Josh Alexander celebrates the past by getting past Eric Young at Slammiversary

Bob Kapur

Josh Alexander celebrates the past by getting past Eric Young at Slammiversary

On the night when Impact Wrestling was celebrating its first 20 years, it was appropriate that the main event of Slammiversary – a World Championship match that saw Josh Alexander successfully retain the title against Eric Young – was filled with many tributes to various stars from the company’s past. Indeed, moves made famous by stars like Samoa Joe, Abyss, Christopher Daniels, Kurt Angle, and company founder Jeff Jarrett were used to exciting effect during the back-and-forth match that at times looked like either man could win. But when it was all said and done, it was Alexander’s own trademark C-4 Spike that earned him the win – showing that, while the company has a strong history, it also has a strong slate of the stars of today that will take the company into the future.

The first reference to the stars of yesteryear came during Josh’s introduction, when the commentators noted that his singlet was designed in honor of Kurt Angle’s time in the company. It was also noted that this was long-time referee Brian Hebner’s final match with the company, as he has announced his retirement.

The match started off with a fast exchange – including both missing Moonsault attempts, and a big Double Clothesline – ending in a standoff. They had a brutal chop and strike exchange, and that was enough to give Josh the edge – including paying tribute to Samoa Joe when he facewashed EY in the corner with his boot.

But that just angered Young, who got aggressive, dropping Josh right on his head in a Suplex that more resembled a Brain Buster. Still, Alexander had no give in him, and soon he had Eric precariously close to being shoved off the apron and through a table that Deaner had set up on the floor. Young fought back and blasted Josh with a couple of big shots, and was able to hit a Flying Elbow Smash that got him a 2-count.

With Josh down, Young took some time to unhook some of the apron tie-downs, in an attempt to expose the wooden ringboards like he did on Thursday night’s episode of Impact. This gave Josh some time to recover, and soon he had Young reeling after a couple of big Powerbombs. He floated that into a submission move, but had to release it to knock Deaner and Doering off the apron – and then immediately went back on the offense, nearly getting the win after a High Cross Body.

Young blocked a C-4 Spike and went back to targeting Josh’s neck, hitting him with Jeff Jarrett’s trademark Stroke, but Josh was able to kick out. EY then sent Josh head-and-neck first into the corner, and hit another legend’s move, a Black Hole Slam – made famous by Abyss – for a close count.

Josh fired up and took a page out of Christopher Daniels’ playbook, with an STO and the Best Moonsault Ever for two. Josh continued to go for the C-4 Spike, but EY kept responding with counters. So Josh went back into the TNA/Impact move-set library, hitting Young with the Styles Clash, and then locking on an Ankle Lock. But just as EY started to tap out, Deaner threw some yellow powder into the referee’s eyes, blinding him so he couldn’t see Young submit.

Instead of losing focus, though, Josh answered back with his own violence. He took out Deaner, and then picked up the gigantic Doering and dropped him with an Olympic Slam off the apron and through a table on the floor – rightfully earning a “This is awesome!” chant from the crowd.

Deaner was ready to attack Josh with the VBD flagpole, but Josh pulled out a Team Canada hockey stick flag, and bested Deaner. But that kept him too busy to notice that Young had also found himself a weapon: a guitar. And, channeling his inner Jeff Jarrett, when Alexander turned around, Young gave him the old El-Kabong, smashing the guitar right over his head.

Young grabbed the ref to make the count, and it was one, two, thr— No! Josh kicked out!

A frustrated Young then rolled up the ringpad and hit Josh with a Piledriver on the exposed the boards underneath. And that was – no! Josh kicked out again!

An angry EY set Josh up for another Piledriver, this time off the turnbuckles, but Josh escaped and clamped on the Ankle Lock. Young rolled out of that and charged Josh, only to get hit with a Samoa Joe style Uranage. Josh then pulled his singlet straps down and hit Young with a C-4 Spike on the exposed ringboards, and ended the match with a hard-earned 1, 2, 3.

This was great. The match was really well done, and the various tributes to TNA/Impact legends was a nice touch without overshadowing the story of the match. Josh has just started rolling as a champion, so it would have been too early for him to lose it now. And, as a babyface champion, there are still a lot of fresh challengers for him to take on – e.g. Doering, the Honor No More guys, Steve Maclin – so continuing his reign should lead to some really interesting matches.

The show ended with Josh Alexander posing victoriously in the corner with his title, ready to face the future as world champion.

