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IMPACT Wrestling's Slammiversary was a show that did exactly what it set out to do. Impact Wrestling needed positive buzz in the wrestling world. After a few months away due to the ongoing pandemic, the company returned and was met with some controversy.
The IMPACT World Champion Tessa Blanchard had an abrupt departure from the company which vacated the title. Their top heel, Michael Elgin, was marred in the #SpeakingOut movement and released from the company along with Joey Ryan and Dave Crist. All the while, the promotion built a card that featured their up and coming roster as well as had the added intrigue of surprises teased in the form of returns and debuts.
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New stars to the company were getting their first title matches. The entire women's division was on display in a gauntlet match. Two arch-rivals teamed for the tag team gold, while the promise of a former IMPACT World Champion showing up for the main event hovered over the night.
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In this article, we will take a look at all the surprises from IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversary and rank them from worst to best. All the shockers worked in their way. We will see here that some just were more effective than others.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article belong to the writer and doesn't necessarily represent Sportskeeda's stand.
#6 Heath (Slater) Miller
During the middle of Slammiversary, while Josh Matthew and Don Callis were recapping the show, the man formerly known as Heath Slater jumped the guardrail and got in the ring. Now being referred to as just "Heath", the former One Man Band declared that he arrived in Impact Wrestling.
Heath referred to himself as a "free agent" and of course that he had kids. He wanted to accept the Rascalz' challenge or take part in the IMPACT Wrestling World Championship Match. However, Heath was then interrupted by Rohit Raju. Before long, Raju attacked Heath, but the former WWE Superstar took him down with a "Zig Zag" type maneuver.
Later in the night, Heath met up with his former tag team partner, Rhino, who invited him to Slammiversary. Head of Impact talent relations, Scott D'Amore was not too pleased to see Heath and asked him to leave due to it being a closed set. Rhino then told the former Slater to come on Tuesday to the AXS TV taping.
The reason this surprise ranks the lowest was due to what they had Heath doing. Choosing Rohit Raju as the wrestler to interrupt Heath positioned him in the lower card which is where he was in WWE. The later backstage segment did add some intrigue as well as putting Heath with Rhino is a good decision to introduce him. However, it all screams lower-card feud, which for fans of Heath is probably not where they wanted him to be in IMPACT Wrestling.
#5 Good Brothers (Karl Anderson & Luke Gallows)
This IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversary surprise was ruined a night before. The Good Brothers, Karl Anderson and Luke Gallows, revealed that they signed with IMPACT Wrestling on their Talk N' Shop Podcast, which was released at midnight on Saturday.
This move did create a nice last minute jolt of buzz to IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversary, and the podcast was very well received. IMPACT Wrestling were smart to land the Good Brothers as well. Not only do they come with the WWE name recognition, but also the critical acclaim that comes from their run as IWGP Heavyweight Tag Team Champions and members of the Bullet Club in NJPW.
There was a lot of interest in how the Good Brothers would debut the entire night at Slammiversary. IMPACT Wrestling did an excellent job of promoting their appearance for the whole show. After Eddie Edwards won the Fatal 5 Way IMPACT World Title main event and was attacked by Madman Fulton, the Good Brothers arrived to confront Fulton and Ace Austin.
It looked like they would align with the two, however, the Good Brothers instead laid them out. They took out Austin with their signature "Magic Killer" and had some "Beerskis" with the new IMPACT World Champion. This firmly established them as babyfaces in the company.
This was a nice feel-good ending to the show, but it was not as impactful (pun intended) as it could have been. Gallows and Anderson are among the biggest names IMPACT has signed. It just seemed like something was missing from their anticipated debut at Slammiversary.
#4 Rich Swann
One of the surprises at Slammiversary which was not a recently released WWE talent was Rich Swann. Although Swann was once released from WWE, he has been a loyal member of the IMPACT roster for almost two years now. Swann is also a former Impact X-Division Champion, who had a leg injury which has kept him out of action for a long time.
At Slammiversary during a backstage segment, we saw Swann walk out of a locker room with his crutches. Rich gave the winner of the Fatal 4 Way IMPACT World Title match a warning that "when he was healthy he was coming for the gold". They were not ready for how quickly he would be healthy.
