Slammiversary XVI Recap
Johnny Impact Makes Triumphant Return
In what was an absolute barn burner of an opening match, Johnny Impact made his return to the ring against Petey Williams, Taiji Ishimori, and Fenix. The match showcased the true athleticism that is present on the Impact roster. The match, which was supposed to feature new addition Rich Swann, was highly entertaining nonetheless, featuring multiple dives into superstars on the outside, a candaian destroyer from Williams, and a 450 splash from Ishimori. This match could have main evented most pay-per-views in recent memory, but was instead a fast-paced opening match that set the tone for a memorable night in the Impact Zone. Johnny Impact escaped the match victorious, hitting his infamous Starship Pain to pick up the victory.
Tessa Blanchard Proves Her Worth
Tessa Blanchard has had a rough month and change, losing to Madison Rayne on two separate occasions and seeing her opportunity at the Knockouts title go by the wayside. However, after a recent start to a feud with Allie after she returned to action, Tessa showed why she is living up to her heritage as a third generation superstar. The match was back and forth, no clear dominant wrestler. But when the chips were down, Tessa hit a hammerlock DDT and pinned Allie for a much needed victory on her way to possibly a bigger stage.
Eddie Edwards: King of Hardcore
Tommy Dreamer and Eddie Edwards put on a hardcore extravaganza last night, beating the pulp out of each other with anything they could find. After weeks upon weeks of frustration and insanity, Eddie Edwards finally got his hands on the man he believed contributed to ruining his life. The match had a little bit of everything for everyone. The ECW title belt, kendo sticks, trash cans, chairs, and lighter fluid. Edwards was able to emerge victorious, and a truce was struck between the two superstars.
Brian Cage Takes X Division By Storm
This match continued to showcase the talent and athleticism that Impact contains. Matt Sydal and Brian Cage put on a show in a match that wasn’t guaranteed to deliver. Brian Cage, a 280 pound behemoth, showed his abilities and his dexterity in a match against high-flying superstar and X Division champion Matt Sydal. In the end, the power and athleticism of Cage won out, as he continued to prove himself by capturing the X Division title.
Su Yung Disposes of Madison Rayne
After weeks of mental and emotional torture, Madison Rayne looked to get even in a match for the Knockouts title against Su Yung. The match was altogether not overly entertaining, but it did not bring the card down as it still had its moments. After a long layoff, Rayne looked fairly solid in her first PPV in 5 years, as did Su Yung. In the end, the Knockouts legend couldn’t get it done as it was Su Yung picking up the win and retaining her Knockouts title.
LAX Takes Down the OG’s
In what has become a heated and vicious rivalry, the new version of LAX took on King and two of the original members of LAX, Homicide and Hernandez. The two teams threw each other through tables and beat the hell out of one another. The match exceeded most expectations, and LAX retained their tag titles after bringing out a bag of tacks to finish off the match.
Pentagon Jr Keeps His Mask
In the prelude to the main event, Pentagon Jr and Sami Callihan went at it in an all out brawl in a hair vs. mask match. There were sharp spikes, steel chairs, and a Pentagon Driver through two steel chairs. The Crist brothers got involved, allowing Callihan to temporarily blind Pentagon. This led to Pentagon snapping the referees arm as he though it was Callihan. After a tremendous amount of bloodshed and sweat, Pentagon proceeded to then break the arm of Callihan, followed by a second Pentagon driver to pick up the victory and shave Sami Callihan’s head bald.
Austin Aries Keeps His Promise
The main event of the evening saw Austin Aries go head to head with Moose in a stellar match up. It wasn’t clear what type of match we would see, but these two brought one hell of an end to an absolutely outstanding show. Previously, Aries had claimed his greatness, stating that nobody will touch him for that title. And at the end of the day he was right once again. Aries defeated Moose with a brain buster, and retained his Impact World Title. Time will tell if maybe Johnny Impact will get the next shot at Aries.