Slammiversary 2022 – Full Results

Pre-Show Match 1: Brian Myers vs. Rich Swann (c) – for the Digital Media Championship

Swann was outwrestling Myers early on, but when Myers aggressively yanked Swann neck-first into the ropes, he took over, holding Swann down with a Reverse Chinlock and giving him the occasional shot. Swann rallied and put Myers down with a series of punches, strikes, and kicks. Myers avoided a Phoenix Splash and Speared Swann for a near fall.

After some back-and-forth, Swann hit a Springboard Cutter and followed that up with a 450-Splash for the pin.

This was a pretty good, if rather basic match. It’s kind of a shame Swann isn’t in the Ultimate-X match, both because he could help make that one really exciting and because he’s better than competing for the Digital Media Championship

Winner, and still Digital Media Champion: Rich Swann

Match rating: 7/10

The commentary team, Tom Hannifan and Matthew Rehwoldt announced that Jack Evans was injured, so taking his place in the Ultimate-X match for the X-Division Championship will be Andrew Everett.

Pre-Show Match 2: Johnny Swinger, Chris Bey, David Young, Zicky Dice, Shera, Raj Singh, Bhupinder Gujjar, Shark Boy, Crazzy Steve, Shogun, Chase Stevens, Aiden Prince, Mike Jackson, Steve Maclin, Slash (w/ Father James Mitchell) – Reverse Battle Royal

As a reminder, the rules of this convoluted match are: the sixteen entrants start on the floor and battle to enter the ring – they must go over the top rope; once eight have made it into the ring, it becomes a traditional battle royal; once there are only two people left in the ring, it becomes a traditional match. There were audio issues during the introductions, so not all of the sixteen names were announced.

As expected, this was nothing more than some fun nonsense. The highlight was watching 72-year old Mike Jackson using the ringside guardrails to hit “old school” on Shera on the floor – he actually walked around two sides of the ring.

At this point, the wrestling gods came to my rescue and the pre-show cut off on my PPV feed. I then switched to my Impact Plus feed, and saw that the last two entrants were Johnny Swinger and Shark Boy. Shark Boy hit a Stunner to get the win.

Two words that never get old are entirely-appropriate to summarize this one: Fire Russo.

Winner: Shark Boy

Match Rating: N/A

Main Show

A stellar opening video package ran down the history of the company, and its windy path to its 20th anniversary.

Match 1: Ace Austin (c) vs. Kenny King vs. Alex Zayne vs. Andrew Everett vs. Trey Miguel vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey – Ultimate-X match for the X-Division Championship

The action started off hot and heavy, with Bailey and Zayne hitting big dives to the floor within the first minute. Miguel followed suit shortly thereafter, hitting King with a huge Flying Somersault Dive to the floor. And Austin soon followed suit with a Fosbury Flop onto a couple of the challengers. Everett then bowled everyone over with a Twisting Torpedo Dive.

More vintage X-Division action followed, with Bailey using the cables to hit a modified version of Ultimo Weapon to crush three guys below him. A huge Tower of Doom spot came next, with everyone but Miguel taking the brunt of the landing. And then Trey hit Zayne with a Super Canadian Destroyer off the top for good measure – that looked tremendous.

Later, Bailey and Austin were hanging upside down on the cables, taking turns trying to grab the belt between chopping each other. Everett tried to get involved, but got thrown down hard for his troubles. Bailey was able to kick Austin down, leaving him alone in the centre of the X, and he unhooked the title to capture the championship.

This was reminiscent of the Ultimate-X matches of old, complete with some incredible spots. Bailey has really impressed in his short time with the company, and should make for a good X-Division Champion.

Winner, and new X-Division Champion: “Speedball” Mike Bailey

Match rating: 8/10

Hannifan and Rehwoldt paid tribute to one of the original pillars of TNA, the late Bob Ryder, to whom tonight’s broadcast was dedicated.

Veteran TNA backstage announcer Scott Hudson was in the back to interview the Motor City Machine Guns, Kazarian, and Nick Aldis. They said that they were in a mood to both celebrate the company’s history, and to fight for it. Hudson asked who their mystery partner would be, but they didn’t divulge anything.

A special greeting video from Sting aired with highlights from his TNA/Impact stint.

Match 2: The Influence (Tenille Dashwood & Madison Rayne) (c) vs. Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie – for the Knockouts Tag Team Championship

There were some signs that the makeshift team of Rosemary and Taya weren’t entirely in-sync early on, and this allowed the Influence to isolate Rosemary and put the beating on her. She eventually muscled her way free and tagged in Taya, who dominated the champs. Rosemary came back in and looked like she had things won, but the Influence thwarted a Spear attempt that likely saved their titles. Rosemary and Taya then hit simultaneous Spears, but both opponents were able to kick out. Some cheating by the Influence stopped the challengers’ momentum. Or so they thought. Because after hitting Rosemary with The Collab, she zombied up, and scared Rayne, who ran into a Knee-Plunge combination that put her down for the count.

