Top 10 Slammiversary Events (So Far) By Hakeem Fullerton

Intro: So Slammiversary 2020 has come and gone with the event being one of the all time best PPV's in recent Impact Wrestling history.

But which Slammiversary in TNA/Impact Wrestling history is the best? Which of one the Slammiversary's from the company's long and storied past is truly the greatest? 

Well just like what I did with my Top 10 Bound For Glory Events (so far) article, I'm going to be picking what I believe to be the best TNA/Impact Slammiversary events in recent history.
















































   













































10. Slammiversary 2014
This show summed up the company in the mid 2010's perfectly: It wasn't great, it wasn't bad, it was okay. On top of that an injury suffered days early by MVP forced the company to restructure much of the card with the end results being much better than most would like to admit.

The ladder match for the X Division championship was great, with the most memorable spot being the masked man of mystery, Suicide jumping off a ladder to hit a sunset powerbomb on Davey Richards onto another ladder.

However, the show was far from perfection as Willow vs. Magnus was a passable match to say the least, Mr. Anderson vs. James Storm only lasted 5 and a half minutes, which was disappointing considering the story that was built up to that point and perhaps the worse match on the card would have to Angelina love vs. Gail Kim for the Knockouts championship as the momentum in this match completely stopped and started throughout thanks the storyline involving referee Brian Stiffler and the Beautiful People, plus the action itself wasn't all that good either.

The show also saw the BroMans take on Ross and Marshall Von Erich of the legendary Von Erich family that was sadly ended with a DQ finish.  

The high points of this show aside from the ladder match would have to be the Texas Death between EC3 and Bully and the triple threat steel cage match for the world title. 

As previously mentioned due to MVP's injury the card was subject to card and the fans saw two qualifying matches where Lashley defeated Samoa Joe and Austin Aries defeated Kenny King to advance into the main event and face then world champion, Eric Young.

The action in this triple threat world title cage match was great as it showed off the strength and speed that all three of the competitors are known for. The match concluded with Eric Young retaining his world championship in a hard fought but feel good moment for one of the company's most dependable stars. 
   


















































9. Slammiversary 2007
Slammiversary 2007 was the third event to bare the Slammiversary title, but surprisingly it usually gets forgotten by a lot fans except for one match in particular by more on that a little bit later. 


This event took place in Nashville Tennessee, one of the many places TNA called home during their early years of existence and the show itself was a bit of mixed bag.


First the negatives, former WWF world champion, Bob Backlund was in his late 50's when he took on Alex Shelley in singles competition but apparently that didn't stop him from defeating the future Tag Team and X Division champion in an almost four minute match; former WWE tag team champions collided in a near three minute match as B.G. James and Kip James (Road Dogg and Billy Gunn) defeated The Basham Brothers and the match between Christopher Daniels and Sting sadly didn't live up to expectations.


Now the positives, the opening tag team involving Low-Ki and Rhino vs. LAX was a good way to start off the show and the X Division title match between Jay Lethal and Chris Sabin was great if not completely underrated. Not to mention the tag team match between Ron "The Truth" Killings and James Storm vs. Jerry Lynn and football star Frank Wycheck was enjoyable. 

Other matches like Eric Young vs. Bobby Roode, Abyss vs. Tomko in a No Disqualification match and even the tag team title match which saw Team 3D put their belts on the line against Rick Steiner and his surprise tag team partner, Road Warrior Animal were all amazing in their own way and it really showed how much depth there was to the TNA roster at that time.

The main event saw AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Christian Cage and "Wildcat" Chris Harris take part in a King of the Mountain match for the newly created TNA World Heavyweight championship. 


For those who don't know, the national wrestling alliance or the NWA decided to end their business relations with TNA a month before this event due to then champions Christian Cage and Team 3D not defending the belts in the NWA territories; This of course led to TNA creating their own championship and thus this match was made to decide who would be the first champion. 

