Irene’s Impact Wrestling Slammiversary 2021 Review

It’s been almost 500 days since IMPACT Wrestling was presented to a live audience. Despite the absence of fans, the show has managed to remain newsworthy, with last year’s Slammiversary event being a prime example. This year’s edition follows suit, teasing a multitude of surprise appearances once more, with the addition of a marquee World title match between Kenny Omega and Sami Callihan. While the event’s build and promotion were flawed in the lead-up, this show is more than capable of being one of the most memorable events in company history. The natural intrigue combined with the inevitable energy of the new IMPACT Zone should create another special anniversary event.

*On the pre-show, Havok and Rosemary defeated Fire n’ Flava for the IMPACT Knockouts Tag Team Titles in a fun match.

*We get a fantastic opening video package featuring Barry Scott sound bites, narrated by Sami Callihan.

X-DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP ULTIMATE X
Trey Miguel vs. Rohit Raju vs. Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey vs. Josh Alexander (C)

Trey Miguel has some cool gear tonight. Ace is without Fulton, who is banned from ringside. Rohit is in a similar situation without Shera. Bey leaps to the top quickly but is cornered. He’s pulled down and battered. Josh destroys Ace with a release German. Rohit looks for the belt, as the fans egg him on. Rohit struggles to get there, as Josh boots him down. Bey goes off with a dropkick to Josh. Bey flies over the top onto Josh, followed by a Petey rana. Ace and Rohit climb the scaffolding, as Ace is sent with a moonsault to the guys at ringside. Rohit throws a rope over the cables and climbs up but Petey stops him. Bey gains control and goes for the belt. Trey has a scary fall on a rana attempt from the cables before Rohit spears Bey out of the air. Josh goes for a Tower of Doom before Rohit comes in with a hook of sorts. Rohit’s craftiness is on full display as he snags a chair. He stands atop and tries to snag the belt with the hook. Petey dropkicks him off for quite the visual. Josh goes for the belt with Petey right behind who drags him down and sends him flying. Everyone gets wrapped in a submission as Josh grabs them from the cables above for an ankle lock, chaining it all together. Wow. Rohit nails him with a chair to send him down. Ace hits his double jump roundhouse but Bey follows. Ace hangs upside down as Bey connects with a cutter from the top. Rohit hits a jumping knee but gets caught with a Canadian Destroyer. Petey hits a running Destroyer on Trey and heads up. Bey gets atop Josh, as Petey hits a Destroyer HANGING FROM THE CABLES, OFF OF JOSH. Josh takes out Petey as Trey comes in. Rohit interrupts and takes out Josh and Trey with a flatliner combo. Rohit clears the ring and goes for gold. Rohit finally gets up there but Trey puts a halt to it. Josh takes out Trey and meets Bey at the top. They exchange chops on top of the belt. They both get hands on the belt as Ace tries to intercept it like AJ Styles, but whiffs. Josh knocks Bey down to gain possession and retain.

WINNER: Josh Alexander
****

That was a fantastic Ultimate X with extremely creative spots and some solid storytelling as well. The crazy moments here with the invested crowd made for a great open to the show. Everyone was able to shine and the crowd’s reaction reflected that.

*Gia Miller interviews Don Callis outside Omega’s locker room. Callis rants and runs down his history with Omega.

MIXED TAG TEAM
Brian Myers and Tenille Dashwood vs. Matt Cardona and ???

Our first mystery reveal of the night. Myers recruited Tenille, as another skeleton in Cardona’s closet. Cardona hits the ramp before Chelsea Green makes her return to IMPACT Wrestling. Tenille and Chelsea beef before slapping each other. Cardona rushes Myers and the match begins. He floors Sam Beale and Kaleb with a K on the outside. Myers hits a flatliner on the ramp, shifting momentum. Chelsea roots Cardona on as the crowd boos Myers. Tenille attacks from the apron and poses for social media content. Cardona counters into a neckbreaker and creates seperation. Chelsea nearly gets the tag but Tenille yanks her down. Myers looks for a spear but gets a taste of his own medicine. Chelsea and Tenille become legal, as Chelsea unloads with strikes. Myers grabs her on a pin attempt, before she slaps him. Cardona looks to attack Myers, as Tenille goes for the familiar low blow. Cardona reveals a cup and shoves it in Myers’ face. Chelsea hits a Canadian Destroyer before nailing Tenille with her cast. She pins Tenille as she celebrates with her fiance.