This was good. It will be interesting to see how long Rosemary and Taya will be able to remain on the same page, and there a few stories that can emerge from this: what happens to Rosemary’s Decay cohort Havok now, will Taya be able to focus on the team while still the AAA Reina des Reinas champion, etc. Should be interesting.

Winners, and new Knockouts Tag Team Champions: Rosemary & Taya Valkyrie

Match Rating: 7/10

A special greeting video from Kurt Angle aired, thanking TNA/Impact for his time there and reminiscing over some of his feuds.

Occasionally during the broadcast, they’d show video of Sami Callihan and Moose who were isolated separately in a blacked out room with no food or water for the past 24 hours, as is customary before a Monster’s Ball match. Moose didn’t fare as well as Sami, who seemed to thrive in the environment.

Backstage stooges released Moose and Sami from their isolation. Moose was disconcerted, but Sami was raring to fight.

Match 3: Sami Callihan vs. Moose – Monster’s Ball

Sami attacked Moose on the entrance ramp during Moose’s introduction. Sami battered Moose around the ringside area, whipping him against the guardrails and then swatting his head with metal cookie sheets, busting up Moose’s mouth. Moose fought back, smashing Sami in the face with a garbage can lid, and soon Sami was wearing a crimson mask. Moose went on the attack after that, Chokeslamming Sami through a ringside table. They whipped chairs at each other’s face, which looked painful. Moose went for the Spear, Sami ole’d him and Moose went head first into a garbage bin where he got stuck for a while.

This time allowed Sami to get some more weapons, including a barbed wire door, which he propped up in the corner. Moose tried for a desperation top rope move, but Sami shoved him off, and Moose went flying, crashing face-first through another ringside table – ouch! Sami then pulled out a bag of thumbtacks and poured them into the ring. But before he could use them, Moose dropped him into the silver ocean with a Sky High. In a neat visual, Moose then dragged Sami through the pile of tacks.

Moose went to Spear Sami through the door, but Sami caught him and slammed Moose through it with a Death Valley Driver – but Moose kicked out!

Later, a good camera shot showed Moose’s back and head sliced up as a result of going through the barbed wire.

They then exchanged garbage can shots to the head, before knocking each other silly with simultaneous swings. A rally by Sami saw him plant Moose with a Cactus Driver, but again Moose kicked out. Sami went for another, but Moose hit him with a low blow. Moose put a metal garbage can upside down in the ring, but he was the one who ended up being Powerbombed on top of it. Moose’s back basically landed on the thick metal base of the can and it crunched, but didn’t crush, the can – that looked fugly. After some more pinfall attempts, Sami finally put Moose down for good after hitting him with a barbed wire bat and then hitting another Cactus Special.

This was a good brawling deathmatch. That garbage can spot in particular looked absolutely brutal. As Tom Hannifan said, TNA/Impact’s hardcore legend Abyss would have been proud of these guys.

Winner: Sami Callihan

Match Rating: 8/10

Match 4: The Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows) vs. The Briscoes (Jay & Mark Briscoe) (c) – for the World Tag Team Championship

The ref had no control at the beginning, as the two teams started brawling at the bell. The match then spilled to the floor and on the entrance ramp as well. Chaos ensued when the Briscoes introduced chairs into the mix, with Mark using it as a springboard to hit a Flying Somersault Dive to the floor. But Jay didn’t fare so well, and he ended up being driven into a chair that was wedged in the corner.

The ref finally got some control and things resumed as a traditional tag team match. This gave the advantage to the Briscoes who used their unconventional hard-hitting offense to great effect. For a while, anyway – a big Anderson Spinebuster on Mark swung the pendulum the other way. Jay broke up a Magic Killer just in time, but Mark was still trapped in the wrong corner. He finally broke loose, and then things picked up.

Mark went for a flying move, but Gallows pushed him and Mark went flying into a Gun Stun by Anderson that left him reeling and he dizzied himself to the floor. This left Jay in a 2-on-1 situation, and the numbers game caught up to him. The Good Brothers put him down with the Magic Killer, and Mark wasn’t able to get back into the ring in time to break up the pinfall.

Outside of the questionable refereeing – seriously, the ref looked completely incompetent and weak-willed for much of this one – the match was good. These two have some good chemistry together and it showed in this one, which saw some hard-hitting slobber-knocking shots at times. Not sure that the Good Brothers winning so cleanly and definitively was the best way to go, unless this was the end of the Briscoes’ time with the company – hopefully not, since they really are a breath of fresh air no matter where they are.