The action was amazing throughout with moments like Joe throwing AJ Styles off the penalty box onto the commentary table, Chris Harris suplexing Christian off the box into the ring, Kurt and Joe throwing their opponents around the ring like ragdolls, Harris hitting a spear on Christian off the ladder and of course the final moments of the match which saw Kurt Angle officially become the first ever TNA world heavyweight champion.


And interactions between Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe following the match helped in continuing the feud between the two competitors but also helped in setting the stage for the events that would take place at next month's pay per view, Victory Road.


While the show itself might be forgotten by many, Angle's championship win on this night has become the stuff legend for a career that's already filled with extraordinary accolades.















































8. Slammiversary 2016     
2016 was a tumultuous year for TNA Wrestling as the issues that were going on within the company were beginning to show in various tapings and PPV's, which unfortunately became front page news for the wrestling media. But while the issues behind the scenes were the things most wrestling reporters focused on at that time, the product inside the ring was still impeccable.
 

Slammiversary 2016 was a good example of this as the opening four way match for the X Division championship proved that even during their darkest times, the company could still produce some of the best high flying and death defying wrestling you will ever see.

Matches like James Storm vs. Braxton Sutter, The King of the Mountain and Knockouts title bouts were good if not forgettable and The Tribunal vs. Grado and Shera was surprisingly good considering the names involved.

The full metal mayhem match between Jeff Hardy and Broken Matt Hardy felt overbooked and excessive throughout and the same could be said for the tag team title match and EC3 vs. Mike Bennett although the outcomes for all three of these matches were satisfying considering the stories that were being told.

The best match of the card and probably of 2016 would have to be Bobby Lashley vs. Drew Galloway for the TNA World Championship. The words, fast paced and hard hitting are some that could be used to describe this match as it saw two former WWE superstars beat the ever loving shit out of one another with power moves and stiff shots both in and out of the ring. 

By way of the stipulation in this match, the only way to win was by tapout or knockout and considering Lashley's background as an MMA fighter you'd think he'd have the advantage but alas Galloway proved he could hang with Lashley throughout the contest.

In the end, Lashley applied a submission hold onto Galloway which led to him passing out and resulting in Lashley walking away with the world title.


A good show from an unpredictable year.
















































































































7. Slammiversary 2013
With around 3,800 people in attendance at the Agganis Arena in Boston Massachusetts, Slammiversary 2013 was another show that happened during a period where the quality of the programming was decent but unlike Slammiversary 2014 there was a lot more good than bad.


Like all the other Slammiversary's there were previously discussed the opening match was a great way to start off, the middle part of the show was sub-par and the last set of matches were they absolute best.

Chris Sabin vs. Suicide vs. Kenny King in an Ultimate X match for the X Division title was a highlight reel from start to finish with Sabin securing the X Division title for the fifth time in his career.

The four way elimination tag team match was great, which shouldn't be surprising considering this match was filled with some of the best tag team specialist in modern wrestling like Hernandez, Christopher Daniels, Bobby Roode and James Storm taking part.


The last knockouts standing match between Gail Kim and Taryn Terrell may have started off slow with little fanfare from the crowd but when it kicked into second and third gear, the fans were glued to this match without question. The bout itself was and still is a classic in women's wrestling not to mention a career defining match for Taryn Terrell.

The chemistry and ring work in the match between Angle and Styles was spectacular (no surprise there) plus it was good way for Kurt to end his night after being the second man to be inducted into the TNA/Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame earlier in the show.

The main event between Sting vs. Bully Ray in a No Holds Barred match for the world title was great in it's own right from the high stakes involving "The Icon" Sting (where if he lost the match, he could never challenge for the world title again) to the violence both men showed each other in the match and the constant present of Aces and Eights throughout felt like a combination of the best attributes from ECW and WCW put together.


Not much else about this show is really worth speaking of as the six man tag team match to Abyss winning the Television championship were decent to uninteresting but the opening contest and the last three or four matches are why this Slammiversary is ranked so highly. 