WINNERS: Chelsea Green and Matt Cardona
***

This was a fun, simple match that heated up at the end. Chelsea Green’s return got a nice reception from the crowd and it will be interesting to see where that goes.

SINGLES
W. Morrissey vs. Eddie Edwards

Crowd is red hot for Eddie, who sends some chops over. Morrissey uses his power to launch Eddie across the ring. Eddie moves quick and lands some shots but Morrissey boots him off the top rope, crashing to the outside. Eddie slaps Morrissey’s leg against the post but gets neutralized quickly. Eddie continues to outsmart Morrissey but he responds with sheer force in a big boot. Morrissey curb stomps the heart of Eddie Edwards, something he is often credited with. The heart and soul of IMPACT is in trouble as the crowd continues to show their support. He counters a suplex to a big ovation. Eddie sends Morrissey to the outside and looks for a suicide dive. He’s caught and chokeslammed onto the apron. Morrissey drags him by his hair, up the ramp. He looks to powerbomb him but gets sent over onto the ramp. Eddie flies down the ramp with a Boston Knee Party to the back. Morrissey dumps Eddie with a F-5 variation, as he sets him up in the corner. Eddie nails a sunset flip bomb from the top and crushes him with elbows. Blue Thunder Bomb scores a near fall. Morrissey evades danger, pulling the ref and hits a big boot for a close call. Eddie hits a Boston Knee Party but Morrissey falls to the outside. Morrissey searches his boot for a chain. He nails Eddie with it and hits a Powerbomb to pin him.

WINNER: W. Morrissey
***3/4

That match really captured me and the audience as well. Effective storytelling was implemented, with the natural underdog story as well as the “heart and soul” targeting. These two had very good chemistry and I would love to see more matches between them, as Morrissey has never looked better.

*We get a vignette for “The Drama King”, referring to the former Aiden English.

*They interview the winner of the IMPACT Superfan Contest but Madman Fulton and Shera interrupt. They target the refs for banning them earlier. D’Amore hits the stage to the positive reception. He presents them the returning FinJuice, who will help them take out their frustrations.

TAG TEAM
Madman Fulton and Shera vs. FinJuice

Juice jabs Shera before getting floored by Shera. Fulton comes in as he beefs with Shera. FinJuice flapjacks Fulton, as Finlay hits Shera on the outside. They hit an assisted Dudley Dog to pin Fulton.

WINNERS: FinJuice

This was fine I guess. FinJuice returning isn’t the craziest thing ever and neither was this match. They probably wanted a breather between Eddie vs. Morrissey and Moose vs. Sabin.

SINGLES
Moose vs. Chris Sabin

Moose has an even more epic entrance with fans. Hot start as Sabin blasts him with a dropkick. Moose tries to replicate this but crashes and hurts his leg. Moose launches Sabin over the top with his foot. Sabin hangs his leg on the apron and jumps on the opportunity. Sabin attempts a monkey flip but Moose props him up and attempts his dropkick. Sabin hits a rana and continues to weaken the leg. Figure 4 locked in with Moose writhing in pain. Moose launches him like a lawn dart into the second turnbuckle pad. Moose launches Sabin to the opposite corner as he rolls to the floor. Moose chops through Sabin’s chest against the ropes. He teases a third chop but flips off the crowd. Sabin fights back but Moose hits a dropkick against the apron. Moose yanks on the mouth of Sabin, who bites back. Moose hits a uranage, lifts him back up for a fall away slam, kips up and attempts a moonsault but misses. Moose misses on the outside and Sabin hits his signature dive over the ropes. Sabin hits a tornado DDT for a near fall. Sabin gains support from the crowd before heading to the top. Moose leaps to his position and hits a flip powerslam from the top. Sabin rolls outside before Moose can get to the pin. Sabin fires at Moose with a flurry of punches. Moose pop-up bombs him into the apron and ragdolls him into the barricade. Sabin is taking an absolute beating. He returns to the ring just before a count-out and finds a schoolboy for a near fall. Sunset flip near fall, followed by a victory roll which scores the flash victory.

