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TNA is dead, long live Impact! For the best part of the last 5 years, Impact, formerly TNA, has been considered a joke by many wrestling fans.
After exciting the wrestling world in the mid-late 2000's, the company lost its way due to terrible creative decisions, a mass talent exodus and some backstage shenanigans, becoming a parody of itself in the process.
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The company has become the master of the near-fall, though, somehow finding a way to rally back when all hope is seemingly lost.
There has been a quiet revolution taking place in the company in 2018, and the show has quickly become one of the most entertaining in all of wrestling. Featuring an impressive roster and some great matches, the company has begun to shake off the 'TNA' reputation and has risen again as Impact.
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This past Sunday night, everything came together for the company as they presented their 16th annual Slammiversary event. Featuring several huge match-ups, including a main-event between Austin Aries and Moose, the show had plenty of hype heading into the weekend, but could they deliver?
Let's take a look at all of the matches from Slammiversary, and rank them from worst to best.
#8 Su Yung Vs Madison Rayne
Su Yung's character has received a lot of praise in recent weeks and is there is no doubt that it is one of the more interesting gimmicks in wrestling today.
That being said, the whole thing feels a little hammy, and this match felt out of tone with the rest of the night.
The presence of the Undead Brides at ringside and the referee seemingly being too scared of them to disqualify Yung all felt a bit silly and if nothing else, it just felt like a distraction from the in-ring work.
The in-ring action was fine but not particularly noteworthy, with Rayne playing her role in the bout well. The finish, which saw Rayne pass out to the mandible claw, was a nice moment but you can definitely skip this one.
#7 Eddie Edwards vs Tommy Dreamer
It seems crazy to think that Tommy Dreamer is still getting booked on major PPVs in 2018 but, here we are.
This match was, as most Dreamer matches are, overly reliant on its hardcore gimmick and sadly, it didn't really do anything that interesting with it.
This was the third match of the night though, so it benefitted from a hot crowd. The finish felt a little bit flat, and it seemed odd that they would tease a flaming table, only to not use it at all.
#6 Tessa Blanchard Vs Allie
Arguably one of the most predictable matches of the night, Tessa Blanchard and Allie still managed to put on a fairly entertaining bout in the second match on the card.
Allie looked slightly shaky in the early goings but eventually found her rhythm and you can always rely on Blanchard to work a solid match.
Blanchard will no doubt go on to become one of the bigger names in the women's division in Impact and this was a solid, though not particularly spectacular, PPV debut from her.
#5 Matt Sydal Vs Brian Cage
One thing that instantly stood out to me in this match, was just how much Don Challis sold the history of the X Division title. The X Division title has been an integral part of the company's history, and referencing all of the previous winners while the belt was being defended on such a big stage really gave it a sense of prestige.
As for the match itself, it was a good mid-card match that went by at a nice tempo. The difference in size between Sydal and Cage provided an entertaining mix of styles in the ring, and the finishing stages featured some nice exchanges and some well-timed near falls.
The finish itself, which saw Sydal botch a shooting star press, was difficult to watch, but it will be interesting to see what Cage does now that he has his hands on the X Division belt.
#4 Austin Aries Vs Moose
Austin Aries must be one of the biggest missed opportunities in recent WWE history. The guy has the complete package, and he helped carry Moose to a really good main event at Slammiversary.
This match had to follow on from the crazy Sami Callihan Vs Pentagon bout and the two men worked a much more standard type of match-up while still managing to keep the crowd invested.
The decision to have Aries retain the belt was a surprising one but is probably for the best. Moose is turning into a great in-ring worker though, and it feels like just a matter of time before he wins the gold.
#3 Sami Callihan Vs Pentagon Jr
Sami Callihan and Pentagon Jr have been two of the most important wrestlers for Impact in recent months and the two men didn't fail to live up to their reputations at Slammiversary.
The two men wasted no time going at each other here and the match quickly erupted into an all-out brawl.
Callihan's character work is unrivalled at the moment, and his sadistic in-ring style is riveting to watch. Watching him try and rip apart Pentagon's mask with some spikes provided the match with a great moment, and the two men smashing each other's heads in with the same spikes was an awesome visual.
The ref bump felt a little unnecessary and did slightly damage the flow of the match-up but the finish saw two excellent near-falls take place before Pentagon picked up the victory and Callihan was forced to have his head shaved.
#2 Johnny Impact Vs Petey Williams Vs Taiji Ishimori Vs Fenix
This was the very definition of a hot opener. Having Petey Williams, the Canadian native came out first got the crowd riled up and ready to go and the returning Johnny Impact didn't fail to deliver here.
The four men worked a super fast paced match which set a tone for the rest of the night's action. Felix and Impact, in particular, were excellent throughout and the company would be wise to build the X division around some of the guys who were involved in this encounter.
Impact, formerly Johnny Morrison, picked up the victory after an excellent series of exchanges, to get the night off to a flying start.
#1 LAX Vs The OGZ
The WWE has dropped the ball with tag team wrestling over the last few years, and plenty of other companies have been more than willing to pick it up and run with it. Impact presented one of their best matches of 2018 at Slammiversary when LAX and The OGZ squared off for the Impact tag-team titles.
This was a brawl from the opening bell to the last, with LAX storming the ring and setting a ridiculously fast pace for the rest of the match.
This was tag team carnage at its finest. It was non stop excitement for its 13-minute run-time, delivering crazy spots and some beautiful tag team combination exchanges.
Hernandez and Homicide put in an excellent shift here as well, giving it their all in what was one of their best matches in a very, very long time. LAX picked up the victory following a frog-splash onto some thumb-tacks, and if that doesn't sum up what type of match this was, then nothing will.
