A number one contender’s gauntlet match will be part of the card for Slammiversary 2020.
Impact Wrestling announced today that Rosemary, Nevaeh, Susie (Su Yung), Kiera Hogan, Taya Valkyrie, Tasha Steelz, Alisha Edwards, Kylie Rae, Kimber Lee, and Jessicka Havok will face off in a gauntlet match at Slammiversary. The winner will get an upcoming shot at the Knockouts Championship.
Jordynne Grace is the current Knockouts Champion. She’s defending her title against Deonna Purrazzo at Slammiversary.
Slammiversary is taking place on Saturday, July 18. Willie Mack defending the X-Division Championship against Chris Bey has also been announced for the pay-per-view.
Prior to Impact terminating its relationship with Tessa Blanchard and announcing that Michael Elgin won’t be appearing in any further Impact programming, Blanchard defending the Impact World Championship against Elgin, Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel in a five-way match had been set for Slammiversary. Impact hasn’t revealed their new plans for that match or how their new World Champion will be decided.
Bey, Johnny Swinger & Rohit Raju defeated Mack & The Deaners in a six-man tag match on this week’s Impact. To set up the X-Division title match for Slammiversary, Bey pinned Mack to get the win.
Mack has been X-Division Champion since winning the title from Ace Austin at Rebellion night one in April.
Impact confirmed in February that Bey has signed a contract with them.
Deonna Purrazzo challenging Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship is also set for Slammiversary. Tessa Blanchard was supposed to defend her Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin, Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel in a five-way match at the PPV, but Impact issued a statement tonight confirming that they’ve terminated their relationship with Blanchard and stripped her of their World title.
New Impact Wrestling arrival Deonna Purrazzo is officially getting a shot at the Knockouts Championship at Slammiversary.
It was confirmed on tonight’s episode of Impact that Purrazzo will challenge Jordynne Grace for the Knockouts Championship at Slammiversary on Saturday, July 18. When she arrived in Impact two weeks ago, Purrazzo confronted Grace and put her in a Fujiwara armbar. Purrazzo also attacked Grace on last week’s Impact and put her in the armbar again.
Purrazzo made her Impact in-ring debut on the episode that aired tonight. She tapped out Alisha Edwards with the Fujiwara armbar. After the match, Grace ran out to the ring but Purrazzo bailed.
A segment where Grace confronted Purrazzo on SiriusXM’s Busted Open Radio aired earlier on Impact tonight. In another interview after that, Purrazzo said she came to Impact to become a champion and will only face Grace with the Knockouts title on the line.
Tessa Blanchard defending her Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin, Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel in a fatal five-way match has also been announced for Slammiversary, though Elgin has been suspended by Impact Wrestling “pending further review of allegations of misconduct.”
Impact Wrestling has confirmed that at least one former World Champion will be returning at Slammiversary.
Tonight’s episode of Impact ended with another teaser for Slammiversary. “We continue to follow the ongoing story of the 20-plus professional wrestling superstars released from their contracts two months ago,” the news anchor in the teaser said. “Reliable sources have just informed us that at least one former World Champion will make his return to Impact Wrestling on Saturday, July 18. More as this story develops.”
Quick glimpses of past footage of some former Impact World Champions and recently released WWE wrestlers were shown as part of the teaser:
EC3 was one of those wrestlers included in the video. Earlier on tonight’s Impact, his old theme music played after Moose retained the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Hernandez. The commentators acknowledged that it was EC3’s music and said that Moose recognized it.
Moose has been calling himself TNA World Champion since bringing the belt back at Rebellion in April.
Tessa Blanchard is the Impact World Champion and will defend her title against Michael Elgin, Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel in a five-way match at Slammiversary.
Impact Wrestling returns from Nashville, TN for tonight’s episode as the build towards Slammiversary XVIII continues.
Opening video made a big emphasis on Deonna Purrazzo’s debut from last week, attacking the Knockout’s Champion Jordynne Grace after she had defended the title against Taya Valkyrie.
Right before their match, Xavier and Wentz were ready in the Gorilla position when Trey Miguel approached them. Wentz was suspiciously jumpy.
Impact Tag Team Champions The North (Ethan Page & Josh Alexander) defeated The Rascalz (Dezmond Xavier & Zachary Wentz) to retain the titles.
Wentz started the match dropkicking Page out of the ring, taking it to Alexander along with Xavier with a kick combo for an early two count. Xavier separated Josh to his corner for a senton atomico by Wentz. Josh and Wentz exchanged some strikes before tagging in Page.
Page successfully cut off Wentz as The North started to work on him with quick tags and mostly strikes. Josh got a two count with a knee drop.
Wentz made a great comeback with strikes and a jumping knee that allowed him to tag out. Xavier ran wild over Josh, using his speed to land several strikes, but Alexander managed to catch him midair and drop him to tag in Page.
The North separated Xavier and worked over him in their corner. The North hit Dezmond with a delayed vertical suplex that they passed around, but only for a two count when Wentz broke the pin.
Back from commercial, Dezmond is starting to make a comeback, escaping Page’s powerbomb attempt. He tags in Wentz, who ran wild over both men. Wentz went for a springboard plancha on Josh, but was caught, only for Dezmond to hit a moonsault and drop Alexander. Page got rid of Dezmond, while Wentz dropped him with a kick and standing moonsault for a two count.
Dezmond tagged in and hit a superkick and meteora combo with Wentz for a two count. Xavier went for another meteora, but Page dodged, hitting a couple of superkicks. Dezmond hit one for himself and took each other out. Wentz and Josh tagged in, with the former hitting a destroyer after a Pele kick by Dezmond, earning a two count when Page broke up the pin attempt.
Dez went for a suicide dive on Page, but Page caught him and tossed him over the rail. Wentz took out Page, but back in the ring, Alexander dropped him groin first into the ropes, tagged in Page, then followed with a torture rack into a spinebuster to retain the titles. Great opener.
Backstage, The North celebrated their win, but Page got angry that nobody was watching their match. Page said that no one would ever take the titles from them, they had no competition, and no one appreciated their greatness.
Josh Matthews and Madison Rayne ran down tonight’s card, pushing Moose’s defense of the TNA title and the street fight main event. He was interrupted and we went to the back where Trey Miguel had been attacked again while The Rascalz were in a match. Dezmond and Wentz went after Reno Scum.
Jimmy Jacobs approached Ace Austin for a comment about Trey’s attack. Ace said he didn’t know anything about it, saying that everyone keeps blaming him while there are a ton of crazy people on Impact. Eddie Edwards blamed him for Trey’s attack and told him that they would meet tonight.
Neveah (with Havok) defeated Kimber Lee
Neveah is making her in-ring debut tonight.
They started the match going straight for the forearm exchange until Neveah swept Lee’s leg, only for her to land a split, eating a dropkick instead. At this point, Tasha Steelz and Kiera Hogan came out to talk trash.
