Slammiversary (2016) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). It took place on June 12 at the Impact Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the twelfth event under the Slammiversary chronology and the first event in the 2016 TNA PPV schedule.
Fatal 4 Way for X-Division Championship - Eddie Edwards def. Trevor Lee (c) vs. DJ Z and Andrew Everett to become NEW X-Division Champion
Amazing match to kick off this PPV event. I thought it was a nice touch to eject Gregory Helms from ringside too. About time that they let Everett and Trevor Lee stand on their own two feet, even though Helms looked like a Bond villain in his snazzy new suit.
The Tribunal (w/ Al Snow) def. Grado & Shera
This was just horrible from start to finish. I feel bad that the Legionnaires left NXT from one stupid storyline/angle to come to TNA in another. I wish they would do something more with Shera than him being a dancing goof. Grado showed promise in X-Division, why not have him go back to that? I can say the same about Rockstar Spud as well...
Also, can someone take that whistle away from Al Snow? Then again, I rather hear that instead of Allie's high pitched wailing and screaming at ringside...
Maria Kanellis vs. Gail Kim
Speak of the devil... here comes Allie with her high pitched shrieking at ringside during the next match. Sucks to see this match cancelled at the last second, but Billy Corgan made a nice save as the on-screen authority figure here to assess the situation by adding Gail Kim into the Knockouts title match.
Triple Threat Match for Knockouts Championship Match - Sienna def. Jade (c) and Gail Kim to become NEW Knockouts Champion
I felt a little bad for the ladies here because the crowd wasn't really into the match. Here's the thing. TNA Knockouts have ALWAYS put on acceptable matches; long before they signed women like Paige and the Forse Horsewomen and WWE started their "so-called" Divas Revolution. It's just that their crowds are conditioned to their women's matches not being the bathroom breaks of the night. This wasn't a bad match by any margin - it just lacked the crowd being hyped for it.
I think after the X-Division opener then with the crap that followed next, they didn't really perk back up yet to the wrestlers.
I was fine with the finish that saw Marti Bell (I laughed when a lot of people on social media thought she was Layla during the live broadcast...) screw Jade out of the win for Sienna to pick up the gold. It does two things simultaneously. One, Maria Kanellis' faction with Allie and Sienna has all of the power in the Knockouts division going forward
James Storm def. Braxton Sutter (Pepper Parks)
Not a bad match, especially with the emotional journey of Pepper Parks, now Braxton Sutter, coming to TNA. Pretty cool factoid to know that James Storm has worked ALL 14 Slammiversary events in TNA history. That being said, I didn't agree with Storm getting the win here. Given the build-up of Sutter, you'd think that he would get an emotional first "big" win of his TNA career tonight, but nope. This was over a bit too quick for my taste. They should've taken time from that horrible Grado/Shera vs. Tribunal match and gave it to these guys.
TNA Tag Team Championship Match - The Decay (c) def. BroMans (w/ Raquel)
There were lots of false finishes in this one to get the blood flowing back into this crowd to bring them back to life. I was ready to get salty the second it looked like the BroMans were about to win. FAR too soon for the Decay to be losing to anyone for the tag titles right now in my honest opinion. Plus, Raquel needs to educate her "boys" some more. I'm sure there's a lot more lessons she can teach them before they find success at the top of the division again.
Speaking of which, I wasn't too crazy about the finish as it really didn't make sense. Raquel attacked Rosemary (I dug that because it's good to start setting up more new Knockouts feuds as Gail Kim can't hold this thing together forever... On top of that, how many high profile feuds does she really have left is a better question...) then Robbie E and Crazzy Steve pulled their own girls off of each other, only for Rosemary to run back around and distract him AGAIN to allow Abyss to make the finish. I was left scratching my head on that one even though I was happy that the Decay retained the gold.
Full Metal Mayhem - Jeff Hardy def. Matt Hardy
I got to give the Hardy Boys credit. It's 2016 and they are STILL cooking up new crazy spots in TLC/Full Metal Mayhem matches.
"I haven't seen a man more psychotic than Matt Hardy..." A direct quote by Josh Matthews during this match. Obviously he hasn't been paying much attention to the Decay lately...
