to prevent her from winning but the interference backfires. | Chelsea Green |
| Bob Kapur | I hope they’ll stay away from the temptation to make Mickie the focal point of the match, as there are so many good workers here that they should be given full shrift. Deonna continues to be a bright spot in the company, and I think that there is lots of potential for her to have good title defenses against any of the others – not something I would say about any of the rest. | Deonna Purrazzo |
The Briscoes (c) vs. The Good Brothers
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | We are halfway through 2022 and The Briscoes still not only have the best tag team match of the year under their belts but some would argue the best overall match of the year. Their bout against FTR at RoH Supercard of Honor was phenomenal. This is bound to be another masterclass as they face-off with another one of the best teams in the world in The Good Brothers. I am actually looking forward to this over any other match on the card. |
The Briscoes |
| Jonathan Schwartz | Briscoes retain. I think the Good Brothers should win. or go to AEW. Either way. | The Briscoes |
| Bob Kapur | The Good Brothers arrived in Impact two years ago at Slammiversary. I’m not certain, but given the timing, this could very well be their swan song with the company, in which case losing is a necessity. Even if not, though, the Briscoes should not be losing to them. | The Briscoes |
Impact Originals (Alex Shelley, Chris Sabin, Frankie Kazarian and two TBA competitors) vs. Honor No More (Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, PCO, and Vincent)
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | Impact pulls off a very important win at Slammiversary with some assistance from two heavy-hitters who will join their team. | Impact Originals |
| Jonathan Schwartz | I’m unimpressed whenever you go into a big match with multiple unknowns. I like Honor No More. I think they should have mileage. They win…unless PCO takes the fall and the other guys turn on him (which makes sense since PCO is improbably a babyface) | Honor No More |
| Bob Kapur | With the fourth person being named as Nick Aldis, it will be interesting to see who the remaining Team Impact member it is. Personally, I’d like to see either the first champion, Ken Shamrock take the spot, or Kurt Angle. As I picked Kenny King to win the X-Division Championship, I think that’s it for HNM tonight. | Team Impact |
Sami Callihan vs. Moose – Monster’s Ball Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | Crazy Callihan has the edge in this twisted bout and for good reason. The guy is…Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs! Callihan needs the boost so… | Sami Callihan |
| Jonathan Schwartz | I think Callahan has to win for his return from injury to mean anything. I think it’s unfortunate since Moose is the best heel they have, and he looks like he can beat anyone. Callahan is fun, but so indy he lacks credibility. | Sami Callihan |
| Bob Kapur | As tempting as it may be for them to give the match to Sami, since he’s just returned, I think they will continue to keep Moose strong. With the recent losses of JONAH and W. Morrissey, they need a big dominant monster. I think Moose losing to Sami would be counterproductive in that regard. This should be a fun deathmatch. | Moose |
The Influence (Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood) (c) vs. Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie – Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | Man, the women’s tag team division certainly is in a slump. There is just nothing happening and hasn’t been for quite some time despite the brief appearance of The IInspiration. The Influence is Impact’s best choice right now to carry the belts forward. | The Influence |
| Bob Kapur | With the departure of the Iiconics – the last “true” Knockouts tag team, as opposed to being a makeshift team of two single stars – it really makes you wonder if these titles still need to be around. With these two teams, it seems to be more of the comedy division than anything. Look for that to continue with a win by Taya and Rosemary, thanks to help by John E. Bravo, who has history with both of them. | Rosemary and Taya Valyrie |
Reverse Battle Royal
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | I honestly have no clue with Impact not even announcing who is in this thing. | Steve Maclin |
| Bob Kapur | Despite being a lousy Vince Russo brainchild of a gimmick, I’m looking forward to this one, just to see how many throwback stars show up. In fact, I’d love to see them really embrace the nostalgia and bring in classic commentators (Mike Tenay and Taz or even an appearance – even if only on video – by Don West), and stars of the classic days, like Cassidy Riley, Johnny Devine, the Naturals, Elix Skipper, Monty Brown, etc. I have no idea who wins – my pick is literally from a dart throw – but it should be fun. Or could be the worst thing ever… like when the match originally debuted. | “Crowbar” Devon Storm |
Rich Swann (c) vs. Brian Myers – Impact Digital Media Championship Match
| Name | Prediction | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| John Powell | I really, really want to like Myers but I just can’t. He needs an identity change, a gimmick change, a persona change…something. Swann isn’t being beat by this dude. | Rich Swann |
| Jonathan Schwartz | Swann. Myers gets it later. Then Cardona gets it back once he’s healthy. | Rich Swann |
| Bob Kapur | I have no interest in this title, or in Brian Myers. Rich Swann deserves better. | Rich Swann |