Pre-Show: TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Champions The Elegance Brand (Ash and Heather by Elegance) def. The IInspirationYou had to know this wasn't going to be a barn burner based on who was involved, but that's why it worked as a pre-show match. It was perfectly passable. I figured The IInspiration would win since they immediately won the TNA Knockouts World Tag Team Championship in their TNA debut back at Bound for Glory 2021, but I'm fine with TNA holding off on them getting the belts back to continue the chase since there isn't much of a women's tag team division at this point, anyway. Pre-Show: The Home Town Man def. Eric YoungI'm surprised this wasn't advertised for the pre-show ahead of time, but I Guess it made more sense for Young to come out, cut a promo complaining about Home Town Man being Cody Deaner and then having an impromptu match with Home Town Man that he lost. This was short and sweet, exactly what it needed to be. Home Town Man winning was a nice crowd-pleasing moment. Pre-Show: 4th Rope Flyweight Championship Real1, 4th Rope Heavyweight Champion Zilla Fatu and Josh Bishop def. Jake Something, Mance Warner and TNA International Champion Steve MaclinThe whole situation surrounding this match was weird. It looked like Maclin was going to defend his TNA International Championship in an open challenge on this show, and we've also gotten vignettes featuring Real1 on iMPACT! in recent weeks. I guess this turned into a six-man tag team match to get all of these guys on the card? It ended up being a complete waste with the bout being inconsequential. Real1 definitely went long with his pre-match promo, but I doubt I would've cared much about this regardless of how long it lasted. Mustafa Ali def. Cedric AlexanderIt's amazing to me that these two never had a rematch after their awesome outing for the WWE Cruiserweight Championship on the WrestleMania 34 pre-show seven years ago. They proved here that their chemistry is still as strong as ever in what was an excellent opener (a wise call to put this on first, by the way). I liked that Ali avenged his loss to Alexander (with multiple assists from Order 4) so we can get a rubber matchup at some point. The System (Eddie Edwards, JDC and Brian Myers) and Matt Cardona def. DarkState (Dion Lennox, Osiris Griffin, Cutler James, and Saquon Shugars)It's pretty cool this fell on the exact 17-year anniversary of when Cardona and Myers won the WWE Tag Team Championship together, also in Long Island. That's a crazy coincidence. There wasn't anything out of the ordinary about this eight-man tag team match and it honestly could have easily happened your typical edition of iMPACT!, but it was well worked. DarkState losing their first match was unexpected, but hey, at least TNA won something. Why not give the win to Cardona or Myers in their hometown? Indi Hartwell def. Tessa BlanchardThis was largely an average outing that the crowd sat on their hands for. They tried to make a big deal out of Hartwell kicking out of Blanchard's finisher (the first to do so since she returned to TNA) and Blanchard was protected in defeat by taking Hartwell's finisher three times, but this never reached that next level for me. In fact, I thought the post-match angle with Blanchard attacking Hartwell as well as Gia Miller was the best part, and it clearly keeps the feud alive. NXT Women's Champion Jacy Jane def. Masha Slamovich in a Title vs. Title Match to Win the TNA Knockouts World ChampionshipI hate to sound like a broken record, but there truly is nothing interesting or remarkable about Jane or her matches. Slamovich is supremely talented, but even she couldn't make this anything more than a solid match where the crowd didn't wake up until all of the shenanigans and interference down the stretch. I had a bad feeling Jane was going to win, so I can't say I'm shocked, but it was a stupid move, nonetheless (not to mention that Trick Williams retained the TNA World Championship later on, too!). Building both divisions around Jacy Jane is certainly a choice. Leon Slater def. Moose to Win the TNA X-Division Championship; AJ Styles ReturnedThis had the best story of anything on the entire show with both men trying to make history. Slater became the youngest champion in TNA history with his win, and Moose would have inched closer to becoming the longest-reigning TNA X-Division Champion ever had he retained. This was my favorite match of the night. Slater winning was a memorable moment, and AJ Styles returning (complete with his iconic "Get Ready to Fly" entrance theme!!!) afterward to endorse him was really well done, too. The Hardys def. The Nemeths, First Class and The Rascalz (Zachary Wentz and Myron Reed) in a Four-Way Tag Team Ladder Match to Win the TNA World Tag Team ChampionshipDespite being hurt, Trey Miguel said on social media that he was still planning on taking part in this match as of a few days ago, but I guess he wasn't cleared to compete at the last minute, hence why he was replaced by Reed. All the best to him, especially with everything he's had to endure as of late in real life. The match itself was the entertaining car crash you'd expect. First Class took a wild bump to the outside early on and never returned to the ring, but I assume they're okay. Everyone put forth a commendable effort. Needless to say, it wasn't the greatest Ladder match The Hardys have ever had, but they didn't destroy their bodies and the way in which they won was innovative. Post-match, Bully Ray emerged to challenge them to one last match (with Devon, who wasn't there for some reason) at Bound for Glory. I understand the appeal with it being 25 years since their historic tag team wars, but I'm skeptical of the quality at this stage of their respective careers. TNA World Champion Trick Williams def. Joe Hendry and Mike Santana in a Three-Way MatchBefore we even address the finish, the actual match wasn't as exciting as I hoped it'd be. The entrances gave the bout a big fight feel, but other than the New York fans rallying behind Santana throughout, it was your standard Triple Threat. Maybe I'm just jaded after all the multi-man matches I've seen across every company this year. The finish was flat and terribly executed. Williams retaining was bad enough, but the way they went about it made for an extremely underwhelming ending. I understand they're presumably saving Santana's big title win for Bound for Glory, but why not pull the trigger here in his home state when he had white-hot momentum? Typical TNA for dropping the ball. Overall ShowA casual viewer of TNA may have enjoyed this event more than I did, and while I did think it was ultimately a good pay-per-view, they've had far better installments of Slammiversary, even in the last few years. They set the record for their North America attendance and that's an incredible stat, but then that's how they decide to end the show and capitalize on the buzz (or fail to)? Jane becoming also a double champ was also questionable and leaves fans wondering what TNA is actually getting out of this working relationship with WWE that I've mostly been high on up to this point. I was disappointed by this event on the whole, but I have hope that TNA can rebound and do more big business heading into Bound for Glory this October in Lowell (where I'd love to be in attendance).
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