Kimber Lee took advantage of the distraction to attack Neveah, taking her down by kicking her leg and landed a low kick for a one count. Lee locked in a deep knee submission, mocking Havok.
Neveah recovered and chopped Lee, but got her eyes raked and choked against the ropes. Suplex for a two count.
Neveah finally made a comeback with some lariats, a bad looking STO, and a better looking German for a two count. Lee hit a kick combo ending with an enzuigiri for a two count. Neveah finished it with a great twisting DDT for the win. Not a good match, Neveah seemed kinda off.
After the match, Havok almost came to blows with Hogan and Steelz, but Neveah stopped her.
Backstage, Reno Scum and some staff are watching some matches when The North approached them asking if they were watching their match. They were watching Ken Shamrock, so Page got mad and broke the iPad they were using.
We got a video package for #CancelCulture, with Joseph P. Ryan talking about how Jacob Crist beat Crazzy Steve. He said that next week, he gets cancelled for good.
We then got a video of Crazzy Steve talking to himself about people telling him to not do things. He called himself a “Homicidal Artist”. He implied that he had some allies to face off with Cancel Culture.
Rhino defeated Rohit Raju
Rohit Raju jumped Rhino while he was doing his entrance. Rohit went for an early pin, but the referee said that the match hadn’t even started. Match started and Rohit went after Rhino with kicks and punches in the corner.
Rohit tossed Rhino to the floor, where he kept the momentum going, ramming Rhino to the apron over and over again into the ringpost.
Back in the ring, Rohit got a two count. He followed with more kicks and punches. Rhino tried to come back, but Rohit was fast enough to cut him off, dropping him with an elbow for another two count.
Rhino finally recovered with a suplex, a couple of clotheslines and back elbows, but when he went for a Gore in the corner, Rohit dodged and hit a running cannonball. Rohit went for a foot stomp, but Rhino dodged, hit the Gore, and won. Rohit looked great, but they still had him lose.
After the match, Rohit seemed to be having a breakdown.
Impact Plus Flashback Moment of the week was ECIII defeating Kurt Angle to win the TNA World Championship in 2015.
Backstage, Elgin was on the phone when Jimmy Jacobs approached to ask about Trey Miguel. Elgin told him that he doesn’t jump people from behind, he would rather drag a cameraman for everyone to see.
Susie and Kylie Rae met in the locker room. Susie said that she liked being good, but that everyone bullied her, so maybe she should be bad. Rae tried to tell her that she liked her.
Taya interrupted them and told them that they were losers and bad people have more fun. They brought up that Taya lost last week before Taya walked away, looking for Bravo.
Self-Proclaimed TNA World Champion Moose defeated Hernandez to retain his title.
Moose tried to jump Hernandez to start, but was caught with a dropkick and clothesline to the floor. Moose and Hernandez brawled, ramming each other into the rails and ringposts.
Back in the ring, Moose pulled Hernandez face-first into the turnbuckle and followed with stomps and clubs to the back. Moose whipped Hernandez from corner to corner, with uppercuts in between. At the third attempt, Hernandez tried to block, but Moose got him with an Okada-like dropkick off the turnbuckle, sending Hernandez to the floor.
Moose raked Hernandez’ eyes, stomped on him and played to the camera, but eventually Hernandez had enough and chokeslamed Moose. Hernandez hit a senton and a backbreaker for a two count.
Hernandez went for a suplex, but Moose escaped and hit a low blow. He hit the Lights Out, the new name for the No Jackhammer Needed for the win.
Instead of Moose’s music, the theme for Ethan Carter III was played. Ethan was not there, however. Big teases!
The Rascalz approached Reno Scum about Trey’s attack. Reno Scum said that they haven’t talked to Ace Austin in a while and that he owes them some money. Reno Scum passed the blame to TJP and Fallah Bahh.
We got a skit with The Deaners saying how much they missed one another Willie Mack was there just making faces. Cousin Jake challenged Chris Bey and Johnny Swinger to a six-man match. They made jokes about Johnny Swinger and Chris Bey. This was weird, but it had some funny bits. Mack is a terrible actor, however.
Reno Scum (Luster The Legend & Adam Thornstowe) defeated XXXL (Acey Romero & Larry D)
Acey and Thornstowe started the match, with the former dominating easily with his power. Along with Larry D, they took down Luster, but Adam was quick enough to take out Acey and hit a bulldog onto Luster’s knee on D.
Reno Scum went to work on Larry D with some double team moves, mostly clubbing him. Thornstowe got a two count with a standing moonsault. Thornstowe went for a crossbody, and Larry caught him midair and dropped him in desperation.
Acey and Luster tagged in, with Acey hitting clothesline after clothesline on Luster, followed by a sidewalk slam for a two count.
Thownstowe tried to fight off both D and Acey, but got crushed between them instead. Larry D took down Luster with a clothesline, but ate a step-up kick by Adam, setting up the top rope curb stomp double team for the win.
Backstage, Bey talked to Swinger about the challenge of the Deaners and Mack. Swinger said he had the perfect teammate to join them. He called someone who was in a 90 day no compete clause, so instead he told Bey he would call someone else.
We got a great profile piece on Deonna Purrazzo. She talked about starting her wrestling career, being invited by Impact a while back to wrestle Brooke Tessmacher as enhancement. After that, she traveled the world, wrestling in Japan and Europe to learn more and more. She now was back, knowing that she was the best female technical wrestler in the world and wanted to prove it.
She said that the attack on Jordynne Grace was simply because she is the champion, and she is here to reach the top and nothing else. She will be the next Knockout’s champion.
Miller interviewed Grace about the piece. Jordynne said that Purrazzo came to the right place if she wanted competition, but if she wanted a shot, she just had to ask. Purrazzo then jumped Jordynne Grace, locked in the armbar and injured Grace.
Ace Austin defeated Eddie Edwards in a street fight
Eddie jumped Ace Austin during the entrance and started brawling. Eddie started going strong with the knife-edge chops early on before going to fetch some weapons. Eddie went for a garbage can that Ace tried to avoid, but in the end, Eddie caught him by tossing the garbage can at him.
Eddie dropped Ace groin first on the guardrail then chopped him, but Ace had his gambit stick ready to retaliate.
Back in the ring, Ace regained control with the trash can, setting it on Eddie’s head and kicking him over and over, earning a two count. Ace raked Eddie’s face, hit a knee to the back, hit him with a metal sign, and connected several chops and kicks, but Eddie only hit one chop to set Ace back down.
Eddie sent Ace to the floor again, but when he went for the dive, Ace caught him with a trash can lid to the head.
Ace set up a piece of guardrail as a ladder between the apron and the ramp, but was countered and was tossed spine first into the guardrail.
Back in the ring, Eddie hit Ace with a traffic sign, then a blue thunder bomb for a two count. Eddie went for a chair shot, but Ace dodged and hit his version of the Van Daminator for another two count.
