12 Best Slammiversary Matches Of All Time

This Saturday will feature the fifteenth iteration of Impact Wrestling’s Slammiversary, one of their three major flagship PPV events alongside Lockdown and Bound For Glory. With this special anniversary, it seemed the right time to look back on its history. Specifically, to handpick the best Slammiversary matches of all time., whether in its heyday of the mid 2000s, the polarizing Hulk Hogan/Eric Bischoff years, or during its recent revival. Let’s look back to the days of Slammiversary past.

 

TNA Slammiversary 2007 (June 17th 2006)

King Of The Mountain Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

AJ Styles vs. Chris Harris vs. Christian Cage vs. Kurt Angle vs. Samoa Joe

The third Slammiversary event would mark the fifth anniversary of the promotion, and featured multiple celebrity guests from the world of American Football, MMA and entertainment in celebration. During those five years, TNA regularly attempted to innovate matches, whether successfully (Ultimate X) or unsuccessfully (Hard 10 Tournament). One of their most famous unique concepts was the King of the Mountain match, often referred to as a ‘reverse ladder’ match.

This match would involve five combatants with a ladder on the outside. In order to win the match, you had to climb up the ladder and hang the championship, but only if you were eligible. In order to become eligible, you had to pin or submit one of your four opponents, with that opponent made to spend two minutes in a ‘penalty box’ cage, By this point in history, there had been three previous KOTM matches, two of which were won by Jeff Jarrett and the other by Raven.

This historical match would be to crown the first ever TNA World Heavyweight Champion following TNA’s separation from the NWA. Managing Director Jim Cornette kayfabe announced that TNA had grown to an extent that they needed their own official titles. Angle, Samoa Joe, Styles and Cage defeated Rhino, Sting, Tomko and Abyss respectively to qualify, while Chris Harris was chosen by Cornette despite tying with former partner James Storm.

This match featured five of the biggest mainstays of TNA’s history to this point. Styles and Harris had been there since the very beginning and the other three were probably the biggest signings by TNA that weren’t called Sting. With such a strong collection of superstars, it helped give the main event and the first ever TNA World Champion an instant legitimacy, as well as being possibly the best King of the Mountain match in TNA history.

TNA Slammiversary VIII (13th June 2010)

Frankie Kazarian vs. Kurt Angle

Considering what a tremendous main eventer he has been over his career, Angle actually has a history of having awesome opening PPV matches, setting a standard for all others to follow. Whether in a seven minute classic with Rey Mysterio at SummerSlam 2002, or this fourteen minute battle, Angle would always bring his best regardless.

This match also confirms that Kazarian has always been an excellent singles wrestler, even if he’s currently in a tag team with long-term partner Christopher Daniels. The story for this match is relatively simple: Angle attempting to defeat every wrestler in the TNA Top 10 in order to challenge for the TNA Championship, but the performance from both elevates the match.

 

TNA Slammiversary IX (June 12th 2011)

Last Man Standing Match

AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray

AJ Styles was often referred to as the crown jewel of TNA during his decade with them, so it’s no surprise to see him featured on this list. Brother Ray, meanwhile, had joined TNA in 2005 alongside his tag team partner Brother Devon, but turned heel the previous November and renamed himself Bully Ray.

This match is a brutal ending to their ongoing feud, with Styles going above and beyond to put Bully Ray over in this brawl. The beginnings of Bully Ray’s main event heel run originates here, and Styles has always been excellent against bigger, stronger wrestlers.

 

TNA Slammiversary 10 (June 10th 2012)

TNA World Tag Team Titles Match

Christopher Daniels & Kazarian (c) vs. AJ Styles & Kurt Angle

The Claire Lynch storyline is one of the worst and most painful that occurred in TNA, and it was only the pure talent that Styles, Daniels and Kazarian possessed that allowed them to wash the stink of the storyline off them.

However, during that time, you also had a relative dream match where Kurt Angle would come to the aid of Styles, leading to a tag team match. Relatively brief at under fifteen minutes, it is at least nonstop action (an almost pun that was definitely not intended) in a match celebrating the tremendous impact (again, pun not intended!) of four mainstays of TNA Wrestling.

 

TNA Slammiversary XI (June 2nd 2013)

AJ Styles vs. Kurt Angle

In 2013, Styles was in the midst of a character refreshment, including a darker wardrobe with a lone wolf personality. The result of a year of setbacks, this Sting-inspired persona would refuse to choose between the TNA that had wronged him and the dangerous insurgence of Aces & Eights. During this time, his former partner Angle approached him in an attempt to help but would eventually grow frustrated with Styles pushing him away, leading to TNA General Manager Hulk Hogan booking a match between the two.

On a night when Angle was revealed as the second ever inductee into the TNA Hall Of Fame, it was pertinent to have him wrestle the heart of TNA Wrestling. While Angle represented the growth of the brand since his debut in 2006, Styles had grown since the first ever show TNA on PPV in 2002. This match featured two of the best wrestlers of their generation in a match that celebrated the history of TNA, demonstrated by every match in this list so far featuring at least one of them.

 

TNA Slammiversary ‘16 (June 12th 2016)

Knockout Or Tap-Out Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Title

Drew Galloway (c) vs. Lashley

In 2015, TNA began to enter financial and legal issues, with Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan stepping in in April 2015 as a senior producer of creative and talent development. Mainstays such as Samoa Joe, Kurt Angle, Eric Young, Velvet Sky and Bobby Roode moved on from TNA over the next year, leading to a transitional period for the company. In the midst of this time, Drew Galloway and Lashley joined the main event scene, putting on some of their finest work to that point.