        



















































































6. Slammiversary 2019
Taking place in Dallas Texas at the Gilley's Complex, Slammiversary 2019 came at a time when a series of changes were beginning to take shape both in and out of the ring for Impact Wrestling from the reports of Impact possibly making the move to AXS TV to the departures and arrivals of superstars on their roster like Johnny Impact and Michael Elgin respectively.  

Last year's Slammiversary PPV was a show of two halves: The first half of the show was good but nothing too spectacular, while the other half included matches and moments that many fans would remember long after the show ended.

The opening X Division contest and the triple threat tag team match were a good way to start off the show although the "injury" suffered by Santana of LAX did damper the flow of the match towards the end.

The Eddie Edwards vs. Killer Kross in a first blood match was amazing but nowadays it's remembered for the backstage stories following the match and finally, the RVD vs. Moose match was pretty much a standard one-on-one with not a lot to look back and talk about. 

The second half of the show saw four of the best knockouts on the Impact roster at the time square off in a monster's ball match for the KO championship. This is when the show really began to go into second and third gear as moments in this match like Havok hitting a tombstone piledriver from the top rope on Su Yung onto a bunch of thumbtacks, Taya hitting a 'rockbottom' like maneuver on Rosemary on the outside of the ring onto a table and so much more really helped to make this match one for the history books. 

Johnny Impact vs. Rich Swann for the X Division Championship was a nice follow-up to the monster's ball match and good way for Johnny Impact/John Morrison to finish his time with the promotion. The world title match between Michael Elgin and Brian Cage is a little bit underrated but it's a classic to watch plus, it saw the return of Rhin....oh I'm sorry a short stocky man in all black clothing hitting a spear on Big Mike.

The main event between Sami Callihan vs. Tessa Blanchard is another classic bout that took place at this event but if you want a detail description about this match, be sure to check my article "The 10 Best TNA/Impact Wrestling Matches of the 2010's".


While Slammiversary 2019 may not of surpassed the previous year's event, it's good a Slammiversary to go back and watch nonetheless.
















































  
















5. Slammiversary 2005
The event that started it all, the very first Slammiversary pay per view makes into the top five in this list and to be honest it's well deserved. Taking place on June 19th 2005 (almost three years since the ever first TNA PPV aired) inside the Impact Zone in Orlando Florida, Slammiversary 2005 would set the bench mark for all of the Slammiversary events that would come after it.


The opening contest featured an X division match which was won by Shark Boy (the person who allegedly created the name for the PPV) and the Impact fans witness the debut of the Samoan Submission Machine, Samoa Joe in TNA against a very determined Sonjay Dutt in a 10 minute barn burner of a match.  


Other highlights from this show included a returning Alex Shelley wrestling in an ultracompetitive match against a Mexican pro wrestler known as Shocker, an amazing match between Team Canada vs. The Naturals for the NWA TNA tag team titles, a triple threat elimination match between Christopher Daniels, Matt Bentley and Chris Sabin for the X Division championship that was a perfect combination of in-ring action and storytelling especially towards the first and second eliminations.


The main event for the NWA TNA World Heavyweight championship was a King Of The Mountain match between Monty Brown, Abyss, Raven, AJ Styles and a last minute replacement in the form of Sean Waltman.


The match itself was botchy in a few places but it was an tremendous main event match that not only set up future storyline feuds but it also culminated in Raven finally achieving his destiny by becoming world heavyweight champion for the very first time in his illustrious career. 


The other matches like Ron "The Truth" Killings vs. The Outlaw aka Billy Gunn, Bobby Roode vs. Lance Hoyt/Archer and AMW vs. Konan and BG James weren't really all that impressive, but regardless Slammiversary 2005 was the gold standard PPV in an amazing year in company history.     





































































































4. Slammiversary 2008
The year of 2008 was an amazing one for the company as every division in the promotion was on fired by this point, with interesting storylines, great action and a whole lot of star power to boot.

This is best seen at that year's Slammiversary event with the opening contest being Petey Williams vs. Frankie Kazarian in an underrated gem of a match that went on for 15 minutes.


