Shocking. That’s probably the best way to describe TNA’s seventh anniversary spectacular, Slammiversary. New champions were crowned, new rivalries ignited and a new member was presumably added to the Main Event Mafia. From its inception, TNA has been criticized and told it would fail, after seven years they’ve proved their critics wrong and after a successful Slammiversary pay-per-view, it’s safe to say they won’t be slowing down anytime soon.
The main event stage was set and the big game feel was there. After a night of hot action and good matches, TNA needed that one final push to propel the pay-per-view into a complete success. Following video package profiles the five main event competitors for the King of the Mountain Match for the TNA title — Mick Foley, Jeff Jarrett, AJ Styles, Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle — were introduced by Jeremy Borash, and TNA was ready to receive that push.
Before the match could get underway, Samoa Joe, who was wearing a Detroit Red Wings jersey, attacked Kurt Angle, who was wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey. The Detroit crowd roared as Joe mounted Angle and smothered him with punches, while the referees administered a five count and called for the bell. It was announced that Joe’s attack earned him two minutes in the penalty box when the match started and that Angle was eligible to hang the belt.
With Joe locked away, the match was started. Shadiness was evident early on, as Mick Foley had Jeff Jarrett pin him and forced referee, Mark “Slick” Johnson to make the count. Jarrett became the second competitor eligible to hang the belt, while Foley took his spot in the cage and gloated how it was his plan to get a rest.
Once Joe came out of the penalty box, he unleashed his fury again and took the advantage over Angle, Styles and Jarrett. Eventually Foley was released and when he went on the offense against the Nation of Violence leader, Joe responded by taking him down and locking him in the Kokina Clutch, until Foley was choked out and sent back to the box for another time out. Joe was then the third man eligible to hang the belt.
Samoa Joe made the first attempt at hanging the championship belt, but by the time he did, Foley was out of the cage and positioned to knock the ladder over, which he did, causing Joe to land on it awkwardly. Jarrett was next to try and hang the belt, but a low blow from the Olympic Gold Medalist stopped him in his tracks.
Jarrett got Angle back for his under-handed shot, with a guitar smashing later in the match. Jarrett again tried to hang the belt, but Foley followed him and the two exchanged fists on the top of the ladder. Styles then came off the ropes and knocked the ladder down, sending both competitors crashing to the canvas.
Styles and Foley weren’t done with each other there. The two men left still battling for the eligibility to hang the belt climbed to the top of the penalty box and went back and forth, looking as though they were going to throw each other off. Foley was able to gain the advantage and threw Styles into the ring. Angle caught Jarrett with an Angle Slam for a two count and while he was still down, Foley leaped off the penalty box with a flying elbow to pin Angle for the three count. Foley was then announced as the fourth man to earn eligibility to hang the belt.
With the pressure on, Styles was able to catch Foley with a Pele Kick, before Samoa Joe sent him to the floor and onto the Executive Shareholder to score the pinfall. With that, Styles became the fifth and final competitor eligible to hang the belt.
With everyone in the match being able to hang the belt, all out chaos ensued. Once Jarrett, Foley and Angle were taken out of the equation by a Samoa Joe dive, it looked as though Styles was going to walk away TNA Heavyweight Champion. Angle made his way back into the ring and got a Styles Clash for his troubles. Styles had the belt in hand and was poised to climb the ladder to victory, when Joe snatched him off with a powerbomb and leveled him with a clothesline.
Joe then took the belt and began to climb, but he was met at the top by Angle. The two stared at each other and Joe handed Angle the belt, who hung it and claimed victory. Angle kissed Joe on the head and celebrated, as Booker T, Kevin Nash, Scott Steiner and Sharmell applauded from the stage. A shocking ending to a good pay-per-view and anniversary celebration by TNA.
TNA Slammiversary Pre-Show Report
TNA did a nice pre-show which included interviews with Beer Money Inc, TNA president, Dixie Carter and even SLAM! Wrestling’s own “Bloodthirsty” Bob Kapur. Yes, Bob Kapur.
