Slammiversary 2013 Results and Review

Slammiversary 2013
June 2, 2013
Boston, Massachusetts

-Chris Sabin defeated Kenny King and Suicide in Ultimate X to win the X Division Championship. This was a very good high flying match.

After the match, Hulk Hogan came out and met Chris Sabin on the walkway. He praised Chris Sabin as the future of the company. He said like last year, Chris Sabin could exchange his title for a World Title shot at "Destination X."

Hogan was interrupted by the Aces and Eights. Anderson trash talked Hogan, who fired back by calling them pussies in leather. He then introduced their opponents tonight for the six man match.

-Jeff Hardy, Samoa Joe and Magnus defeated Mr. Anderson, Wes Brisco and Garett Bischoff of the Aces and Eights.

While Joseph Park was giving an interview backstage, he was attacked by Devon and Knux. The two left him laying, bloody on the ground.

-Jay Bradley defeated Sam Shaw with the Boomstick to win a spot in the BFG Series. This was an ugly match.

Devon and Knux came to the ring for their TV Title Match. Joseph Park's music hit but he never came to the ring. Devon demanded that the referee count him out and declare Devon the victor. Afterwards, Devon trash talked Abyss saying if he was here he (Devon) would tell the ref to ring the bell and make the match. Abyss' music played and the Monster made his way to the ring.

-Abyss defeated Devon with the Black Hole Slam to win the Television Championship.

Dixie Carter headed to the ring to announce the second inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame. She called the roster out onto the stage. She announced that the second inductee into the TNA Hall of Fame was...KURT ANGLE. Kurt Angle walked to the ring while a video of his accomplishments played. Kurt Angle thanked the fans, the roster, Dixie Carter, the Carter family and Jeff Jarrett. Kurt was very emotional.

-Gunner and James Storm won the 4-Way Elimination Match to win the World Tag Team Titles. Bad Influence were eliminated when the referee disqualified them for using the tag team titles on Chavo Guerrero. Bobby Roode immediately pinned Chavo right after that to eliminate them. Gunner won the match by locking Austin Aries in the Gun Rack (Torture Rack) for the submission victory.

-Taryn Terrell defeated Gail Kim in a Last Knockout Standing Match after bulldogging Gail Kim off the walkway to the ringside area. Another good match!

-Kurt Angle defeated AJ Styles with a rollup maneuver. This was a very good back and forth match with some cool exchanges.

-Bully Ray defeated Sting to retain the World Heavyweight Championship in a No Holds Barred Match. Bully Ray ended up pulling up the padding and mat that covers the ring to reveal the wood foundation. Sting had the match won at the end but the Aces and Eights interfered. Sting fought most of them off but ended up getting hit with the ball-peen hammer courtesy of Bully Ray (after Mr. Anderson slid it into him). Brooke Hogan appeared earlier in the match but didn't end up doing anything.


Slammiversary Review
-I like the stage that TNA has been using for both the IMPACT Wrestling Tapings and the PPVs. The HD screen is simple, good looking and can change based on the graphics. One thing I wish TNA would do though is change up the ringside area. What I mean is have the PPV logo on the apron and turnbuckle and then give each PPV their own rope color. Lockdown can be red or black, Slammiversary could be gold and BFG can be silver. While production shouldn't be the main focus, good production definitely adds to the product.

-I am disappointed that Slammiversary will be the last TNA show (at least for now) with Todd Keneley announcing. I have grown to really like Keneley. His knowledge of the names of wrestler's finishers are one of his strong points. His weaknesses of course are the abundance of cliches. With that said, I felt he was better than Mike Tenay and SO MUCH better than Taz. This decision seems to strictly be based on seniority, which sucks for both him and the fans.

-I loved the Ultimate X Match. All three men involved looked really good but I felt that Suicide shone the most. TNA needs to keep the character and the man playing the character around because he is earning his spot. There were some really cool rapid fire moves and high spots in the match. While things got really choreographed later on, it didn't take away from my enjoyment. Great way to open the show.

It looks like Sabin will be trading in his X Division Title on an upcoming episode of IMPACT called "Destination X." I don't see him winning the World Title but think it will get him into the heavyweight scene and elevate him up the card.

-Hulk Hogan was awesome in his promo. I loved it when he called the Aces and 8s "pussies in leather" and then told Garett Bischoff that he "was a bitch and his old man was a bitch". This was an edgy promo that you don't see on national TV these days. I am hoping we see more of this in future shows.

I want to say that I think Garett Bischoff is a future star! He has really polished his look into something distinct with the faux-hawk and beard. I think he could be main eventing shows in three or four years tops if he can continue progressing in the ring and on the mic.

-The six man tag team match was a solid effort that saw the TNA Heroes lay waste to the Aces and Eights. Jeff Hardy is back with a beard (I don't get the fascination with beards in TNA now).  Hardy's look didn't impress me as I liked his facepaint from before. Magnus also had new long tights that reminded me of AJ Styles from the past few years; which I liked. Joe was very impressive with his momentum and fire. I would like to see him get a little more attention in the main event scene. Aside from Wes Brisco not being able to sell the Twist of Fate, this was a fun matchup.