Ace brought out a table and set up Eddie on it, hitting him with the traffic sign over and over. Ace got to the top rope, but Eddie blocked him and went for a super backplex. Ace, in desperation, gave him a papercut under the eye to cut him off. He followed with a crossbody for a two count.
Eddie caught Ace with another cooking sheet and a tiger bomb for a two count.
Eddie brought out his kendo stick, but got dropped with a drop-toe-hold onto an open chair mouth first. Ace tried to use the kendo stick, but Eddie dodged, took the stick and hit Ace. He then hit one of the most disgusting neckbreakers I’ve seen, by turning the table legs up and hitting a neckbreaker over the legs of the tables.
Eddie prepared for the BKP, but suddenly Madman Fulton rose like Godzilla behind Eddie. Fulton chokeslammed him over and over again, then fed him to Ace for The Fold, giving Austin the win. Ace and Fulton seemed to be a new unit. Good match, but that neckbreaker spot was seriously scary.
We got a new Slammiversary teaser. The reporter said that at least one former World champion would make an appearance, showing various names from the past.
Final Thoughts:
Good show by Impact, went by fast. Strong in-ring action top to bottom, with only one match being poor. Storyline wise, you can now start to see all the pieces coming together towards Slammiversary.
Next week has Susie vs. Taya, Mack and The Deaners vs. Bey, Swinger, and a mystery partner, and Cancel Culture vs. Crazzy Steve and two mystery partners.
We’ve got yet another double issue of the Observer out this week covering both the creative changes in WWE and a long bio on Johnny “Mr. Wrestling II” Walker, as well as a number of other features.
The move to Bruce Prichard as creative head of Raw and Smackdown and the steps leading to this process change. We look at who appears to be safe and who isn’t. We look at what was tried on Raw and what wasn’t working, and notable key recent moves. We also look at the problems of comparing Raw with Smackdown.
We have a long look at the life and career of Mr. Wrestling II, Johnny Walker. We look at his heyday, his connection with President Jimmy Carter, the birth of cable and his role in popularizing pro wrestling on cable, how babyfaces changed in the 70s, his 1980 feud with Harley Race, his checkered past, his wrestling debut, his coming mainland, interactions with the toughest guys of his era, his first good run in Tennessee, how his life was notable in both pro wrestling and country music, his first masked gimmick and his planned retirement. Having the right gimmick in the right place at the right time made him one of the biggest stars in the country. We look at the Georgia wrestling war and the creation of Mr. Wrestling II. We look at the Mr. Wrestling vs. Mr. Wrestling II feud and all of II’s biggest feuds over the next decade. We look at II’s meetings with the president’s mother, his biggest matches at the Omni, his runs in Mid South, feud with Magnum T.A., his WWF tenure, and his life after wrestling in Hawaii.
We also cover:
New Japan Pro Wrestling returning to business this week, scouting out the New Japan Cup, directions for fans attending the Osaka shows and why the matches won’t have traditional heat, and the complete schedule.
Economics of Conor McGregor, Jorge Masvidal, Jon Jones and Henry Cejudo and how the ESPN deal has removed fighter leverage. We look at comments by the fighters, response from Dana white and realities of he situation.
An enormous donation made by John Cena, Paul Levesque talks a signature match, WWE canceling over shows due to the pandemic, weekly sports ratings, Edge movie, DVR viewership, Canadian ratings, twitter feuds, Arn Anderson on Sami Zayn, funny story on the first time Adam Cole heard from WWE, what happened to Chris DeJoseph, plus upcoming TV bouts.
Fight Island and the next UFC PPV show
UFC 250, with business notes, popularity notes, poll results and match-by-match coverage.
NXT Takeover In Your House with a rundown, booking notes, match-by-match coverage with star ratings and poll results.
Backlash and story behind Edge vs; Randy Orton.
In-depth looks at the ratings of all the major shows, the key demos and quarters for AEW and WWE, what happened head-to-head and what can be learned from them.
Results of all the major pro wrestling events around the world over the past week.
ORDERING INFO: Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].
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MONDAY NEWS UPDATE
Bryan and I will be back tonight covering Raw and all the latest news with Wrestling Observer Radio. You can send questions for the show to [email protected] We’re also looking for your thoughts on last night’s Backlash show, so you can leave a thumbs up, thumbs down or thumbs in the middle along with a best and worst match to [email protected].
Paul Heyman is not at Raw tonight unless he’s being hidden. Ric FLast night’s Observer Radio show talks in depth the amended complaint and changes in the lawsuit regarding Saudi Arabia included a deposition from a WWE wrestler about what really happened in Saudi Arabia. Flair has an appearance on tonight’s show talking about Randy Orton’s win. Randy Orton is scheduled to open the show to discuss injuries both he and Edge received on the show. Drew McIntyre & R-Truth vs. Bobby Lashley & MVP has been announced, as has a rematch with Asuka vs. Nia Jax for the women’s title. Dominick Mysterio will do a segment with Seth Rollins. With this being the first Raw under Bruce Prichard, expect some new directions and probably a few big angles.
Raw will be live to tape done in the afternoon. Smackdown is being taped for Friday tonight. Raw & Smackdown for next week will be taped on Tuesday, while two weeks of NXT will be taped on Wednesday.
Yesterday’s Backlash show was the eighth most searched Internet term with 200,000. exactly the number expected, the same number as UFC did the day before. So the interest level was similar to most non-major WWE PPV shows.
New Japan started up today and has shows on Tuesday and Wednesday live on New Japan World. Tomorrow’s show at 6 a.m. Eastern has New Japan Cup bouts with Togi Makabe vs. Yota Tsuji, Tomohiro Ishii vs. Desperado, Toru Yano vs. Jado and Hiromu Takahashi vs. Tomoaki Honma. The Wednesday first round matches are Kazuchika Okada vs. Gedo, Yuji Nagata vs. Minoru Suzuki, Yuya Uemura vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru and Gabriel Kidd vs. Taiji Ishimori.
On last night’s show when talking about muscle tears, I noted that in the NFL, quad tears never happened until the steroid era and are generally considered in football as steroid injuries. One of our readers noted he’s never taken steroids and has had decent quad tears playing soccer. He said that the only sports where quad tears seem to happen not involving steroids are Australian Rules football and soccer, which he believes has to do with the body mechanics used for kicking, and said in Australia several doctors have told him that those injuries seem exclusive to those sports.
WWE
The 7-foot-3 masked giant in the Street Profits-Viking Raiders skit was Jordan Omobeghim, who has been in developmental for a while. He’s from Lagos, Nigeria and played college basketball at Morgan State and the University of South Florida. Here are his NCAA stats.