Match One – The British Invasion (Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams) w/ Rob Terry vs. Eric Young/Jesse Neal and Rhino
Eric Young left the hometown hero, Rhino, high and dry early on, leading to Rhino’s protege, Jesse Neal, to come in and take over. Didn’t know substitutions like that could take place midway through a tag team match, but okay. Match was blah and was just a way to get Rhino on the card it seemed. The British Invasion get the win here.
Winners Via Pinfall at 5:35 min – The British Invasion (Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams)
Match Rating – 4/10
TNA Slammiversary Pay-Per-View Report
The show began with a nice opening package to hype the show. The music of Goldy Locks was featured.
Mike Tenay and Don West did their usual welcome and helped to introduce a member of the Detroit Tigers, Curtis Granderson, who joined them on commentary and was the belt holder for the TNA X Division Championship King of the Mountain match.
Match One – TNA X Division Championship King of the Mountain Match – Suicide (C) vs. Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin vs. Consequences Creed vs. Jay Lethal
Why would TNA put two King of the Mountain matches on a pay-per-view? It’s the main event, trademark Slammiversary match, why push it and put two on the same card? Regardless, it was entertaining. All five competitors earned eligibility to hang the belt. Couple of the big moments in the match included Suicide diving off the penalty box up the entranceway, and Jay Lethal hitting Chris Sabin with a top rope elbow drop onto a ladder that was set up between the ring and the guardrails. What was interesting throughout the match was that TNA has been building that The Motor City Machine Guns and Lethal Consequences want Suicide unmasked, however, while the four of them worked together at points, not one attempt was made to remove his mask. Suicide was able to overcome the odds and hung the belt to get the victory. After his hand was raised, the lights went out and when they came back on, he had left.
Winner Via Hanging The Belt and STILL TNA X Division Champion at 23:30 min – Suicide
Match Rating – 8/10
Mike Tenay and Don West ran down the rest of the card for the evening.
Backstage, Lauren talked about how Team 3D was on a flight back to the United States, after wrestling in Japan the night before. Shane Douglas walked in and basically proclaimed victory over Daniels before his match. Nice promo from Douglas.
A package was shown to hype the feud between Daniels and Shane Douglas.
Match Two – For Daniels’ Spot on the TNA Roster – Daniels vs. Shane Douglas
Before the match, Shane Douglas tore into the Detroit fans, as he, like Kurt Angle, is a Pittsburgh Penguins supporter. This match brought the pace down from the previous one. Shane Douglas did have a better outing with Daniels here then he did on Impact with AJ Styles. The finish on this one came out of nowhere, as Daniels hit the BME for the clean pinfall.
Winner Via Pinfall and Retaining his Spot on the TNA Roster at 8:10 min – Daniels
Match Rating – 6/10
Backstage, Jeremy Borash spoke to Mick Foley who was absolutely hysterical. Foley talked about retaining his title and not defending it again until Bound For Glory 2010. Borash presented Foley with a gift from him, as Foley exited the room singing about having “the World Title in his hands.”
A package was shown to hype the TNA Knockouts Championship match.
Match Three – TNA Knockouts Championship Match – Angelina Love w/ Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne (C) vs. Tara
There was heavy involvement from The Beautiful People in this match, which led to Tara leaving the ring and attacking Velvet Sky and Madison Rayne on the outside. When referee Rudy Charles’ back was turned, Sky sprayed Tara in the eyes with the hairspray, leading to a flatliner from Angelina Love that secured her the victory. These two would do much better with more time and less interference.
Winner Via Pinfall and STILL TNA Knockouts Champion at 6:50 min – Angelina Love
Match Rating – 6/10
Lauren spoke to Dr. Stevie, Raven and Daffney, who were located in a boiler room or something of that nature. The three cackled as they talked about the destruction of Abyss and Taylor Wilde.