This match was the culmination of a feud with Knockout Or Tap-Out rules, Galloway attempting to get a KO while Lashley’s MMA experience saw him trying to tap the champion out. This was a bitterly fought match between two tough bastards that featured blood, tables and brutality that proved a rare shining light during a difficult period for the company. One year later, Galloway had already returned to NXT as Drew McIntyre, with Lashley following him less than a year later.

 

Impact Slammiversary XVI (July 22nd 2018)

5150 Street Fight for the Impact Tag Team Championship

LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/Konnan (c) vs. The OGz (Homicide & Hernandez) w/King

2016 and 2017 were full of backstage issues, with Billy Corgan being ousted and reaching a settlement, and Jeff Jarrett trying to merge the company with his own Global Force Wrestling (GFW). In December 2017, Don Callis and Scott D’Amore were brought in as new Executive Vice-Presidents, beginning a long-term resurrection of the company. This would culminate at Slammiversary XVI, legitimately claiming for best show of the year with widespread critical acclaim, and on a personal note, the show that reignited my interest in the newly-named Impact Wrestling.

This PPV was consistent in pacing and match quality, audiences either emotionally involved in the story or enjoying tremendous wrestling, but this match was the first in a triple main event special. An intense and hotly contested gang war that helped contribute to LAX’s reputation as one of the best tag teams in modern wrestling and eventually lead to their joining of AEW, while The OGz rolled back the years to demonstrate the skills that made them great talents.

 

Impact Slammiversary XVI (July 22nd 2018)

Hair vs. Mask Match

Sami Callihan vs. Pentagon

This feud was in the vein of Lucha Underground with the inclusion of a Lucha de Apuestas, which used to be Mexico’s ultimate feud ender with both wrestlers putting either their hair or mask on the line. Pentagon was the breakout star of Lucha Underground and would continue his rise as a star in Impact Wrestling, including winning the Impact World Championship from Austin Aries briefly.

Here, he would become the hero of the Mexican wrestlers in Impact, defending them against Callihan’s nefarious oVe (Ohio Vs Everything). This match entered a different level of viciousness as both men utilised railroad spikes to draw blood from one another, in an intense and hard hitting battle that demonstrated both Pentagon’s tenacity and Callihan’s malicious nature.

 

Impact Slammiversary XVI (July 22nd 2018)

Impact World Championship Match

Austin Aries (c) vs. Moose

This main event followed two absolute wars on a night that had been amazing from the very start, with Moose riding a wave of momentum and public support in a big-feel match. Aries had moved on from his stint in WWE to stabilise the Impact main event scene, his arrogance and unquestionable talent up against the taller and stronger athlete.

This match closed the night tremendously and helped represent a turning point in Impact Wrestling, where D’Amore and Callis pushed new talent with long-term storytelling, which would continue the following year.

 

Impact Slammiversary XVII (July 7th 2019)

Impact X-Division Championship Match

Rich Swann (c) vs. Johnny Impact w/John E. Bravo

One year on from possibly the best PPV in their history, Impact Wrestling had grown from strength to strength. They returned to regular television with the Pursuit Channel and weekly shows on Twitch, a subsidiary of Amazon. The company had continued its consistency on a weekly basis and the expectation was high for their anniversary show.

Following his release from WWE, Rich Swann moved to Impact and became a mainstay of the X-Division, embarking on a 190+ day reign as X-Division Champion. During this time, he was the most consistently impressive performer, being rewarded with a major match against former Impact World Champion and main eventer, Johnny Impact. The match itself featured Swann as a resilient babyface against the cheating methods of Impact, whose previous reign as Impact World Champion made him the favourite. Swann’s clean victory put over a new rising star in Swann at the same time as allowing Johnny Impact to leave Impact Wrestling with the company in a stronger position.

 

Impact Slammiversary XVII (July 7th 2019)

Impact World Title Match

Brian Cage (c) vs. Michael Elgin

His recent debut at AEW Double Or Nothing propelled Brian Cage straight into the main event, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear that it was his impressive run in Impact that cemented his move. Before moving on, Cage was crowned Impact World Champion, defeating Johnny Impact at the previous PPV, Rebellion, only to be attacked by the newly debuting Michael Elgin. A former Ring of Honor World Champion, Elgin had been based in New Japan for several years up until then.

This championship match was a physically hard hitting special, Elgin putting in a performance reminiscent of his exploits in the G1 Tournament, while Cage’s back injury gave him a vulnerable underdog aura. An impressive big hoss battle that was one of the best matches not just of Slammiversary, but of the year.

 

Impact Slammiversary XVII (July 7th 2019)

Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard

While slightly tainted following the acrimonious ending to her title run, it doesn’t dispel the tremendous heat for this match and support for Blanchard. This was not only the first intergender match to main event a major American promotion, but also began a trajectory that propelled Blanchard to the main event scene.

This match would have tremendous importance for the company over the next year, developing Blanchard as a main eventer, but it was also a great fight between two competitors. Impact also booked the finish cleverly, having Blanchard lose but gain respect from Callihan in the process, which gave Blanchard an underdog persona to gain crowd support. With the positive acclaim this match garnered for both competitors, it also reignited conversations on intergender wrestling, which continues in Impact today.

With the awesome history that Slammiversary has provided and the increase in great matches in the last two years (with three matches per event), this Saturday’s event has enticing potential to continue this great run. Even despite the issues that have occurred with both Blanchard and Elgin in the last year, one thing that Impact Wrestling has proven is that when the odds are against them, they demonstrate their best work.