The FS1 wrestling block tomorrow has the 1996 Survivor Series show from Madison Square Garden at 7 p.m. which features Dwayne Johnson’s first WWF main roster match as Rocky Maivia, plus a classic Bret Hart vs. Steve Austin match. Bret Hart and C.M. Punk will both be on WWE Backstage at 11 p.m.
Anthony Agogo, a former pro boxer who was an Olympic medalist in the sport and is under a developmental deal to AEW, was on a webcam feed discussing Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury on Sky Sports News on Saturday. He talked about his eye injury that led to the end of his boxing career. Pro wrestling wasn’t brought up but he was wearing an AEW T-shirt (thanks to Tony Garvey)
MISCELLANEOUS
Rusev talked about Impact’s showing a Bulgarian flag in its Slammiversary commercial as a tease he’s coming, not confirming or denying anything, saying: “As I said, any Bulgarian can go and debut. They may have another kid from Bulgaria. I keep saying that. Could be anybody. Look, I don’t know why you think it’s me. I understand why you think it’s me, but I can’t confirm or deny. Or I don’t wanna confirm or deny. Maybe they wanna pay me a million dollars for one match. Who knows? Maybe I’ll come in.” You can watch the clip here. (thanks to Himanshu D)
CWE announced the 2020 Lethal Lottery for 7/10 in Winnipeg at Rookie’s Sports Bar with a 100 person capacity. Fans will draw the matches at random. The winners of the first round matches will go into a second drawing for the main event where teams will be drawn one pick after another seconds before the match starts, so rivals may team up and friends will; battle. So the entire show has to be called in the ring with no planning ahead of time since nobody will know their matches.
IWTW announced a new partnership with Riptide Wrestling out of the U.K. and its library will be part of the service.
OVW will be doing a one-hour special on the career of Jessie Godderz on its national show on the YTA Network that airs at midnight Easter time on Friday night. The show is called “From Pectacular to Prime Time.”
Tessa Blanchard will defend her Impact World Championship against four challengers at next month’s Slammiversary pay-per-view.
After announcing that the future of their World Championship would be addressed on the episode, it was revealed on tonight’s Impact that Blanchard will defend her title against Michael Elgin, Eddie Edwards, Ace Austin, and Trey Miguel in a five-way match at Slammiversary. The PPV is taking place on Saturday, July 18.
Scott D’Amore made an appearance on tonight’s Impact to announce the title match for Slammiversary. The segment ended with Austin, Elgin, Edwards, and Miguel brawling.
Elgin and Edwards were supposed to challenge for Blanchard’s title in a triple threat match at Rebellion in April, but that match didn’t happen because Blanchard and Edwards weren’t able to attend the tapings for the show due to the coronavirus pandemic. Blanchard also missed the most recent set of Impact tapings.
On last week’s Impact, Austin defeated Zachary Wentz in the finals of a tournament to become the number one contender to Blanchard’s title. The tournament final was supposed to be Austin vs. Miguel, but there was an angle where Miguel was attacked backstage. Miguel’s attacker has yet to be revealed.
Impact Wrestling has announced the date for their next pay-per-view — and teased that recently released WWE wrestlers could potentially be involved with it.
This week’s episode of Impact ended with a video announcing that Slammiversary 2020 will air live on PPV on Saturday, July 18. Where the show will be taking place wasn’t mentioned.
The announcement video featured an unidentified person who was wearing a hoodie watching a news report that was created for the video. “Breaking news from the world of professional wrestling, over 20-plus superstars were released from their contracts amidst the ongoing global pandemic,” the news anchor said. “Their fate currently remains unknown. We will be closely monitoring the situation, and we wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”
Past Impact-owned footage of Eric Young, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Drake Maverick, Curt Hawkins, Mike & Maria Kanellis, and EC3 was then briefly shown. There was also a Bulgarian flag featured. The video ended with the announcement of the date for Slammiversary.
Maverick is facing El Hijo del Fantasma in the finals of WWE’s interim Cruiserweight Championship tournament on NXT this week. He’s had an underdog story for the tournament, trying to win to save his job.
The WWE releases were announced on April 15.
Impact’s most recent PPV was supposed to be Rebellion in April, but that show instead took place as two weeks of television episodes due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Slammiversary announcement video is available to watch below:
The show starts off with Don and Josh talking about Slammiversary with Josh hyping it up as one of the best shows of the year. Josh says that tonight, we’ll see the main event of A Night You Can’t Mist. Josh says that tonight they’ll be walking around to meed some of the Impact Wrestling dignitaries and in the main event, Jordynne Grace faces Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan in a triple threat.
A highlight reel airs covering Moose vs. RVD from the PPV with RVD saying he underestimated Moose and he was unvictorious. RVD says he doesn’t need to work on himself, he just needs another chance to beat Moose. As far as goofball RVD promos go, this was indeed one of them. Don says this was a great sign of Moose moving up the talent food chain.
Josh and Don talk about the Eddie Edwards and Killer Kross first blood match before a recap airs on that. Kross talks about Eddie having too many voices in his head and Eddie says he loves the mind games. Eddie says that after the match, he has a newfound respect for Killer Kross and that he will be whatever he needs to be. Killer Kross cuts a tearful promo about knowing how crazy Eddie was before Davey Richards, Moose, or even his own wife knew it.
Rosemary cuts a promo on how Twitch gives Impact greater exposure and how they need more hivelings to support it. Melissa Santos does a Twitch video talking about her wedding.
Josh’s voice is shot as he and Don talk about how the PPV was in the “war room”. Josh welcomes His Guest at This Time Jimmy Jacobs. He talks about Monster’s Ball and says it’s chaos – so you can either let the chaos control you or you can control chaos. Father James Mitchell talks about how only one can win a monster’s ball and it’s one of the most dangerous matches in the business. He talks about how Havok being the one he wants to win, but if either she or Su win, they will be co-champion.
Taya calls Rosemary a pawn in her game and says it’s unfair for her to defend against three people. Taya says after winning that she has once again beaten the odds. Mitchell gets one of the best lines of the year in with “I JUST GOT BLASTED IN THE FACE WITH WEAPONS-GRADE ASIAN MIST!” Melissa recaps how great Mitchell was and then talks about the lapdances on her wedding day.
Josh and Don talk to D’Lo Brown joining the company full-time as an agent. D’Lo and his squeaky chair talk about how The North being champions changed things up on LAX really quickly. A rundown of the tag title match then airs. Ethan Page talks about winning the titles and defending them on PPV within three days. The Rascalz talk about how they have to go back to the treehouse and figure things out. The North says they showed they will never lose the titles.
After the match, Konnan delivers a message to The North before saying they have idiot’s luck and it will run out when Santana’s back and they’ll make sure The North’s allies will be a breathing tube and a feeding tube.
D’Lo says that The North is the best team in the world before saying that they’re the best in the company. Don says that they’re the most efficient team in the world.
Melissa Santos hypes up the Fallout show with the lethal lottery returning as a mashup concept with Sami teaming with Tessa against Dave Crist and Trey of the Rascalz.
