TNA Slammiversary PPV Preview
TNA is celebrating the 20th 'Slammiversary' with a PPV stacked with talented wrestlers. Here's a preview, plus how to order the PPV with Sling.
Shortly after we in America celebrated the 248th anniversary of our nation, TNA wrestling is set to continue its annual birthday celebration with the 20th Slammiversary (technically, TNA is 22 years old, but they’ve only been doing Slammiversary since 2004; who’s counting anyway?). With a sold-out arena totalling their largest crowd in over 10 years, TNA looks to continue its resurgence with a card that is sure to make an impact:
TNA World Championship Elimination Match: Moose vs. Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin vs. Josh Alexander vs. Joe Hendry vs. Frankie Kazarian
TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Jordynne Grace vs. Ash By Elegance
TNA X-Division Championship Match: Mustafa Ali vs. Mike Bailey
TNA Digital Media Championship & International Heavyweight Championship Match: AJ Francis vs. PCO
TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship Match: The Malisha (Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards) vs. SpitFire (Dani Luna and Jody Threat)
The action takes place from the Verdun Auditorium in Montreal, Canada in front of 4,000 ravenous fans. Get your popcorn ready for when the bell rings on July 20th at 8 PM ET on PPV. To order TNA Slammiversary for $39.99 with Sling, visit the "Rentals" section under the "On Demand" tab in the Sling app, or just click the link below! Now here's a preview of the matches we're most excited to see.
Match #1 - TNA World Championship Elimination Match: Moose vs. Nic Nemeth vs. Steve Maclin vs. Josh Alexander vs. Joe Hendry vs. Frankie Kazarian
https://www.youtube.com/embed/6NKHboEJmXw?si=xvDk1Og4iFUSyy_Z
The story - The key to a great PPV is in the build, and that was exactly what TNA head honcho Santino Marello was going for when he announced the Road to Slammiversary: a series of five qualifying matches to see who would take on champion Moose in an elimination match. What emerged from this gauntlet was a slew of contenders, any of whom is capable of lifting the title. The Walking Weapon himself, Josh Alexander, and Steve Maclin are both former TNA champions themselves. Nic Nemeth knows something about championships, after a potential Hall of Fame run in WWE (as Dolph Ziggler) where he lifted the company’s top prize. Frankie Kazarian was actually part of the inaugural tag team champions in AEW, So-Cal Uncensored, as well as holding the X division championship multiple times. Finally, Joe Hendry is a badass even outside of the world of sports entertainment, with the Prestigious One having represented Great Britain in international wrestling competition. If one of these gentlemen want to hoist TNA’s top prize, all they have to do is down former NFL player and all around behemoth Moose (or hope one of their opponents gets the job done for them). Six men enter, one man leaves.
Why we’re excited - This is an elimination match featuring six credible champions for the company’s top prize. Whoever emerges from this heap of bodies and bloodshed will have earned it.
Match #2 - TNA Knockouts Championship Match: Jordynne Grace vs. Ash By Elegance
The story - Jordynne Grace has been a dominant Knockouts champion, which isn’t a shock given that she looks like she is carved out of granite. Her opponent in this match, Ash By Elegance, is no slouch in the figure department either, as the wrestler known as Dana Brooke in WWE is an IFBB pro herself. Since joining TNA, Ash by Elegance has cut a different figure, choosing to observe Jordynne’s matches from ringside, as if scouting her. The two briefly clashed, with Jordynne getting the better of Ash after Grace retained her title against Tatum Paxley. Ash got a measure of revenge a few weeks later, laying out Jordynne leading to a title clash at Slammiversary. Beauty and Brawn are present in equal amounts in this match, so the question is who will be able to outmuscle the other?