-TNA did a really good job building to the main event tonight through their use of videos. I loved the intro of Bully Ray interrupting the opening scene. I also loved how TNA highlighted Sting's past World Title wins. They really did a good job in this aspect. You knew though that this would be Sting's last shot at the World Title.

-The Jay Bradley vs Sam Shaw Match was ugly. The two couldn't keep their balance and did nothing to compel me. This was a poor display by both men. Jay Bradley will be heading into the BFG Series though with his win here.

-I liked the story of the TV Title Match. TNA Production did a good job showing the attack backstage with my favorite part being the shot of Joseph Park's bloody hand sliding down the wall indicating what would be happening next. The Devon segment was predictable in that sense but fun. The Abyss character wasn't in the best of shape but he did fine here. I don't expect the character to hold onto the TV Title just because Devon never really agreed to the match. That will likely get overturned on IMPACT.

-Many will disagree with me here but I am so happy for Kurt Angle going into the Hall of Fame. He was probably one of the biggest names to ever jump to TNA. He has had so many great matches, moments and feuds with so many of the TNA Roster. The moment at No Surrender 2006 of the announcement of him joining TNA is likely my favorite TNA moment in history. He is also a big name that fits right along with Sting. These are the two biggest names that TNA can rightfully induct into their Hall of Fame that WWE wants to.

I want to make it clear that every year that Jeff Jarrett doesn't enter the TNA Hall of Fame is showing disrespect to the man. Jarrett is the founder of the company. He was one of the biggest names during the early years of the company. Up until 2009, TNA was HIS vision. With that said, I don't feel like the Hall of Fame lost any credibility because Jarrett isn't in it yet. Jarrett should be, but so should Sting and Angle. It doesn't matter the order of who goes in but rather who enters the Hall of Fame.

Just because a guys like Jake Roberts, Ultimate Warrior and Randy Savage aren't in the WWE Hall of Fame while Booker T, Mick Foley, and Edge are doesn't devalue the HOF. Its those guys who don't belong in there that are in there that devalue the HOF. If TNA inducts a guy like Elix Skipper instead of Jeff Jarrett, then I would have a problem with that. Anyways, I am thinking that next year will be Jarrett's year.

-The 4-Way Tag Team Match was a fun match but not as great as I thought it would be. There was alot of great wrestling on it. I have no problem with Bad Influence being disqualified so early on. Gunner and James Storm looked good as a team. TNA is really getting behind a Gunner push with his new "Gun Rack" finisher and him kicking out of the 450 Splash. Aries isn't being buried guys!

-The Last Knockouts Standing Match was my favorite match of the show and was definitely one of the best women's matches we have seen in years. Despite it being a hardcore match, the only weapon that I think was used was a chair. I liked how the turnbuckle Figure Four came into play as both Taryn and Gail used the move. The spot where Gail hit the chair in the corner was brutal. I loved the Bulldog off the walkway as well. The fans reacted well to the match. This proves that Taryn Terrell can not only look gorgeous but can go in the ring.

-Both that match and the AJ Styles vs Kurt Angle Match were to me the best matches of the show. I love AJ's new music. I have been calling for TNA to change his music since his old music didn't match his character. I am loving the character as well. AJ has changed up his look, his attitude, his music and his arsenal of moves; which showed tonight.

This match was much more ground-based than any of their previous encounters. I love that AJ switched up his repertoire and debuted a number of new moves. He is now using a Dropkick of Woe, a jumping Baseball Slide, a Spinebuster, a Backfist/Clothesline Combo and my favorite, the Calf Killer. AJ targeted the knee the entire match and locked in the move on a few different occasions.

The match was excellent. I loved the spot where AJ backflipped out of the top rope German Suplex but ran into another suplex into the corner. These two have had so many great matches its hard to list the best of them but this one I enjoyed. The rollup cover also protects the AJ character since he was caught off guard instead of being cleanly pinned.

-The Bully Ray vs Sting Match was certainly memorable. I liked how Bully Ray brought up the No Holds Barred stipulation while connecting it to using the Piledriver during the match. I actually wish it was the Piledriver that ended the match. This was a very good brawl between the two. Bully Ray lifting up the padding of the ring during the match was very memorable.

There are a few things I didn't like about the match. Brooke's participation wasn't needed as she didn't do anything. I also think that the mass interference from the Aces and 8s wasn't done well. I like how Sting battled back since this would be his last World Title shot but it didn't make sense that none of the TNA Heroes would help him. I would rather him battle back while other members of the TNA Roster helped him do so. Nonetheless it was a good brawl and the final time we will see Sting wrestle for the World Title. That is a stipulation I can actually believe that will remain (unlike in previous regimes).

Final Thoughts:
Overall, Slammiversary gets my stamp of approval. It was memorable because of the title changes, Sting's last title shot, the induction of Kurt Angle into the Hall of Fame and more. We got great wrestling in the Last Knockout's Standing Match, AJ vs Kurt, Ultimate X, the main event and more. The crowd was great all night long and we even got a great promo out of Hogan. Slammiversary will be a show I remember!