The Night You Can’t Mist main event airs with Muta and Dreamer facing Johnny Impact and Big Mike. Johnny does a great job stalling and creating movement for Muta to react to, but Muta does show a surprising amount of speed on a takedown and a kneebar before Johnny Chinlock takes over for a while. Big Mike works over Dreamer and then Johnny takes some flip bumps for Muta’s basement dropkicks.
Tommy sets up a super Spicoli driver and drives Johnny through the table that Elgin was lying on the floor. Muta pinned Johnny with the Shining Wizard. Tommy cuts a promo thanking the Philly fans and wanting to go to either AJPW or NJPW because of Muta.
Tommy Dreamer talks in the war room about living his dream at 48 teaming with Muta. He talks about Tessa vs. Sami being the first page of a book and the story will continue on. Don says that Tessa won by losing and the story is still being told. Tessa talks about being the first woman in a PPV match event and Sami says that as The Draw, he’s the main event no matter where his match is placed.
Tessa is shown hitting a trio of dives, but getting caught on the last and being swung side to side into the barricade and eating a death valley driver on the floor. The recap of this made it come off like an all-time classic and Tessa says she won’t let losing go to her heart. Sami says they need to do that match again.
Swann vs. Johnny Impact clips air with Petey talking about it from the war room. Petey says he looks up to both and he loved working both guys. Josh and Don talk about how Don created Ultimate X and Petey says that Johnny’s great, but Swann was unbeatable on that show. Rich says that he faced one of the most athletic wrestlers ever while Johnny says he wants it because it’s an Impact-original title.
Swann says he wants to be the best X Division champion in company history and is shown hitting the Lethal Injection and the phoenix splash. Johnny yells at Johnny Bravo and blames him for the loss. Johnny Impact says that he’s going away and Taya blames him for the loss.
Scott D’Amore talks about the Elgin vs. Cage match. He says he was worried about Elgin because he’s here to put people in the hospital. Josh asks if Cage proved he’s the best out there and Don says that yeah, he was in rough shape at Rebellion, but he proved any critics wrong with the Slammiversary match. Scott talks about “something new coming into the picture” soon and while no one is legally sure who he is, Don says all the smart marks know who he is. A quick highlight reel airs for the match that doesn’t do it justice.
Cage says that the Age of Cage is just beginning and Elgin says that he didn’t fail because Cage couldn’t beat him with his biggest moves. Rhino’s gore is shown and Elgin says that Cage didn’t truly beat him. He blames Callis for being a mark for Cage and bringing in the masked man. Okay, so in-canon on the show, Don Callis runs the show despite “just” being a commentator on-air.
A Tessa Blanchard countdown shows her taking out Taya, Glenn Gilberti, the BFG match with Taya, her title win against Su Yung, and then finally, her beating and retiring Gail Kim at Rebellion. The show has done a fantastic job of getting Tessa over as the biggest star in the company, and the formatting of this show would be perfect as a first one on a new network. If you’re a lapsed fan, it’s a perfect catch-up show. Josh and Don go back to the ring and hype up Impact Fallout.
Jordynne Grace defeated Madison Rayne and Kiera Hogan
Madison gets 2 on Kiera with a small package after awkwardly ending a Grace sunset flip attempt. Grace lands a double suplex and we go to a break. Grace misses a pop-up Vader bomb on Hogan, who gets up and lands a Cro Cop high kick. Kiera stomps on Madison before foot choking her in the corner. Jordynne hits a giant slam on Kiera and hits her with a bridging German while also having Madison in an O’Connor roll.
Madison hits an Alberto-esque double stomp on Grace for 2. Hogan superkicks Grace, but she absorbs it and wins with the Grace Driver.
Madison was tossed out beforehand and looks pissed before jumping her. Hogan then joins in. Don says this is just like a bar fight. Maybe the one from the ’70s original The Wrestler. Josh and Don talk about this being a setup by Hogan and Rayne.
Rhyno appears to have made his return to Impact Wrestling at last night’s Slammiversary XVII pay-per-view in Dallas, Texas.
After Brian Cage retained the Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin by reversing a powerbomb attempt into a pin, there was a post-match angle where Elgin hit Cage with a title belt shot. Elgin then got into it with Don Callis and went for a powerbomb, but a masked man came into the ring, hit a Gore on Elgin, and did Rhyno’s taunt.
Rhyno last wrestled for WWE as part of the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on the WrestleMania 35 pre-show. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet that was uploaded on May 7, Rhyno said July 17 was the last date on his WWE contract.
Rhyno debuted for TNA in 2005 and won the NWA World title at that year’s Bound for Glory pay-per-view. He departed the company in 2010 before briefly returning in 2014.
A big week for pro wrestling in Dallas wraps up tonight with Slammiversary XVII.
The Impact World Championship will be on the line, with Brian Cage defending his title against Michael Elgin. Elgin made his Impact debut by attacking Cage at April’s Rebellion pay-per-view. Cage won the World title from Johnny Impact at that show but suffered a back injury in the process, which has been worked into his feud with Elgin.
Three other title matches are set for tonight. Taya Valkyrie defends her Knockouts Championship against Rosemary, Havok, and Su Yung in a Monster’s Ball match. Johnny Impact is cashing in his X-Division title shot for a match against Rich Swann. And after winning the Tag Team titles from LAX on Friday night, The North (Josh Alexander & Ethan Page) will defend against LAX and The Rascalz.
In a big intergender matchup, Tessa Blanchard will face off with Sami Callihan. Plus, Moose takes on RVD, Eddie Edwards and Killer Kross meet in a first blood match, and TJP will issue an open challenge.
Our coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern time.
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WILLIE MACK DEFEATED TJP, JAKE CRIST & TREY MIGUEL
A crazy opener. This was all action.
Highlights included Miguel hitting a double stomp off the top while TJP had Crist in a Romero Special.
The finish saw Crist hit a cutter off the top to Miguel. Mack jumped in with a Six Star Frog Splash and stole the pin.
IMPACT TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH: THE NORTH DEFEATED LAX & THE RASCALZ TO RETAIN THE TITLES
Page and Alexander retained in a short match. Page broke up a Rascalz pinfall on Ortiz with a powerbomb, and Alexander stole the pin.
They did an injury angle with Santana to give LAX an out on the finish. He rolled outside and started selling his knee. Konnan was ringside, and they called out a referee and a doctor.
Highlights included Page and Alexander throwing guys around like the Steiners. Alexander hit a top rope fallaway slam, and Page hit a senton bomb. Dezmond Xavier hit some cool dives for The Rascalz as well.
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Sami Callahan cut a promo. He promised to beat Tessa Blanchard in the first intergender PPV main event in history.
