IMPACT Slammiversary Review - July 17, 2021

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Pre-Show: Decay (Rosemary and Havok) def. Fire 'N Flava to Win the Impact Knockouts Tag Team Championship

This was a good choice to kick off the show. Decay are over as a babyface act and it was nice to see Fire 'N Flava finally work in front of fans.​ They had a well-wrestled match and the crowd was into it. This is a great use of Havok as she and Rosemary have quality chemistry as partners. I was slightly surprised by the title change, if only because Fire 'N Flava got the belts back in May, but we'll see what they have in mind. Maybe IMPACT wanted the titles on a babyface team for The IIconics to eventually feud with if they come in soon?

Impact X-Division Champion Josh Alexander def. Ace Austin, Trey Miguel, Petey Williams, Chris Bey and Rohit Raju in an Ultimate X Match

I had no idea it's been over two years since the last Ultimate X match. There was a time where they were doing them every few months and they didn't feel special anymore, whereas this did because it's been so long. Plus, the X-Division has been absolutely killing it this year and this was an excellent way to showcase the talents of everyone involved. There were plenty of innovative spots (that ankle lock from Alexander while he was hanging off the top of the structure was very cool) and everybody busted their ass. Alexander is getting an aggressive push at the moment and I'm glad his reign isn't over just yet.

Matt Cardona and Chelsea Green def. Brian Myers and Tenille Dashwood

It was blatantly obvious when this match was set up on Thursday's episode of IMPACT! Wrestling that Cardona's partner would be Green. I mean, Scott D'Amore even teased this matchup would be a "hot mess," which is Green's nickname. There was a little doubt considering she showed up at Ring of Honor last weekend and had her arm in a cast, but I assume that was done to throw people off the scent just in case. It must have been awesome for them to team up and the crowd enjoyed the outing. Myers and Dashwood also played their roles well and the babyfaces winning should put the rivalry to rest, unless there's another Caronda vs. Myers match planned.

W. Morrissey def. Eddie Edwards

I wasn't overly thrilled a few months ago when I heard the rumblings that Morrissey was on his way to IMPACT, but he's exceeded all my expectations so far. He's been booked perfectly as a monster heel and he's been more than holding his own as well in his matches and promos. He seems to work well with smaller opponents, but then again, he had a few matches with Daniel Bryan before he left WWE in 2018 that were mediocre, so it's likely a case of him being more motivated now. Edwards sold well for his offense and attempted to battle back by fighting from underneath, only to fall short in the end. Who will ultimately take down Morrissey? I assume his issues with Edwards will continue considering he had to cheat to win here.

FinJuice def. Madman Fulton and Shera

Fulton and Shera were banned from ringside for Ultimate X, so they stormed the ring here looking for a fight of their own. D'Amore booked them against the returning FinJuice, who we haven't seen in IMPACT since late May when they lost the Impact World Tag Team Championship to Violent By Design. This was short and sweet as it should have been with FinJuice winning decisively. They never got a rematch for the tag titles, but it feels like it's too soon for IMPACT To be revisiting their rivalry with The Good Brothers from earlier this year.

Chris Sabin def. Moose

The storyline setup for this match made sense with Moose pinning Sabin in the Under Siege main event back in May as well as injuring Sabin's tag team partner James Storm around that same time. They had an entertaining affair, but Sabin winning was the wrong outcome in my opinion. Yes, Moose can easily bounce back, but for him to lose on a big stage like Slammiversary to a tag team guy is bizarre. If Sabin is moving on up to Impact World Championship contention then maybe, but otherwise, I wouldn't have had Moose lose clean to him. Personally, I'd prefer Sabin in the X-Division Championship picture. I'm curious if Alex Shelley is ever coming back given he hasn't been seen since before Hard to Kill in January.

The Good Brothers def. Violent By Design (Joe Doering and Rhino), Rich Swann & Willie Mack, and Fallah Bahh and No Way in a Four-Way Tag Team Match

This was very similar to the four-way tag team match we got at Bound for Glory in that the action was all over the place but still solid. It accomplished its goal of getting everyone on the show but probably would have been more interesting with just two teams that had an actual beef with each other. This wasn't a bad bout and I appreciated that it wasn't longer than it needed to be, but it wasn't too memorable, either. On a side note, the former No Way Jose from WWE is going by just No Way at this point, likely due to trademarking issues. The name sounds incredibly dumb, but he might fit in well at IMPACT if they plan on keeping him around. Good Brothers regaining the gold was an interesting choice considering Violent By Design is in their element at the moment and Good Brothers being champions doesn't create too many exciting possibilities, though it does make every member of The Elite a champion.

Impact Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo def. Thunder Rosa​; Mickie James Returned

Rosa wasn't one of the people I was expecting to answer the open challenge, but I'm very happy she did. As I've said, she's been one of the biggest breakout stars (male or female) in the last two years. She started off strong in the NWA and her run in AEW gave her way more exposure. This was a one-off from I understand, but it's still cool that they were able to pull this off. Purrazzo has been at the top of her game for the last year as well, so unsurprisingly, this was a terrific match. They followed it up with the surprise of Mickie showing up and inviting Purrazzo to her new female NWA show. I'm digging all the cross promotion. My guess is that this leads to Mickie vs. Purrazzo at the NWA's all-women's pay-per-view in late August.

Impact World Champion Kenny Omega def. Sami Callihan in a No Disqualification Match; Jay White Debuted

This was one of those garbage matches that Callihan is known for. If that's your thing, you likely enjoyed the hell out of it. I was entertained, but some of the spots weren't my cup of tea, personally. In fact, this was more hardcore than some of the Lights Out/deathmatches Omega has been having in AEW. He and Callihan really pushed the limit here and had a wild main event. I predicted a Callihan victory, so I was pleasantly surprised with Omega retaining the title instead. White showing up afterward made for a major moment given his history with Bullet Club and Omega. I haven't cared too much about the Bullet Club drama in AEW, but White vs. Omega is certainly compelling. I'm looking forward to finding out where it's going.

Overall Show

IMPACT needed a buzzworthy pay-per-view and this was it. They delivered more surprises than last year (which is saying something because last year's installment had a bunch) and most (if not all) of them seemed to be well-received. The in-ring action was strong on the whole and that show-closing angle got a ton of people talking from what I saw, something that IMPACT has lacked for a long time (no matter how enjoyable the product has been in my opinion). Most importantly, having a live crowd in attendance made a major difference. I realize it wasn't more than a few hundred people (if that), but their reactions to the title changes, matches, debuts and returns enhanced my viewing experience by a lot. Two thumbs up for Slammiversary. Now let's hope they can keep the momentum rolling.

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