When it was time for the entrance of the mystery fourth entrant in the main event, it was Rich Swann who showed up for the IMPACT World Title match. His crutches were down, and he was ready to go. Swann performed very well in the main event and established a new feud with another surprise at Slammiversary.
IMPACT Wrestling did a good job here creating a surprise out of this. The tease earlier in the night reminded the viewer of Rich Swann and then made us believe we would have to wait to see him. However, he was not nearly as shocking as some of the others on the night.
#3 Motor City Machineguns
In another non-WWE released talent surprise, the former IMPACT Tag Team Champions, Motor City Machineguns, arrived to answer the Rascalz' open challenge to kick off IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversary. This was another very pleasant surprise on the night as not many had been speculating about their return. We were greeted with a surprise and a fun opener right off the bat.
Sabin and Shelley are one of IMPACT Wrestling's greatest tag teams ever. Their run is often talked about for innovating tag team wrestling and creating the spot heavy tag team style that is famous today. The Rascalz provided them with solid opponents for their IMPACT return.
This was full of innovating double team moves and spectacular counters. The two teams showed off a lot of chemistry for a first time match-up. The Machineguns got the victory in the end, setting them up nicely for a IMPACT Tag Team Titles match this Tuesday on AXS TV.
Motor City Machineguns brought the right type of nostalgia to this anniversary event. IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversary needed reminders to the golden era of the company. That is what Sabin and Shelley provided. If it was not for two other men which were more shocking arrivals, the Motor CitMachineguns would be the biggest surprise of the night.
#2 Eric Young
The surprise within the surprise was that the IMPACT World Title Fatal 4 Way would become a Fatal 5 Way. Just when many fans were ready to be upset with Rich Swann being the fourth entrant, former Impact World Champion Eric Young arrived to enter himself into the title match.
Young is one of the most decorated wrestlers in IMPACT Wrestling history, having won almost every title the company has created even their Knockouts Tag Team Titles. EY looked rejuvenated in this match at Slammiversary, wrestling like he has probably wanted to for the past five years.
Young brought more of that good kind of nostalgia. The World Class Maniac is another reminder of the golden age of IMPACT Wrestling. He is also a man who was one of the most fully developed characters in the history of the promotion. In so many ways, this felt like a homecoming.
After being eliminated from the IMPACT World Title match by Rich Swann, Young destroyed his rival's recently recovered knee, costing him the match. This should set up Young's first feud back in IMPACT. Not only was Eric Young a nice surprise, the company immediately positioned him as a heel and whom Swann would be targeting in his first few weeks back. This was an almost perfect return and would be the best of the night if not for our No.1.
#1 EC3
EC3, also known as Ethan Carter III, is one of the most popular homegrown stars IMPACT Wrestling has ever had. A man who did not gain any success in WWE during his run as Derrick Bateman had come into IMPACT as the nephew of former owner, Dixie Carter. Through his extraordinary speaking ability and an undefeated streak, EC3 became the biggest heel in IMPACT Wrestling, becoming a two-time World Heavyweight Champion.
In 2018, having accomplished so much in Impact Wrestling, EC3 left for WWE, joining NXT. He had a short but underwhelming run there before arriving on the main roster. The downfall started quickly on Monday Night RAW as EC3 was very rarely used before receiving his release earlier this year during the infamous "Black Wednesday".
Ethan Carter III has spent the past few weeks since his release teasing a move to a few different promotions. However after a night full of surprises, EC3 made his presence known in a short, dramatic after-credits scene at the end of Slammiversary. With just twenty seconds, EC3 had shocked the wrestling world and made sure the buzz leading into the show stayed with IMPACT Wrestling.
EC3 has now been confirmed to make his official return this Tuesday on IMPACT Wrestling on AXS TV. This will bring plenty of eyes to the program, allowing Impact to continue their momentum. That is why EC3's return was the biggest surprise of Slammiversary. He shocked the world and has everyone talking about the promotion. This is exactly what IMPACT Wrestling Slammiversary needed to end their show with a bang.