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FIRST BLOOD MATCH: EDDIE EDWARDS DEFEATED KILLER KROSS
They did a video package with a lot of religious imagery before the match, and Kross entered wearing a priest’s collar. Edwards was dressed for a street fight.
Edwards got some shine, attacking Kross on the stage before the bell with a kendo stick. Kross cut him off with an apron bomb.
They traded chair shots. Kross kicked the kendo stick out of the ring as Edwards reached for it. They fought on the top rope, and Edwards crotched Kross.
With Kross draped in the ropes, Edwards hit the Boston Knee Party. He followed up with a tiger driver on the floor.
Edwards broke the kendo stick over his knee, and jammed the broken pieces down Kross’s throat. Kross spit up blood, and Edwards got the victory. A good brawl.
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They cut to a backstage investigative reporter who was looking for a word with Tessa as she arrived at the building. She pushed the reporter into the wall, and said nothing.
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RVD cut a promo. He was glassy-eyed. He said he respected Moose, who wasn’t waiting outside the Impact offices campaigning “the writers” for a match with RVD. He came right after RVD because he knew that’s where the money is. RVD promised to live up to the Mr. PPV moniker.
MOOSE DEFEATED ROB VAN DAM
RVD’s appearance in the pre-match promo was concerning, to say the least. He looked totally fine here, though. He did all of his trademark stuff, just slower than vintage RVD.
RVD hit a spinning wheel kick and a slingshot dive as he established the early advantage. Moose cut him off. Moose hit a delayed dropkick in the corner, then a vertical suplex.
RVD made a comeback, backdropping Moose over the top rope to the ramp. Back inside, RVD hit a split-legged moonsault. Moose hit the Go To Hell, but RVD kicked out. They traded DDTs.
Moose hit a low blow, but the ref missed it. Moose grabbed a chair from under the ring, and RVD hit the Van Daminator. He covered, but Moose forced a rope break.
RVD hit a drop toe hold on the chair. He went for a frog splash, but Moose rolled out of the way, so RVD hit the chair. Moose hit a spear for the pin. A fine match.
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Taya cut a promo. She promised to remain the “Impack” Knockouts Champion.
MONSTER’S BALL IMPACT KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: TAYA VALKARIE DEFEATED ROSEMARY, SU YUNG & HAVOK TO RETAIN THE TITLE
What is a Monster’s Ball match, you ask? From WikiPedia: “The key premise of the match was that all contenders are sequestered alone in a locked room without light, food, or water for twenty-four hours before the match. This stipulation is intended to induce extreme feelings of aggression in the competitors.
The locked away stipulation was simply forgotten about, however, and not mentioned since the sixth one. It is now simply a Street Fight, as the match has to end inside the ring.”
Taya grabbed a staple gun and went after Havok, but Havok avoided it. Rosemary clotheslined Havok to the floor. Taya pulled an 8×10 out of her gear, and stapled it to Yung’s forehead.
Havok set up a chair, and dropped Taya onto the chair with an elbow smash. Rosemary hit Havok with a missile dropkick, then hit her with a cookie sheet.
Yung brought a “demon collar” into the ring, and attached it to herself and Rosemary. She sent Rosemary head-first into a chair set up in the corner.
Taya used a ladder as a weapon on Havok. They did a stacked up superplex spot, and Rosemary suplexed Yung on the ladder. Rosemary speared Taya.
Rosemary dumped thumbtacks on the mat. She teased suplexing Taya on the tacks, but Taya hit a bulldog. Yung sprayed red mist in James Mitchell’s eyes. Taya put Rosemary through a table with a uranage.
The finish saw Havok use a super-tombstone off the second rope to Yung on the tacks. Taya jumped in and stole the pin.
Everyone worked hard and the match was much better than it looked it would be on paper. This is a nitpick, but it was hurt by the fact that they used the same finish they used in the two previous multi-person matches.
IMPACT X-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: RICH SWANN DEFEATED JOHNNY IMPACT TO RETAIN THE TITLE
Johnny Bravo came to ringside with Impact. He threw streamers into the ring when Impact was announced. The Johnnys are entertaining, but it’s a total midcard comedy act.
The Johnny’s used a variety of heel tactics to get the edge early. Bravo gathered up some tacks from the previous match and spilled them in the ring, distracting the ref.
Swann hit a cartwheel into a splash in his first comeback. Impact cut him off, hitting a Johnny’s Edge for a nearfall. Impact went for a springboard attack, but Swann nailed him with an uppercut.
They traded strikes on the top rope, and both fell to the floor. They teased a double countout, but both made it back inside. Impact hit a Spanish Fly off the second rope, then hit another on the mat for a nearfall.
Swann took out Bravo with a leg lariat over the top. Impact missed a dive. Impact hit Starship Pain for a nearfall. Swann popped up and hit two cutters. He followed with a phoenix splash for the pin. A very good match.
IMPACT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH: BRIAN CAGE DEFEATED MICHAEL ELGIN TO RETAIN THE TITLE
They started off with a striking battle. Cage sent Elgin outside, then hit a tope con giro. Elgin cut him off with a knee strike and a dragon suplex, then hit a superplex. Elgin hit a back suplex on the apron.
Back inside, Elgin missed a twisting senton, but was back on offense immediately. Cage came back with a tornado DDT, a 619, and an inverted falcon arrow for a nearfall. Elgin came back with a powerbomb, a lariat, and a crucifix bomb for a nearfall.
Elgin hit a buckle bomb, but Cage popped right out of the corner, hitting a discus lariat. They exchanged a series of knee strikes and superkicks. Elgin hit the last kick, setting Cage up for a buckle bomb. Cage reversed into his own buckle bomb.
Cage went for an F-5, but Elgin reversed it into a Canadian Destroyer for a nearfall. Cage hit a jumping knee strike, then connected with an F-5 for a nearfall.
Cage went for a Drill Claw, but his back gave out. Elgin hit a kick to the head, then a series of slaps. He teased an Elgin Bomb, but Cage used a sunset flip for the pin out of nowhere.
Elgin hit Cage with the title after the match, then posed with the belt. Don Callis got up from the announce desk to talk sense to Elgin. Elgin threw Callis into the ring.
A masked man ran in and hit a Gore on Elgin for the save.
The pace these guys maintained was impressive, and this was a fun sprint.
SAMI CALLAHAN DEFEATED TESSA BLANCHARD
Tessa got a superstar reaction.
She hit a tilt-a-whirl headscissors, sending Sami outside. Tessa hit two suicide dives. She went for a third, but Sami caught her. He whipped her head into the barricade twice, then hit a DVD on the floor.
Sami hit an apron bomb. They teased a countout, but Tessa made it back in at the count of eight. Tessa hit a neckbreaker, but Sami cut her off again with a big boot. Sami teased a powerbomb off the ramp, but Tessa turned it into an awesome cutter. They crawled back to the ring, and beat the count back inside.