That spot with the keyboard was fucking stupid though. It looked like it bashed Jeff in the face upon impact (no pun intended). Jeff is lucky that thing didn't knock his teeth out.
I lost count somewhere within the middle of the match but Jeff had to have hit Matt with at least 4-6 Twists of Fate and about 3 Swanton Bombs. Good grief, man.
I don't see how they can keep this feud going from here. Jeff has "killed" Matt like twice now.
EC3 def. Mike Bennett
If you don't see nor realize that EC3 is TNA's biggest star right now, then you're crazy. The crowd turns into Full Sail for NXT when his music hits. This match was a little underwhelming for me. Outside of the numerous near-falls and brawling out of the ring, it was a pretty standard match that could have been on Impact on the weeks leading up to this. I was expecting a lot more in terms of the finish, especially after what Bennett took away from EC3 in terms of his "undefeated" streak.Sue me. I was expecting something more here to say that they were keeping this feud pretty intense until now and it ends as a pretty standard fair match? Just seemed like a missed opportunity to me.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match (Submission/Knockout to win) - Bobby Lashley def. Drew Galloway (c) to become the NEW World Heavyweight Champion
I honestly busted out laughing when Galloway hit the Claymore as soon as the bell rung. I thought it was going to be over that quick. Fortunately, I was wrong and man, they made that one worth the wait. They definitely had me on the edge of my seat as I had no idea who was going to come out as the winner with so many near-falls and false finishes.
I wish Lashley would lose the headband. He looks like the ultimate douchebag wearing that in a wrestling match. That's something you see guys in the NBA wearing not pro wrestlers. (Shrugs) Maybe he should keep it. It's adding to his heel heat as I'm definitely not alone in hating that fashion accessory.
I feel that the loss here doesn't hurt Drew Galloway as it gives him the opportunity to be in the chase yet again. A rising star like Galloway needs more obstacles in his way to challenge him and allow him to grow into an even better wrestler and major player for the promotion.
That being said, this was a fairly decent event, with just about every match other than the Grado/Shera vs Tribunal match being worth the watch. Regardless, I'm sure the TNA haters will find something to complain about here. There's enough to go forward with and build towards future events throughout 2016.
Impact Wrestling (LIVE!! June 14, 2016)
I didn't catch the "live" broadcast since I was napping after work Tuesday evening, but I heard about the technical difficulties that Pop TV had that caused the show to be postponed for over 45 minutes. That wasn't TNA's fault at all, but sucks all round since this was Gold Rush night, which wasn't a bad night of Impact at all.
Bobby Lashley opens the show with a heel promo, rubbing salt into the wound that he dethroned Drew Galloway and reclaimed the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. I can dig this Lashley. More of this PLEASE, TNA. I was skeptical at first, but I can dig Lashley in this position as the top monster powerhouse heel. EC3 and Galloway were quick to name themselves as challengers, but Galloway was the one who won out on that vie for the title match by cashing in his rematch clause.
I dunno about that as they could have saved that for the next PPV. I wouldn't mind EC3 getting another run with the gold if it ends up with Mike Bennett scratching and crawling his way up to that position like EC3 did during his "campaign".
King of the Mountain Championship Match - Eli Drake (c) def. Jeff Hardy
I don't know why they just don't call the KOTM title the TV title again. That's all what it is now as they essentially don't defend the match in a KOTM match for every title defense. Either way, I won't lie - I was half-asleep during this match until the finish that saw Matt Hardy screw Jeff Hardy out of the win for Drake to retain.
Matt Hardy confronts "Brother Nero"
I said this on Twitter last night too, but Reby's boobs are the biggest stars of this feud. I don't see how Matt is still "disturbed" and "crazy" when he has a hottie like that to go home to. In either case, this confrontation sets up the Hardy Boys' match in a Steel Cage Match next week on Impact. I don't see how they are going to top some of the other crazy spots in this feud other than Jeff taking another one of those scary cage dive/falling spots.
X-Division Championship Match - Eddie Edwards (c) def. Trevor Lee
This was a far cry from the match from Slammiversary as Gregory Helms was back at ringside and there was more focus on him trying to screw Edwards out of the title instead of focusing on Trevor Lee's athleticism. As much as I like the Helms Dynasty, Helms is holding Lee back in a sense. Helms should just sit back and let his boys handle their business on their own.