WINNER: Chris Sabin
***3/4

That match rocked. Both men showed incredible fire and physicality. Sabin got a big win here which doesn’t make much sense if you’re trying to push Moose, but evidently that’s not their main priority at this point. Sabin is awesome though and it will be fun to see him get a deserved singles push.

*We join Decay who won the Knockouts Tag Team Titles earlier who sends a message to the division.

FOUR-WAY IMPACT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
Rich Swann and Willie Mack vs. Fallah Bahh and ??? vs. The Good Brothers vs. VBD (C)

Fallah Bahh has a microphone and silences the crowd who is chanting for him. He recalls himself saying “No Way Jose”. You better believe it. Simply “No Way” makes his IMPACT debut with a congo line and all. The Swinger’s Palace crew is vibing. He gets a great reaction before The Good Brothers shift it. “NO NO NO… WAY JOSE” chants start the match as the man himself meets Swann. No Way begins dancing as Karl tags himself in for Swann. He tries to get serious but Bahh and No Way control the pace. Mack scores the tag as they corner Karl. Gallows comes in and batters Swann in the corner. Major roundhouse kick from to the head gets a near fall for Gallows. Karl teases the crowd and sends Swann hard into the buckle. The Good Brothers have stalled the tempo, taking full control with grounded headlocks. Swann avoids an elbow and opts for a tag to No Way. Karl eats a flurry before hitting a spinebuster. Doering breaks up a pin attempt and drags him to the VBD corner. He tags himself in and meets Gallows. They trade big shots and choke each other. They’re broken up as Swann and Bahh clear the ring. Swann rolls into a Samoan Drop. Mack hits one of his own on Bahh. No Way interrupts but Doering hits a DVD and a lariat. Pin attempt but Swann pushes Rhino to break it up. Doering dumps Swann and Mack outside and tags Rhino. He teases a Gore on No Way. Rhino was distracted by outside antics and Karl comes in with a Gun Stun and a Magic Killer for a Good Brothers victory.

WINNERS: The Good Brothers
**3/4

This was fine but didn’t reach that higher PPV level. The Good Brothers victory was expected but VBD made for some great champions. The No Way debut was interesting. I’m not sure if he’s a member of the roster or not, but he will likely work the tapings.

*Invicta Fighting Championships Atomweight Champion Alesha Zappitella is featured at ringside.

IMPACT KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP
Deonna Purrazzo vs. ???

Thunder Rosa answers the challenge to a big pop. This should be fantastic. Thunder Rosa and The Virtuosa lock up, both going for armdrags and matching technique. Rosa gets fired up and dropkicks her against the ropes. Deonna regains control with a rope assisted DDT. Deonna looks for an octopus but Rosa dumps her. Rosa dropkicks her from the top and hits another dropkick in the corner. She looks to slam her but Deonna snags the arm. Venus De Milo applied but Rosa responds with a choke. Deonna finds the armbar again before Rosa escapes. Deonna flips her and reapplies the submission. Rosa continues to fight on and dumps her with a DVD. Rosa launches her from the top and hits a double stomp. She stacks her for a near fall. They trade shots before Rosa looks for a Thunder Driver. Deonna rolls into a near fall and hits a big boot. Queen’s Gambit Piledriver ends it for a successful title defense. Deonna looks for the mic but HARDCORE COUNTRY hits. Mickie James appears with a microphone. Mickie James is hyped to be here, but Deonna is irritated. Mickie invites her to NWA EmPower but Deonna rejects, telling her to grab her trash bag and get out of here. They brawl and Mickie knocks her out with a kick.

WINNER: Deonna Purrazzo
***1/2

That was a fun physical match that went back and forth. Thunder Rosa was definitely not expected. Mickie vs. Deonna looks like it could be some great stuff. Cross-promotion with NWA is certainly surprising given the history, but pretty neat!