Why we’re excited - These are two incredibly impressive competitors. We’ve long been fans of Jordynne Grace, and while she has always been a powerhouse, she has put the work in to a truly terrifying degree. We are sure the ladies of the WWE would agree, as Jordynne entered last year’s Royal Rumble with an impressive showing. We doubt the former Dana Brooke is impressed though, having really found her footing in her post-WWE career. She was always one of the more underrated women in WWE (we enjoyed her partnership with Mandy Rose) and we are excited to see where her run as Ash by Elegance takes her.
Match #3 - TNA X-Division Championship Match: Mustafa Ali vs. Mike Bailey
https://www.youtube.com/embed/jpqw43S2hNk?si=_lD-N1FQSbTq9wzl
The story - At Against All Odds, Mustafa Ali’s challenger for his X-Division championship, Trent Seven, turned the Chicago crowd against Mustafa by showing footage of him trashtalking the city. His attempt to clear things up several weeks later backfired, when the crowd hijacked his State of the Union address by chanting for Speedball Mike Bailey, whom Ali had cost a title shot earlier. This enraged Ali, who ended up snapping and attacking a fan, leading to the intervention of Speedball and Seven. Furious, Ali vowed to ruin Bailey’s return to Montreal, leading to a match at Slammiversary 2024 for the X division title. Will Mike have a career moment in front of his hometown crowd, or will he become a victim of Ali’s retribution?
Why we’re excited - These two have clashed before (previously in a bloody bout in Prestige Wrestling) and always put on a show. This was a well-built story by TNA, with multiple twists and turns building to what should be an emotional and heated blow-off match in Montreal, or perhaps the continuation of a budding rivalry. Something to watch: how will Campaign Singh or Trent Seven impact this match. Interference could certainly be a turning point, and this rivalry has a history of it.
Match #4 - TNA Digital Media Championship & International Heavyweight Championship Match: AJ Francis vs. PCO
The story - Wrestling angles are certainly no stranger to romance. In this case the romance in question is the PCO’s courtship of Steph Delander. But like any high school romcom (which wrestling is often oh-too-similar to), leave it to the bad guys Fir$t Cla$$ (AJ Francis and Rich Swann) to make things complicated on our protagonist. The heels stealing Steph’s flowers lead to the first clash, with PCO defeating Swann at Against All Odds, leading to Steph accepting a date with PCO. Francis couldn’t have that, crashing the romance via a chokeslam on Delander as a helpless PCO looked on. Love hurts. Francis took it to the next level, reviving the International Heavyweight Championship which had been a staple of PCO’s native Quebec, declaring himself champion. Even DJ Whoo Kid was involved (so ya, just like a rom com). This led to Santino Marello attempting to put a stop to these shenanigans by pitting PCO against Francis for all the gold.
Why we’re excited - The former Quebeccer in WWE, Pierre Carl Oulette (or more recently the Perfect Creation One) has been active since 1987! He is doing things at age 56 we only dream of at 36. It isn’t like he is taking it easy either, locking up with former NFL player and Hip-Hop mogul AJ Francis. Francis has been a real loudmouth (even back to his days in WWE as Top Dolla), and we’d love to see the veteran shut AJ up and finally get the girl.
Match #5 - TNA Knockouts Tag Team Championship Match: The Malisha (Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards) vs. SpitFire (Dani Luna and Jody Threat)
https://www.youtube.com/embed/029eYxMVAng?si=5vvIn-5R2WSQ2YuV
The story - The road to redemption is often fraught with obstacles. SpitFire has been finding that out after dropping the Knockout Tag titles to the Malisha at Under Seigne. Under the mentorship of Lars Frederiksen (yep, that Lars Frederiksen), the two faced a series of trials to earn their rematch with Malisha. Their final challenge wasn’t technically completed, but that was due to some timely interference from Masha and Alisha. Naturally, wrestling justice dictated a clash be set up at Slammiversary between the current and former champs.
Why we’re excited - As offshoots of the villainous System, it is not a shock that the Malisha would resort to dirty tactics to try to prevent their rematch with SpitFire. We are excited to see if in trying to defy that destiny, Malisha enabled it to the tune of SpitFire dive bombing them with a 1-2-3.