The BroMans Discuss Their Hidden Cameras
I don't blame them at all. I would be all over spying on Raquel. If she's their "trainer" why don't they just ask her to let them hit that? I mean, c'mon now. She has to be interested if she approached them to help them out.
Dixie Carter Announces Gail Kim as the newest member of the TNA Hall of Fame
(Stands up and applauds) This was LONG overdue, in my opinion. I know many say AJ Styles, Kazarian, Christopher Daniels, Samoa Joe, James Storm, Bobby Roode, and so many TNA Originals deserve it more, but where are they now? They couldn't give a flying fuck about TNA right now, so let Gail Kim enjoy this. She's been a company loyalist since returning after her "failed" WWE return and there's no denying her impact on the Knockouts division as well as women's wrestling in mainstream wrestling as a whole. Gail Kim is the woman to beat when it comes to women's wrestling in mainstream wrestling. WWE wouldn't have batted another eye at taking their women's division(s) seriously until Gail Kim and the other Knockouts showed that women's wrestling can be a top draw instead of a bathroom break.
Jeremy Borash interviews Marti Bell for her actions at Slammiversary
I don't mind them taking Marti in a new direction finally. They should've dropped the Dollhouse thing earlier than they did anyway. That stable stayed around well over it's welcome. I'm just happy to see that TNA is back to creating multiple Knockout feuds like they used to back when the division was new instead of focusing on 1-2 women at a time. Don't make the same mistakes that WWE are doing with their women's division.
Fatal 4 Way Match for TNA Tag Team Championship - The Decay (c) def. The Tribunal (w/ Al Snow), BroMans (w/ Raquel) and Grado & Shera
Can someone take that whistle and shove that shit up Al Snow's ass? He's about as annoying as Xavier Woods playing a trombone at ringside. This wasn't as long as the tag team matches on Slammiversary but it worked for what it was worth. With these three teams being the only competition for the Decay, then they don't have to worry about losing the gold before Davey Richards comes back from injury to reunite the Wolves. Goddamn, it's still not as bad as the WWE Tag Team landscape before they signed Gallows and Anderson...
I hope TNA signs a new tag team or injects some new blood into this division. The BroMans with Raquel are decent and all but I can't see them in the chase for the long term of the division.
Mike Bennett and Maria Kanellis Express Their Distaste Over Recent Events
This felt a little too much like a wannabe shoot at one point and dragged on longer than it should have, but that slap from Dixie to Maria was LONG overdue. I'm fine with this as long as Dixie doesn't turn into the Stephanie McMahon of TNA where she doesn't put anyone over and chops the legs out underneath from every promising rising star.
I'm anxious to see where they take this as they need to keep pushing BOTH Bennett and Maria in their respective divisions.
TNA World Heavyweight Championship Match (Slammiversary Rematch) - Lashley (c) def. Drew Galloway
The top rope Celtic Cross was a sweet spot along with the exchange that included the Claymore into a ref bump and the pending Spear(s) from Lashley to end it. EC3 getting involved was a nice touch (although VERY predictable) and it sets up a potential triple threat down the road. The repeated Spears on Lashley on Galloway just added to Lashley's mean streak and sheer brutality,
Afterthoughts
It was unfortunate that Pop TV ran into some technical difficulties, especially right after TNA were trying to pick up momentum fresh off a solid PPV outing. Slammiversary wasn't bad at all outside of one match that I mentioned above, but it's going to be a hard sell to get more eyes on their product after Tuesday night's fiasco.
TNA is on the right track if the rumors about Billy Corgan taking more control of the company while Dixie Carter is quietly pushed into the background, despite remaining as an on-air authority figure when needed. I think they need to really focus on elevating the Knockouts, Tag Team, and main event divisions properly and people will definitely begin to care again. The talent has always been there - just need better direction. Since their rebirth on Pop TV, TNA has been putting on much better events than they were on their last lingering months on Spike TV and Destination America. I just wonder if they are going to maintain that time slot after July once WWE Smackdown! goes live on Tuesdays. I highly suggest TNA take the 9PM slot on Wednesdays after Lucha Underground and WWE NXT's new episodes or settle for Thursdays back in Smackdown's old time slot.
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