Slammiversary X: Results and Thoughts as TNA Celebrates 10 Years in the Business

TNA Slammiversary opened with the immortal Hulk Hogan. He welcomed everyone to the show and declared that the next 10 years will be twice as awesome. They were going old school with the next match and made Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe for the X-Division Championship.

Hogan was short and sweet here. He took a while to get to the ring, but his promo was to the point. I’m sure some were scratching their heads about making the match for the title since the division has a weight limit now.

For those that haven’t followed TNA since day one, the X-Division wasn’t about weight limits—it was about no limits! What better way to go old school than to bring back the old spirit of the X-Division?

Austin Aries vs. Samoa Joe: X-Division Championship

Austin Aries retained the title after the Brainbuster. This was a great match right here. It screamed X-Division as both of these wrestlers put on a show to open the PPV.

With great back-and-forth action, Aries and Joe set the bar for the rest of the night. This match was certainly a hard act to follow.

The X-Division champion continues to prove why he is one of the absolute best in TNA right now. You can put him in the ring with anyone and a solid match would be produced.

Samoa Joe reminded everyone here just how awesome he is. The Samoan Submission Machine is a great talent and I hope this opened TNA’s eyes. That man deserves to be back in the main event picture.

Aries and Joe got me pumped up right away, which is something I want to be when I start watching a PPV event.

Kid Kash vs. Hernandez

SuperMex picked up the victory here after a top-rope splash. This match was booked out of nowhere so I was worried that the match wouldn’t be too good.

This contest turned out to be quite the good match as these men produced a good amount of action.

This match made me remember why I like Hernandez. For a big guy, he’s incredibly athletic and is a good wrestler. I guess being in Mexican America was really weighing him down.

Kid Kash was great, too, as he battled someone much bigger than he was. Kash is someone that TNA should feature more often. Same goes for Hernandez as well.

For being a completely random match, these two guys put on a show and delivered something that the fans certainly enjoyed.

Robbie E and Robbie T vs. Devon and Garett Bischoff

The faces picked up the win here when Devon hit a spinebuster on Robbie E. This was a decent match at best. The majority of it saw the Robbie’s beat down Bischoff.

He had the typical face flurry of offense by hitting a few clotheslines, but he really didn’t serve much of a purpose past being a punching bag. Things picked up when Devon got in the ring, but this match wasn’t anything too special.

I really hope that this is the end of Devon’s feud with the Robbie’s, though. It’s getting really boring to see them constantly compete, and fail, for the Television Championship. I hope Devon defends against somebody different this coming Thursday.

Madison Rayne was once again at the top of the ramp watching these four go at it, and might I say she was looking downright gorgeous.

Her love interest is definitely one of those four and I thought it was Garett, but her smiling while he was getting beat down leads me to believe it’s actually Robbie E.

Backstage, Jeremy Borash was with Christopher Daniels and Kazarian. Kaz went over some of his firsts, such as being in the first Ultimate X match. Daniels then bragged about himself and Kaz, and gave us permission to worship them.

Daniels is really at his best as a heel. The man produces great mic work as a bad guy. I never liked Kaz too much on the mic but he was good here.

Kaz bringing up Ultimate X really makes me miss the match. It was last seen at last year’s Destination X so I hope we get to see it again this year!

Mr. Anderson vs. Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy: No. 1 Contender’s Match

Anderson picked up the victory after hitting the Mic Check on Van Dam. I wasn’t expecting much from this match but this was very good. All three wrestlers performed great here as they gave it their all in celebration of 10 years.

The match never slowed down for a second and Anderson, Van Dam and Hardy delivered a lot of good action throughout. I’m a bit tired of seeing the same guys in the main event, namely these guys, but when they put on matches like this then I tend like the idea of them sticking around.

I was really glad that Anderson won, though. Van Dam just got a title shot last month and Hardy has received three or four already this year alone. Anderson was the only of the three yet to get a title shot this year, so when he won, I was glad.

After the bit of a dud that was the previous tag-team match, these three picked things right back up!

Backstage, Borash was with Crimson. He said it didn’t matter who answered his challenge. He’s been perfect for “over 470 days” and he was going to stay that way.

Crimson has progressed nicely as a heel over the past few months. His mic work is getting good and it sometimes makes me forget about his in-ring work.

With a little more work, Crimson could really become a top heel in TNA.

Crimson vs. James Storm

Storm picked up the win in his return match with the Last Call superkick. Crimson got in a few hits, but this was basically a squash to show that Storm was back and that he meant business.

I’m fine with his Crimson’s undefeated streak getting broken here. All good things must come to an end, and ending it the way they did will make Crimson into a better heel.

This will no doubt set up a Storm/Crimson feud. The former undefeated wrestler could benefit greatly from working with Storm.

Backstage, Borash was with Austin Aries. Aries said that he has passed all of the tests and it was time to set the bar. He then declared that he was setting his sights for the main event.

It’s about time! Austin Aries truly is the best thing to hit TNA in years. He has already conquered the X-Division, and giving him a partner for the tag-team division would only weigh him down.

The main event is where Aries will thrive more than he already does!

Dixie Carter than made her way out. She announced that Slammiversary set the record for the largest U.S. crowd TNA has ever had and thanked everyone. She then called out the roster for the Hall of Fame announcement.

After a very good video package, Dixie announced Sting as the first inductee of the TNA Hall of Fame. She put him over and thanked him, then announced that the ceremony would take place at Bound for Glory.

Sting then thanked her, the roster and the fans. He then declared that it was show time to end the segment.