Tessa hit a series of strikes. Sami flipped her off. Tessa hit a Samoan drop. She teased Magnum, but Sami popped up, so Tessa rolled through and landed on her feet. Tessa hit a DDT. She teased a second DDT, but Sami blocked it.
Sami hit a shoulder breaker, then used an STF. After a struggle, Tessa forced a rope break. Sami teased a second roe piledriver, but Tessa blocked it, then hit a codebreaker off the second rope.
The ref tried to force a break in the corner, but Tessa caught him with an accidental bow, and the ref took a bump. Sami grabbed a baseball bat. He hit Tessa. A second ref ran out to count the pin, but Tessa kicked out. The second ref took a bump.
Tessa hit a low blow, then grabbed her own baseball bat. She used the bat, then hit Magnum, but Sami kicked out.
Tessa rolled through into a crossface. Sami teased tapping out, but stood out of the hold instead. He hit a package tombstone for a nearfall.
Tessa got up and gave Sami the thumbs down sign. Sami hit a Cactus Special piledriver, and got the pin.
Sami grabbed both baseball bats after the match. He teased using them. Instead, he gave Tessa her bat back as a sign of respect.
The main event worked. Tessa is really a special talent, and Sami played his role to perfection. The finish sort of sucked the life out of the building, though.
Impact Wrestling returns from the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, NY for the final stop before Slammiversary this coming Sunday. Opening video recapped the ongoing stories surrounding the main championship feuds, the war between Killer Kross and Eddie Edwards, and Tessa Blanchard’s beat down at the hands of oVe.
Twitch stream was hosted by Melissa Santos. She broke the news that The North defeated LAX for the tag team titles at Bash at the Brewery, and showed the post-match promo from Ethan Page and Josh Alexander. There was another earthquake during the broadcast, but Melissa kept hosting.
TJP defeated Ace Austin
Different from other Ace Austin matches, this started with some hold-by-hold series of reversals for wrist and head control. TJP got to display his proficiency, while Ace would fail at trying to copy TJP, playing into Ace’s cockiness, and pushing him to resort to kicks instead.
TJP locked in a really innovative Sharpshooter while holding both of Ace’s hands, and later transitioned into a Last Chancery. Ace once again resorted to use his kicks to take control of the match for a bit, but TJP kept escaping, but it was until TJP went for a springboard dive that Ace got the upper hand. Ace hit a Space Flying Tiger Drop, cut TJP’s finger with a card, and worked over TJP’s arm with an elbow bar.
Ace Austin hit the jumping curb stomp, but TJP dodged it, hit a Springboard dropkick. Ace hit a Disaster Kick for a two count. Ace went for a Superplex, but TJP blocked it, so instead Ace hit a beautiful leg-scissors takedown. Ace went for a roll up with the ropes, but the ref caught him, giving TJP time to recover, take out Ace’s leg and connect with a lungblower for a two count.
Ace and TJP exchanged strikes and kicks with the latter getting the upper hand, as he went for House of Cards, TJP dodged, grabbed the leg, locked in a kneebar, and submitted Ace Austin. Great opener.
– We got a video recapping Brian Cage’s title win, injury, and road to recovery. It also featured Michael Elgin’s path of destruction into Sunday’s title match.
– Melissa Santos interviewed Johnny Impact and Bravo. She asked if he would be able to survive with Bravo as his tag team partner. Johnny said he is the one man Mega Powers. Johnny Bravo had a fake man-bun. This was funny.
Kiera Hogan defeated Madison Rayne
Hogan has dyed her hair blue-ish, so she’s no longer the ‘Girl on Fire’. Jordynne Grace joined commentary for the match.
Match started with Hogan running at Rayne, looking for the quick roll up, and thus they traded a couple of near falls with quick roll-ups until Hogan left the ring. Madison went for the chase, but Hogan caught her with a kick. Hogan antagonized Grace at the commentary table, but it was enough distraction for Rayne to recover.
Back in the ring, Hogan kicked out Rayne’s leg while climbing the turnbuckles, and got a two count after her running hip attack combo. Hogan stayed in the offense, while constantly mocking Jordynne outside. Rayne started a comeback after a desperation enzuigiri, hit a couple of strikes, and landed a cutter for a two count.
Hogan went for a school girl with her legs on the ropes, which prompted Grace to leave the table. Hogan hit a swinging neckbreaker and pin for the win.
After the match, Jordynne went after Hogan, but the Girl no longer on Fire ran off. In the ring, Madison Rayne blamed Jordynne Grace for losing the match.
– Outside the building, Gama Singh gave Rohit Raju a surprise for tonight’s match. It was the Singh Family Tea set, it’s been in the family for generations, while he explained this, the Deaners poured some beer into the teapot behind their backs. The immediately figured out it was beer. Rohit drank it anyway.
– Somewhere in the Undead Realm, James Mitchell is trying to break up the tension between Su Yung and Havok. He tells them that they need to be patient and work together this Sunday. Their plan is for Havok to walk out as the Knockout’s champion.
– Impact Plus Moment of the Week was Jeff Hardy vs Broken Matt Hardy from Slammiversary 2016.
– We got a video recap of the ongoing story with Taya, Rosemary, Su Yung, and the returning Havok.
– We got a showcase video for Sami Callihan that built into the Tessa vs Callihan feud.
Rohit Raju (w/Raj and Gama Singh) defeated Laredo Kid
Match started quick with what would seem to lead to a series of reversals and counters, but Rohit got a quick clothesline to gain control, which didn’t last long as he played to the crowd and got taken out. Laredo Kid jumped on the first rope and the rope snapped on him, but he was safe. Laredo still hit a moonsault from the second rope for a two count. Don Callis said that a two-rope ring is still better than a 6-sided ring.
Rohit regained control of the match and went after Laredo with stomps to the back. Rohit swept the leg, but once again started playing to the crowd. Snap suplex for a two count. Laredo hit a rana and Tope Suicida to get back in the match, earning a two count.
Laredo went for a top rope corkscrew, but Gama and Raj distracted him, giving Rohit the time to recover, dodge the move, hit a big foot stomp, and get the win.
– We got a video recapping RVD’s return and feud with Moose. Good promo by Moose.
Moose came down to the ring, looking amazing like always. He cut a promo saying that he loved RVD as a kid, he put over his matches in ECW, but that was 20 years ago and things have changed. He said that he can’t be a fan of him anymore because he’s now better than him in every sense. He then showed a video of Moose beating up Sabu someone backstage. He told RVD that at Slammiversary, he will retire him.
Rob Van Dam finally came out and brawled with Moose. They got into a short pull-apart.
Zachary Wentz defeated Trey Miguel and Dezmond Xavier, he pinned Trey Miguel to eliminate him from the Slammiversay Tag Team title match.
Match stipulation was that the man taking the fall would sit out the Slammiversary tag title shot. All men shook hands before starting.