Winners, and new World Tag Team Champions: The Good Brothers

Match Rating: 8/10

After the match, the teams faced off in the ring. But before any confrontation could happen, the music of a classic TNA/Impact team – America’s Most Wanted (“Wildcat” Chris Harris and “Cowboy” James Storm) – started playing, and they came to the ring with a few cold ones. AMW seemed impressed by what they’d seen and offered all four a beer. Storm said that TNA/Impact historically showcased tag team wrestling, and they toasted to the teams and to the longevity of the company. The three teams all celebrated in the ring together.

A video package aired, focusing on the company’s original commentary team, “Professor” Mike Tenay and Don West. Those guys were so good together. All the best to Don, who is going through serious health issues. And a big hello to Mike Tenay, one of the best of all time. Rehwoldt and Hannifan were really emotional after the video, and urged people to donate to Don West’s GoFundMe campaign.

The lovely and talented Christy Hemme was in the ring, and she introduced Impact Executive Vice-President Scott D’Amore – who came out doing his classic “Coach” D’Amore entrance, including wearing a Team Canada shirt and brandishing a Canadian flag tied to a hockey stick. You have to wonder if that was the same size shirt he wore in his original run, but I wouldn’t dare to ask him that directly. D’Amore joined the commentary team for this one.

Match 5: Honor No More (Vincent, PCO, Eddie Edwards, Mike Bennett, and Matt Taven) (w/ Maria Kanellis) vs. Team Impact (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Frankie Kazarian, Nick Aldis, and Davey Richards)

Kaz’s wife, Traci Brooks, and their son Rebel were ringside for this match, as was Hall of Fame referee Earl Hebner (RIP Dave).

Before the fifth member of Team Impact was announced, former owner and President Dixie Carter came out on the entrance ramp. She thanked everyone who had ever worked for the company in any capacity. And thanked all the fans who supported the company over the past 20 years. She then introduced Davey Richards as the final member of Team Impact.

The match got off to a quick start, with Team Impact getting the early edge, both physically, and mentally – particularly in the case of Edwards, who was fazed by the return of his former American Wolves partner Davey Richards, from whom he had split years ago in violent fashion.

But a flurry by HNM – including a big Cannonball Dive by PCO onto Shelley’s face – turned the tide. They beat Shelley up for several minutes, until Shelley avoided a De-Animator attempt by PCO and he was able to escape the danger zone. The pace really picked up after that, with Kaz in particular looking really good, including hitting a nice Slingshot Cutter on Vincent.

Bodies started racing in and out of the ring after that, to the point you could say it was total non-stop action (see what I did there)?

Ultimately, Edwards and Richards faced off, with Davey getting the better of things. He locked on a submission, leading to everyone else pairing off, with the rest of Team Impact locking on submissions on their opponents, all in the ring. Until PCO monstered up and cleared the ring of all the members of Team Impact, save Kazarian who took a series of moves from HNM. Kaz avoided a PCO-Sault, and then it was Team Impact’s turn to hit a parade of finishers – but PCO is inhuman and wouldn’t be stopped.

Maria tried to intervene for her team, but Traci Brooks hopped the barrier and took her down and out of the match.

PCO pulled Traci into the ring with evil intention, but Kaz made the save. He hit PCO with the Flux Capacitor – but before referee Brian Hebner’s hand could hit the mat for the third time, he was dragged out of the ring by Kenny King, who somehow got ringside.

Former Aces and Eights VP D’Lo Brown came to the ring and took out King. Meanwhile, Earl Hebner checked on the condition of his son, Brian, who looked like he’d been clocked by one of the HNM members off-camera. Meanwhile, D’Lo climbed up top and hit King with the Lo Down.

Sabin, Shelley, and Kazarian combined forces and hit Taven, Bennett, and PCO with their respective finishers. With Brian Hebner still incapacitated, Earl Hebner slid into the ring, took off his shirt to reveal a referee’s stripes, and counted the fall.

Between all the over-the-top shenanigans, outside interference, and overbooking, there was a pretty good match in all of that. That said, they kind of sacrificed the quality of the match to get everything else in there. Though, it would seem that was their intention.

Winners: Team Impact

Match Rating: 6/10

A video greeting aired from AJ Styles who reminisced about his time with the company and some of his most memorable matches, including the epic three-way X-Division match between him, Samoa Joe, and Christopher Daniels. He thanked the fans for voting him as the Most Impactful Male Wrestler and Most Impactful X-Division Wrestler. He acknowledged that WWE gave him permission to do the video.