The Knockouts Division also shined as well on this night as Awesome Kong showed off her dominance by defeating two unknown ladies (later revealed to be Serena Deeb and the future Sojourner Bolt ) to retain her title. Elsewhere ODB, Roxxi and Gail Kim defeated the Beautiful People and Moose (no that NFL star turn pro wrestler) in six woman tag team action.

LAX defeated Team 3D in a rematch from the previous month's PPV to retain the tag team titles, AJ Styles defeated Kurt Angle in singles action (although the story going into this match was more ridiculous that the one at Slammiversary 2013) and the main event for the TNA world championship saw Samoa Joe retain his title against Rhino, Bobby Roode, Christian Cage and Booker T making Joe the first and only wrestle to retain the world title in a King of the Mountain match in Slammiversary History.


While the retread of the Miss Elizabeth/Randy Savage wedding between SoCal Val and Jay Lethal was funny it still felt like a blatant rip off of a more memorable wrestling moment...nevertheless Slammiversary 2008 is great PPV from a great year in TNA history.




















































3. Slammiversary 2017
If 2008 was an amazing year for the company than 2017 was the polar opposite is almost every single way. Now you probably don't need me to tell you why this year was so bad but I will say that one of the best things to happen in 2017 was that year's Slammiversary event.


Following a successful set of tapings in India, Slammiversary would take place once again in the Impact Zone with promotions like Triple A and Pro Wrestling Noah getting involved as well, most notably in the opening four way tag team match for the GFW and Impact World Tag Team titles.

The "match" between Jeremy Borash and Joseph Park vs. Josh Matthews and Scott Steiner could best be described as "so bad it's good" and continued the company's usage of what now is refereed to as "Cinematic Matches" with the inclusion of Father James Mitchell, Shark Boy and Impact Hall of Famer, Abyss.

This show is kind of hard to look back at now considering many of the outcomes in this event would become hallow following this show.


For starters, Rosemary lost the Knockouts title to Sienna which not only led to a streak of bad luck for the Demon Assassin but Sienna would lose the belt to Gail Kim (who would retire from in ring competition immediately after this her match at that year's BFG event).


Moose and fellow NFL star DeAngelo Williams defeated Eli Drake and Chris Adonis only for Williams to retire from in-ring competition a few days after his match;  Low-Ki, Angelina Love and Davey Richards would leave the company not too long following their defeats at this event and even the main event match where Alberto El Patron defeated Bobby Lashley for the Impact and GFW titles proved pointless as Patron would cause some controversy in his social media and love life and be stripped of the titles and soon afterwards suspended.



Despite how the rest of the year would turn the outcomes of this event kind of pointless, the action and energy throughout is why Slammiversary 2017 gets this high up on the list. 
  





















































 
2. Slammiversary 2012
It was a hard choice between this and the number one entry on the best Slammiversary event in company history so far, but after much deliberation I chose the Slammiversary that took place in Arlington Texas in the College Park Center as the runner-up. 

The first reason why this Slammiversary is so awesome: the video package is one of the all time best PPV hype videos in company history, plus the theme song "Glorious" which accompanied the hype video is amazing; if you've never heard of it or seen the video, I'll leave a link down below at the end this article.

The second reason: It marked 10 years of the companies existence as a pro wrestling heavy hitter (something that most likely annoyed a good portion of the non TNA fans at the time). Third and the most important reason: This is the most widely attended Slammiversary event in company history with between 5,000-5,500 people in attendance.


Alright so on to the show itself, the opening contest between Samoa Joe and Austin Aries for the X Division Championship was the perfect blend of high flying action and hard hitting offense that both men and the X Division are known for. Joseph Park defeated Bully Ray in a No Disqualification match thanks to the help of a "returning" former world champion in the form of "The Monster" Abyss and Mr. Anderson defeated RVD and Jeff Hardy in a triple threat match to become #1 contender for the world title.