*They announce Bound for Glory for Las Vegas, with representation from AEW, AAA, and NJPW.

IMPACT WORLD TITLE NO DQ
Sami Callihan vs. Kenny Omega (C)

Omega makes his entrance to “You Suck” chants. In-ring introductions with Callis taking over for Omega’s intro. This was as drawn out as possible of course but Sami interrupts and nails a piledriver for a near fall. Callis joins commentary. Callihan finds a chair and sits into a headlock. Callihan reveals a fork but Omega avoids danger. He then pulls out a pizza cutter and cuts Omega’s forehead. Omega is busted open as Callihan drives the pizza cutter deeper. Callihan feeds off of the energy and Omega strikes back. Omega falls to the outside and lures Callihan into a dive. Omega meets him with a trash can lid. Callihan flips him off as he eats a wet floor sign. Omega wedges a chair into the corner. Omega looks for a One Winged Angel but Callihan escapes into a pin. Omega kicks out, sending him into the chair. Callis leaves the booth for a second to get a closer look. He returns shortly after. Omega takes a fork to the cut on Callihan. Omega places the fork in the mouth as he brutalizes the challenger. He shows off the bloody fork before sending Callihan into the barricade. Back suplex on the apron from Omega, before grabbing a table. Omega places the table on top of Callihan and stomps it from the apron. Omega sets up the table and they move to the apron. Omega looks for a Dragon Suplex but gets bitten. They start standing on the table before Callihan piledrives him right through it! Callihan looks for more weapons, throwing a can at Omega from the oustide while he’s at it. Callihan drops him on the bottom of a can and powerbombs him through a board for a near fall. Callihan reveals a barbed wire steel chair under the steps. Callihan eats a V-Trigger and gets sent face first onto the chair. He powerbombs him onto it and delivers another V-Trigger for a near fall. Omega delivers a superplex onto a pile of scrap for a near fall. Callihan escapes a One Winged Angel and hits a Tombstone onto the barbed wire chair for a near fall. Omega tosses salt into Callihan’s eyes, blinding him. Callihan piledrives the ref by accident and gets laid out by Omega. Omega hits a piledriver onto the belt. The ref can’t count the pin. A new ref is sent for a two-count. The Good Brothers try to interfere but Sabin and Edwards retaliate. Callihan hits a package piledriver for a slow near fall. Callihan reveals a bag from under the ring. Thumbtacks are poured onto the canvas as Callihan looks to finish it. Callis gets out of his seat and hits the ring. Callihan chases him away but Omega throws tacks into his eyes. V-Trigger rocks Callihan. Omega sticks tacks to his kneepads and connects for a near fall. Omega plugs his nose and tosses tacks in his mouth. He hits a V-Trigger and a One Winged Angel onto the tacks to retain. The gang comes into the ring to celebrate. They look to “Too Sweet” but Bullet Club appears on the screen. Jay White makes the walk to the ring, with his NEVER Openweight Title. Switchblade enters the ring and they trey to form a union with him. Just as they do this, the PPV feed cuts out and the logo appears. What?

WINNER: Kenny Omega
****1/2

Excellent hardcore match with high drama and stakes. Constant entertainment here with Callihan making for a great babyface. As for the post-match, looks like the feed cut out early just as something was going to happen. It looked like someone may have been running in but I’m not sure. I would guess GOD? Certainly a flat note to end the show on, but the news is pretty insane. Bullet Club leader and NJPW star Jay White meeting former leader and AEW World Champ to end an IMPACT PPV.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Well it was definitely a memorable event. From start to finish, you could feel the energy and that made for a damn good wrestling product. This was a high-level show with a fantastic main event and very strong moments on the undercard. Obviously surprises were there with the final one being the most newsworthy. The feed cutting out was a major disappointment and IMPACT is likely flipping out. It left a meh taste in my mouth but I was amazed at the situation that was unfolding. IMPACT TV could be very intriguing with fans in the crowd and turf wars from all over the globe.