Sting is without a doubt deserving of the honor, but I feel that Jeff Jarrett should have been the first inductee. Sting may have stuck with the company through thick and thin but Jarrett created TNA. If it wasn’t for him then TNA wouldn’t even be celebrating their 10-year anniversary.

Once again, though, Sting is deserving so I’m overall happy with his induction.

What I don’t get is this, why is the ceremony at Bound for Glory? That’s in October! I have a feeling that they’re having it then because the Icon will finally be retiring.

Gail Kim vs. Miss Tessmacher: Knockouts Championship

Tessmacher became the new Knockouts champion after reversing one of Gail’s moves into the infamous rollup of doom.

This was a decent match at best. Gail dominated the entire time with Tessmacher only getting in a few shots here and there. I understand her being the underdog, but some offense would have been nice.

I’m glad to see a new champion, though, especially since it’s somebody different.

And with a face as champion, that could see a lot of possibilities. Fans could finally see Angelina Love get some television time or maybe even Winter. Mickie James teased a heel turn this past Thursday so perhaps we’ll get a heel Mickie.

While I am a big fan of hers, I got bored quick since her face character is so stale, its growing mold. A heel Mickie James could really spice up the division.

A congratulations to Miss Tessmacher, though. Let’s hope TNA gives you a longer reign than they gave Velvet Sky.

Backstage, Borash is with Bully Ray. He has Joseph Park right where he wanted him and their match would be an all-out assault. If Abyss wanted to show up, then he’d really leave him for dead this time.

I can’t get enough of Bully Ray on the mic. The man is gold every time he speaks. His breakup from Devon and heel turn is the best things to ever happen for his career.

Bully Ray vs. Joseph Park

Joe Park picked up the win after Abyss chokeslammed Bully Ray through a table. This was by no means a wrestling match. This was pretty much a fight as the bully beat up Park. Park got in some shots, including a wicked shot to the head of Bully Ray with a kendo stick.

It was an entertaining fight, that’s for sure.

I was wondering how TNA was going to handle the return of Abyss with Park in the ring. As soon as Park rolled under the ring I figured that he’d make a quick wardrobe change and attack. The change happened too quickly, though, especially for someone his size in the tiny area under the ring.

Since the camera only saw the back on Abyss, the fans watching at home never saw his face. In other words, TNA got someone the size of the Monster to play Abyss.

I’m perfectly fine with that. There really was no way TNA could have pulled off Park turning into Abyss than back again so this was the only way. It also adds more intrigue to the storyline.

Park went under the ring, which is where Abyss came from. Have they been working together this entire time? I suppose we’ll find out on Thursday.

Backstage, Borash was with Bobby Roode. He said it was a night of celebration, but people should only be celebrating him. He congratulated Sting on his Hall of Fame induction but then declared that he would end his career.

Roode gave a solid promo here. He was intense as well as straight and to the point. I love Roode’s mic work; he always delivers good stuff.

Hogan then came out again but disappeared almost immediately as Christian Cage made his return TNA.

He declared that while some things have changed, such as the ring; the one thing that hasn’t was the fans. He told them to give themselves a round of applause and then introduced the No. 1 moment from TNA’s history, which was Sting’s 2006 return.

It was strange seeing the current WWE Intercontinental champion in a TNA ring, but it certainly was great to see him back in that ring! I wish he did a little more than simply introduce the No. 1 moment, though.

Perhaps a promo on how TNA let him be the main event star he truly was, or something like that. Either way, it was still cool to see a current WWE superstar on a TNA PPV.

Christopher Daniels and Kazarian vs. A.J. Styles and Kurt Angle: Tag Team Championship

New tag team champions were crowned when Kurt Angle forced Kazarian to tap out to the ankle lock.

What can I say about this match? It was the true definition of awesome! These four wrestlers delivered great action throughout the entire match with the ending being very intense.

At one point Angle was executing his three German suplexes on Kazarian, but on the third one, Kaz grabbed Daniels and both of them went flying!

The last five minutes or so saw all four wrestlers just hitting move after move on each other with Styles hitting the final blow to Daniels with an impressive springboard shooting star press to the outside.

Styles, Angle, Daniels and Kazarian showed here that they are four of the very best in the business today.

It’s hard to really describe the match. If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. This was without a doubt the Match of the Night.

WWE, I hope you were taking notes because this was tag-team wrestling!

Bobby Roode vs. Sting: World Heavyweight Championship

Roode retained the world title after he knocked Sting out with a beer bottle. Post-match, though, Sting got up and beat down Roode. It ended with a Scorpion Death Drop off the stage onto some tables.

This match wasn’t really much of a match as it was more like a brawl. For most of it Roode tried running away from Sting with the Icon constantly chasing him and bringing him back into the ring. In terms of a fight, it was pretty good. In terms of a wrestling match, though, it wasn’t as such.

Their lumberjack match two weeks ago was very good so I had high hopes for this match. I understand booking it the way they did, though.

Sting was out for revenge while Roode wanted nothing to do with him. A wrestling match wouldn’t make too much sense so having them brawl during the majority of it was a good call.

I was glad to see Roode retain as I feel that the only person that should take the title off of him is James Storm. As big a fan I am of Sting, I don’t want to see him with the world title right now.

Roode is on the role of a lifetime and derailing him now would be a mistake.

Overall I thought Slammiversary was a great show! Most of the matches were either good or great, which made up for the matches that weren’t.

TNA pulled out all the stops for this show and it delivered in a big way. If you’re a fan of wrestling, I highly recommend checking out this show.

TNA celebrated 10 years in the business with this show, and if it was any indication, TNA Wrestling will be around for years to come.

With Slammiversary in the books, TNA fans now have Destination X to look forward too, as well as the road to Bound for Glory! It should be a great summer for TNA fans!