A package was shown to hype the Mixed Tag Team Monster’s Ball match.
Match Four – Mixed Tag Team Monster’s Ball Match – Raven and Daffney w/ Dr. Stevie vs. Abyss and Taylor Wilde
This was a good match. Taylor Wilde and Daffney showed that they can hang hardcore with the likes of Abyss and Raven. At one point, Wilde even did a dive off the stage on Daffney through a table. As Abyss had the advantage, Dr. Stevie hit the ring and busted him open with a chair. Following some more back and forth action with a garbage can, Abyss turned to the thumbtacks. Daffney got stuck in between “The Monster” and Wilde, who picked her up and slammed her into the tacks. Dr. Stevie got involved again, breaking up a pinfall attempt by Wilde, which led to Abyss grabbing him by his throat, only for Raven to get back into the mix and whack Abyss with a steel chair. Raven followed up with a evenflow DDT onto the chair which only garnered a two count. Raven attempted to put Abyss into the tacks, but was reversed and planted with a Black Hole Slam onto the tacks to give Abyss and Wilde the win.
Winners Via Pinfall at 14:10 min – Abyss and Taylor Wilde
Match Rating – 8/10
Jeremy Borash spoke to Jeff Jarrett, who said that he had no interest in winning the TNA Heavyweight Championship and just wanted his company back. Jarrett went on to say that he would make plans for the belt after he won the match.
A package was shown to hype the match between Sting and Matt Morgan.
Match Five – For Sting’s Spot in the Main Event Mafia – Sting vs. Matt Morgan
Two King of the Mountain matches and two matches for spots on a roster or faction? Okay. Matt Morgan showed his power and had Sting reeling, but “The Stinger” fought back and hit a Scorpion Deathdrop on Morgan for a near fall. Sting was able to follow it up with a Scorpion Deathlock, but Morgan was too powerful to be held down. Sting went back to the well and hit a second Scorpion Deathdrop that proved to be too much for Morgan to handle, as Sting went on to retain his spot in the Mafia.
Winner Via Pinfall and Retaining his Spot in the Main Event Mafia at 10:00 min – Sting
Match Rating – 6/10
An package was shown that announced TNA’s Bound For Glory 2009 as taking place on October 18 from Los Angeles, CA.
Lauren spoke to Samoa Joe and AJ Styles and said that they had the advantage going into the King of the Mountain match, because they get along, while the rest of the competitors in the bout are at odds with each other. Styles agreed and said that the match would go well as long as they stuck to their plan.
A package was shown to hype the match between Team 3D and Beer Money Inc. for the TNA Tag Team Championships.
Match Six – TNA Tag Team Championship Match – Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) (C) vs. Beer Money Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode)
This was a good match. Beer Money Inc. and Team 3D work so well together. The British Invasion came out during the match, with Brutus Magnus and Doug Williams joining Mike Tenay and Don West on commentary. James Storm accidentally spit beer at Robert Roode, leading to 3D hitting the 3D, only for the British Invasion to get involved. While 3D was occupied with them, Beer Money Inc. recovered and hit the DWI on Brother Devon to win the TNA Tag Team Championships.
Winners Via Pinfall and NEW TNA Tag Team Champions at 17:00 min – Beer Money Inc. (James Storm and Robert Roode)
Match Rating – 7/10
Kurt Angle talked about winning the TNA Heavyweight Championship and taking the Main Event Mafia back to their throne in TNA. He went on to say that the match was between him and Joe and that “we will be celebrating.” Angle with short hair and beard looks way different.
The King of the Mountain match was hyped with profiles on the competitors.
Jeremy Borash did the introductions for the main event.
Match Seven – TNA Heavyweight Championship King of the Mountain Match – Mick Foley (C) vs. Jeff Jarrett vs. Kurt Angle vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe
Winner Via Hanging the Belt and NEW TNA Heavyweight Champion at 21:30 min – Kurt Angle
Match Rating – 8/10
Overall PPV Rating – 7/10