All men started the match trying to get quick roll ups on each other. Dez and Wentz hit a combo on Trey, but Wentz was taken out before they could end, leading Xavier and Trey doing a sequence of reversals, with Trey getting the upper hand. Wentz returned and also did a sequence with Trey before Dezmond returned, superkicked Wentz, hit a rana on Trey Miguel, and sending both of them to the outside. Dezmond went for a dive, but Wentz caught him. Trey Miguel instead hit a rana to the outside on Wentz. Dezmond and Wentz got dives in before Dezmond got a two count after a top rope corkscrew on Wentz.
All men traded strikes in the middle of the ring that ended with a double move on Trey and a standing shooting star from Wentz to Dezmond for a near fall. Xavier and Wentz traded strikes until Trey returned with a springboard senton and a double cutter for two separate near falls. Trey went for Meteora on Dezmond, but took enough time for Xavier to dodge. Wentz took him out and together with Dezmond, hit Hot Fire Flame on Trey for the finish.
All men embraced after the match and consoled Trey for losing.
– Tessa Blanchard arrived at the arena with a baseball bat.
– We got the buildup video for Killer Kross vs Eddie Edwards. From start to finish, we got to see how Kross’ character has changed so much in so little time. After the video, we saw Killer Kross at the same church from last week, he cut a promo in the form of mass. He said that at Slammiversary, someone will die and that he is Edward’s only true salvation.
– We got the video building up Johnny Impact chase for Swann’s X-Division championship and the consequent wins they’ve traded. They’re selling this as Johnny wanting to add his name to the X-Division championship’s legacy.
– Commentary ran down the card for Slammiversay, adding an open challenge by TJP.
X-Division Champion Rich Swann & Willie Mack defeated Johnny Impact & Johnny Bravo
Swann and Impact started the match with a quick sequence, trading kicks and a series of reversals. Mack tagged in, but Impact decided to stay in the ring, with whom he traded another sequence of counters and reversals with some Lucha flavor. Swann and Mack hit a double team move, but Bravo finally made his presence felt, distracting Swann and giving Impact the opening to turn things around. Swann was tossed outside where Johnny worked over his neck.
Back in the ring, Impact used Bravo as a weapon, slamming him on to Swann. Bravo tagged in and got a couple of strikes in and a two count. Bravo telling Kid Ref to count faster was great. Bravo choked Swann, but Impact tagged in before Swann could break out. Mack tagged in and ran wild over Impact, but also got distracted by Bravo. Impact went for a Spanish Fly, but was countered into a top rope Neckbreaker instead. Mack hit a running Cannonball, Samoan Drop, and Moonsault combo for a two count when Bravo broke the pin.
Mack got distracted with Bravo again, allowing Impact to hit a Disaster Kick. Swann tagged in and took out Impact with a shotgun dropkick, leaving Bravo stuck between Mack and Swann, who beat him up. Mack hit a stunner on Bravo, and after a Phoenix Splash, Swann picked up another win over Impact. This was surprisingly good considering Johnny Bravo was part of the match, he played his part perfectly.
– Outside the building, Sami Callihan and Jake Crist are celebrating early their win over Tessa, who arrives wielding a bat and tossing Dave Crist over the food table. Tessa takes out Jake first. Sami and Tessa brawl with the former having an obvious strength advantage, but Tessa has no off switch. Jake recovers and holds Tessa for Callihan to get another bat shot, but Tessa low blows Jake, dodges Callihan, and hits him with the bat. Tessa stands tall to end the show.
Final Thoughts –
Impact had been closing feud builds for the last two weeks, so this show mostly consisted of video recaps and a set of good matches. By the time the stream ended, there was unfortunately, no update on the status of the LAX vs Rascalz match for Sunday.
A first blood match has been added to the card for Impact Wrestling’s next pay-per-view.
On last night’s episode of Impact, it was announced that Eddie Edwards will face Killer Kross in a first blood match at Slammiversary XVII. The PPV is taking place at Gilley’s Dallas in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, July 7.
There was a scene on this week’s Impact where Edwards was at a church confessing about the voice in his head that is getting him to do bad things. Kross then appeared and confronted Edwards. Edwards said there are rules in the church, but there are no rules outside. Edwards told Kross that he’ll be waiting for him.
An angle aired on last week’s Impact where it appeared that Kross’ character may have been written off in a brawl with Edwards, but Dave Meltzer reported that it was just an angle to build up their feud and Impact has no plans to grant Kross’ release.
Here’s the updated card for Slammiversary:
Impact World Champion Brian Cage defending against Michael Elgin
X-Division Champion Rich Swann defending against Johnny Impact
Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie defending against Su Yung, Jessicka Havok, and Rosemary in a Monster’s Ball match
Impact Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) defending against The Rascalz (two of Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel)
Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan
Eddie Edwards vs. Killer Kross in a first blood match
Impact Wrestling has officially announced an intergender match for Slammiversary XVII.
Tessa Blanchard vs. Sami Callihan is set for Slammiversary. The pay-per-view is taking place at Gilley’s Dallas in Dallas, Texas on Sunday, July 7.
Blanchard vs. Callihan was set up when Callihan challenged Blanchard to a one-on-one match at Slammiversary on last week’s episode of Impact. Blanchard tweeted out a video today accepting the challenge and saying that she’ll see Callihan in Dallas.
Blanchard defeated Callihan’s oVe stablemate Jake Crist in a match that aired on last Friday’s Impact.
The night before Slammiversary, the American Airlines Center in Dallas is hosting the opening night of this year’s NJPW G1 Climax. WWE Raw is also taking place at the American Airlines Center next Monday.
Here’s the updated card for Slammiversary:
Impact World Champion Brian Cage defending against Michael Elgin
X-Division Champion Rich Swann defending against Johnny Impact
Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie defending against Su Yung, Jessicka Havok, and Rosemary in a Monster’s Ball match
Impact Tag Team Champions LAX (Santana & Ortiz) defending against The Rascalz (two of Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel)
It will be LAX (Santana & Ortiz) defending their Impact Tag Team titles against The Rascalz (two of Dezmond Xavier, Zachary Wentz & Trey Miguel) at Slammiversary XVII. That was announced after the teams brawled on last night’s episode of Impact.
Xavier & Wentz challenged for LAX’s titles in the main event of last week’s Impact. It appeared that The Rascalz won the titles, but — as the first referee couldn’t see — a second ref counted the pin for Miguel despite Miguel not being in the match. The decision was reversed to LAX winning by disqualification.
Gilley’s Dallas in Dallas, Texas is hosting Slammiversary XVII on Sunday, July 7. The PPV is being headlined by Brian Cage defending the Impact World Championship against Michael Elgin.
LAX and The Rascalz (Xavier & Wentz) are also set to face off at PWG’s 16th anniversary event on Friday, July 26. The Rascalz will defend their PWG Tag Team titles against LAX in a ladder match at that show.