Speaking of titles, Brooke Tessmacher shocked the fans in her home state of Texas by defeating Gail Kim to become the Knockouts Champion for the very first time and in the semi main event tag team title match, Kurt Angle and AJ Styles defeated Frankie Kazarian and Christopher Daniels to become the new TNA World Tag Team Champions.

The main event saw the very first man to get inducted into the TNA/Impact Wrestling Hall of Fame in the form of "The Icon" Sting take on his archrival, Bobby Roode for the World Heavyweight Championship; While Sting may of enjoyed his acceptance into the hall of fame earlier on in the show, he was unsuccessful in beating "The IT Factor of Professional Wrestling" but at least he got to drop Roode off the stage with his finisher...so that's something.


The show also saw the return of "The Instant Classic" and former world heavyweight champion, Christian Cage as well as the return of "The Cowboy" James Storm, who accepted the open challenge of Crimson at which point he defeated him in around two minutes and end his very long undefeated streak.

Overall, this event truly felt like a celebration for a promotion that has long been dogged with rumors of shutting down and in the process they created one of the best PPVs of the year in 2012 and one of best Slammiversarys in TNA history...But as amazing as this show was their can only be one other Slammiversary that can top it.  
  
 






































1. Slammiversary 2018
Could it be anything else; If Slammiversary 2012 is the greatest Slammiversary in TNA Wrestling history, then Slammiversary 2018 is the greatest Slammiversary in Impact Wrestling history. 

What can I say about this event that many others haven't already said: The venue (The Rebel Entertainment Complex) was a marvel to see on TV as it probably was to see it in person, the 2,500 people who were inside the arena were energized from beginning to end (not to mention that the show was a sell out for Impact) and the hype surrounding this event was ungodly great, if you think the hype surrounding Slammiversary 2020 was attention grabbing Slammiversary 2018 was doing that and then some.


The opening international four way match between Johnny Impact, Taiji Ishimori, Rey Fenix and Petey Williams felt like your were watching the X Division in their prime in the mid to late 2000's, the House of Hardcore match between Eddie Edwards and Tommy Dreamer was enjoyable even if the finish felt a little flat and also the newest additions to the Knockouts roster: Tessa Blanchard and Su Yung defeated Allie and Madison in singles action respectively.

The X Division title match was good representation of the old "David vs. Goliath" trope that's bee used in wrestling, Santana and Ortiz of the new LAX defeated the OGz aka the original LAX in a nontitle street fight and the Hair vs. Mask match between Sami Callihan and Pentagon Jr. was a career defining match for both men and it felt like a throwback to the old days of the original ECW.
 
The main event saw Moose wrestle in a career defining match against Austin Aries for the Impact World Heavyweight championship; And even though Moose didn't win the belt on this night, the heel turn that came as a result was one of the best decisions creatively for a wrestler on the Impact roster.


What also gets this event the number one spot on this list is due to the fact that this PPV came at a time when the future of the company was still uncertain, oh sure the Redemption PPV the previous month garnered some enthusiasm for the Impact fans who were still watching but it was this event that arguably sent the clearest message to wrestling fans and critics the world over that Impact Wrestling isn't going away anytime soon.


The hype, the venue, the matches and the reception around this pay per view makes it my pick for the best Slammiversary event so far.



















































What is your favorite Slammiversary Pay Per View and Do you think this year's event will be any good? Be sure to let me know by leaving a comment or tweeting me on Twitter.

If you're looking for more articles from me here are some down below.

Don't forget to comment about what you think about the article and be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Blogger



Slammiversary 2012 Promo Video:



Santana and Ortiz vs. Homicide and Hernandez [Slammiversary 2018]:
10 Interesting Facts About Slammiversary 2019:



The 10 Best TNA/Impact Wrestling Matches Of The 2010's:
https://blogofwrestling52.blogspot.com/2019/12/the-10-best-tnaimpact-matches-of-2010s.html


Every TNA/Impact Wrestling Lockdown Event Ranked From Worse To Best:
https://blogofwrestling52.blogspot.com/2020/01/every-tnaimpact-wrestling-lockdown.html




























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