Impact Wrestling. It took place on July 7, 2019 at the Gilley’s Dallas in Dallas, Texas. It was the fifteenth event under the Slammiversary chronology. The name of the show is a reference to the anniversary of the first Impact (then called TNA) event, held June 19, 2002. The Slammiversary name was first used in June 2005.
Opening the show was the “dark match” which if you’re unfamiliar with that term, it is the untelevised match. To kinda get the crowd pumped and ready.
JORDYNNE GRACE DEF KIERA HOGAN AND MADISON RAYNE
This 3 way dance was a great way to start the show off. Jordynne Grace has always been a great wrestler. This was my first time seeing Kiera Hogan wrestle and she didn’t disappoint. Madison Rayne is a long-time Knockout in Impact. These 3 girls didn’t hold anything back but in the end Jordynne Grace got the win. After the match she went to shake Madison Raynes hand…to a blind attack as Hogan and Rayne beat her down.
WILLIE MACK DEF. JAKE CRIST, TREY MIGUEL AND TJP
This was a fun opener for the actual televised portion of the PPV. It was an effective way to get all four guys on the card, with everyone getting the opportunity to shine and there being enough entertaining spots to keep this interesting. Mack picked up the win after landing a six-star frog splash on Crist, next contender for the X-Division title? Only time will tell.
IMPACT WORLD TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
THE NORTH (C) DEF. THE RASCALZ AND LAX
As a multi-team contest this was always going to be a fast paced match with each team getting their shine. LAX with the legendary Konan started at a frantic pace. The North looked good in their first match as champions, with Josh Alexander particularly showing off his talents. The Rascalz looked poised for victory after landing the Hot Fire Flame, only for The North to steal the pin on Ortiz. Solid match with some great high spots.
FIRST BLOOD MATCH
EDDIE EDWARDS DEF. KILLER KROSS
First Blood matches are a little hit and miss for me, but Edwards and Kross had a fun brawl that played to both men’s strengths and delivered a solid pay-off to their feud. This match told an effective story, with the more physical Kross dominating in the early going, only for Edwards to use his heart to work his way back into the match. The finish, which saw Edwards snap Kenny 2.0 and use it to cut Kross’ mouth wide open, was both innovative and a strong callback to the start of their feud. This was kind of a quick match and I was hoping for a Sandman showing but I enjoyed this match nonetheless.
MOOSE DEF. ROB VAN DAM
I have to admit the kid in me was so excited to see Rob Van Dam again live in person. Rob Van Dam might actually be able to roll back the years and deliver something entertaining. He can still go, hitting all of his signature moves. As he went for his patented Rolling Thunder but Moose powdered and went to the outside. Van Dam wasn’t having any of that and dove out onto Moose. As they both got back in Moose took over and slowed down the pace. Towards the end of the match Van Dam went up top for his 5 Star Frog Splash but Moose moved and Van Dam landed straight onto a chair. Moose came in hot and hit him with a spear to end the match.
IMPACT KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP – MONSTER’S BALL
TAYA VALKYRIE (C) DEF. SU YUNG, HAVOK AND ROSEMARY
A female Monster’s Ball match was something I had been intrigued to see since they announced it. It ended up surpassing all expectations and being a really good watch.. Although in the opening few minutes the match stuck closely to the 2 in, 2 out format that can often dog multi-person affairs, these four women eventually found a good rhythm. Taya looked particularly strong in this one, running wild with the staple gun, which she stapled a picture of herself on Sui Yung’s face. Rosemary brought in some thumbtacks but it seemed to worked against her as Taya face planted her straight into them. Later on in the match, Taya connected with a Side Effect to Rosemary off the apron and through a table in the closing stretch left Havok and Su Yung in the ring. Havok looked set to become a two-time Knockouts champion after hitting an Avalanche Tombstone on Yung into the thumbtacks, only for Taya to get back in, throw a chair in Havok’s face and steal the pin to retain her title.
IMPACT X-DIVISION CHAMPION
RICH SWANN (C) DEF. JOHNNY IMPACT
Johnny Impact is, in my opinion. one of the greatest entertainers in a long time, and he more than delivered here in an excellent X-Division title match. They used John E. Bravo to slow the match down in the opening exchanges, allowing Swann and Impact to empty the tank and go balls-to-the-wall in the last 10 minutes. Impact demonstrated more of his power offense in this one, in particular, the Johnny’s Edge.. Impact chucked the kitchen sink at Swann, including landing two consecutive Spanish Fly’s, only for the champion to kick out of everything and then secure another successful title defense with a bevy of vicious strikes and a top-rope Phoenix Splash. Such an amazing match from beginning the end.
IMPACT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
BRIAN CAGE (C) DEF. MICHAEL ELGIN
In not putting this match on last, they allowed Cage and Elgin to go a little bit shorter (the match only clocked in at 14 minutes) and have exactly the sort of hoss battle they should be having. Given Cage’s injury and the lack of interactions between these two in the build, it made sense that the champion came out firing on all cylinders to start. Elgin looked like a dominant and challenger. The strikes were fierce, the kicks were impactful and the powerbombs resonated. Cage fought for his title with everything he had, kicking out of the Elgin Bomb and Canadian Destroyer before connecting with an F5, only for Elgin to himself kick out. Cage even showed us his athleticism with a dive to the outside. Towards the end of the match Cage went for the Drill Claw, only for his back to give out, giving Elgin the chance to throw a vicious super kick followed by a elbow to the back of the head. The finish saw Elgin going for a final powerbomb for Cage to roll through and sneak a win.
After the match, Elgin attacked Cage and looked like he was about to take out Don Callis but a masked man came in and “gored” Elgin.
SAMI CALLIHAN DEF. TESSA BLANCHARD
The crowd, as expected, were red-hot for this match and it was a satisfying finish to another strong PPV showing. Giving this the main event slot certainly made it feel that little bit more special and Blanchard seemed to work with the sense of occasion, starting the match like a house on fire and wiping out Callihan with a series of dives. Well, that was until Callihan caught her, thrust her into the railings, hit a death valley driver onto the floor and connected with a powerbomb to the apron. Callihan is one of the most intense wrestler’s I’ve seen in a long time. Callihan had an obvious power advantage but Blanchard was the resilient and resourceful one. Tessa landed a cutter on the ramp and a step-up codebreaker in the corner, only for Callihan to bring the momentum back. Blanchard got extremely close to a win after landing the Magnum and rolling through for the crossface but Callihan again had an answer. The Gotch gave Sami a two count, with the Cactus special then sealing the deal.
This was overall an amazing show from top to bottom. The crowd was hot from top to bottom and every match left it all out on the table.