Match 6: Tasha Steelz (c) (w/ Savannah Evans) vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Chelsea Green vs. Deonna Purrazzo vs. Mia Yim – Queen of the Mountain match for the Knockouts Championship

The objective of the match is to climb the ladder and hang the title belt on a hook above the ring. In order to be eligible to hang the belt, a wrestler first has to score a pinfall or submission, at which point she can request the belt from the referee at any time thereafter. The wrestler who got pinned or submitted is locked in a penalty box (a lockable shark cage) at ringside for two minutes, taking them out of play. The penalty box rule applies throughout, so a good strategy would be to have as many opponents in the box as possible at the same time, leaving fewer people to try to stop the attempt to hang the title.

Mickie James was the special Referee for this one, who maintained custody of the title unless requested by an eligible party, and her history with the various participants was noted by the commentary team.

Steelz skedaddled from the ring right away, leaving her opponents to pair off while she and Evans pulled a table from under the ring and set it up at ringside. Purrazzo and Green allied to double-team everyone, including hitting successive Flying Dives onto the rest of their opponents. After those dives, Green rolled in Steelz and covered her for the pin, making Green eligible and benching Steelz for two – even locking Evans in the penalty box with her.

Grace and Yim teamed up to send Green out of the ring and prevent her from climbing the ladder, then turned their attention to Purrazzo, fighting over the chance to pin her. Later, when Evans got into the ring to help Steelz, Mickie exercised her authority and sent Evans to the back.

Yim became the second eligible person by pinning Green with a Bridging German Suplex. Green kicked the door hard into Mickie’s face when getting in, and Mickie appeared to be knocked silly.

Yim tried to climb the ladder, but Steelz leaped and hit her with a huge Flying Cutter off the ladder to stop her – that looked vicious. Green got out of the cage and hit Grace with a Spear, preventing her from breaking up an Armbar submission that Purrazzo had locked onto Steelz. With nobody to save her, Steelz had no choice to tap out, thereby conferring eligibility onto Purrazzo. Green and Yim duked it out for a spell while Mickie – back upright – jawed it out with Steelz who was in the box.

A neat sequence saw Green stomp Steelz’ face into the ladder which was leaning on the ropes, and then Yim jump off the top of the penalty box to hit Green with a huge Missile Dropkick that sent her hard into the ladder.

Yim then ran up the ladder, using it as a launchpad for a Flying Somersault Dive on Purrazzo and Grace on the floor. Yim then hit Grace with a Package Piledriver on the floor and pinned her, to take Grace out for two minutes.

Green won a tug-of-war for the belt, but when she tried to climb the ladder, Mickie James slid into the ring and clocked her. James slid the title to Yim, but before Yim could get to the top, Purrazzo caught her and Powerbombed Yim onto a ladder that was lying on the mat. Green recovered the title and dropped Steelz on that ladder face-first.

Green then climbed the ladder with the title, but Purrazzo climbed up the other side – though it wasn’t clear if her intent was to help her or stop her. No answer was provided, because Mia Yim pushed over the ladder, sending them both crashing really hard through tables en route to the floor. Tremendous!

Grace hit a Bridging German Suplex on Yim, but Steelz climbed on top while Mia was pinned, and as a result, the in-ring referee ruled that both of them were now eligible, while Yim had to go into the penalty box. Steelz flattened Grace with a Reverse Cutter and climbed up the ladder, but Grace plucked her off the ladder and hit a Muscle Buster. With Yim and Steelz in the box, and Purrazzo and Green dead on the floor, it was a simple task for Grace to climb up the ladder and hang the title to once again become the Knockouts Champion.

This was really good. Kudos to all the women for some of the crazy, violent stunts – in particular, that table spot with Green and Purrazzo was must-see. Grace was a solid champion before and was kind of spinning lately, so hopefully this will lead to some good feuds for her again.

Winner, and new Knockouts Champion: Jordynne Grace

Match Rating: 9/10

Gia Miller introduced TNA/Impact original Goldylocks to conduct the next backstage interview with the fan-voted Most Impactful Knockout of the past 20 years, Hall of Famer Gail Kim. Kim praised the Knockouts throughout the years and said how proud she is of those who carry on the division’s legacy.

They announced that Against All Odds will take place in Atlanta on July 1st, and the next PPV event will be Bound For Glory on October 8th, though a location wasn’t given.

Match 7: Eric Young (w/ Violent By Design (Deaner and Joe Doering) vs. Josh Alexander (c) – for the Impact World Championship

Winner, and still Impact World Champion: Josh Alexander

Match Rating: 9/10

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