Originally published at IMPACT SLAMMIVERSARY REPORT: Kenny Omega retains over Callihan
The show opened with a historical look at TNA going back to 2002 and highlighting most of the major stars of the promotion’s nineteen-year history. It centered around Sami Callihan growing up a fan and now becoming a star and his quest for the IMPACT Championship.
Callihan looked in the mirror with a bloodied version of himself and said he needs that version of himself “more than ever”.
The announcers for tonight are Matt Striker and D-Lo Brown.
There are a small number of fans inside of the studio.
RESULTS
*Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Rosemary & Havok over Kiera Hogan & Tasha Steelz (champions)
*Ultimate X Match for the X Division Championship: Josh Alexander (champion) over Trey Miguel, Ace Austin, Rohit Raju, Trey Miguel, and Petey Williams in 15:47
*Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green over Brian Myers & Tenille Dashwood in 6:00
*W. Morrissey over Eddie Edwards in 11:00
*Juice Robinson & David Finlay over Madman Fulton & Mahabali Shera in 1:17
*Chris Sabin over Moose in 11:59
*IMPACT Tag Team Championship: Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows over Joe Doering & Rhino (champions), Rich Swann & Willie Mack, and Fallah Bahh & No Way in 10:39
*IMPACT Knockouts Championship: Deonna Purrazzo (champion) over Thunder Rosa in 10:44
*No Disqualification for the IMPACT Championship: Kenny Omega (champion) over Sami Callihan in 27:23
ULTIMATE X FOR THE X DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP
JOSH ALEXANDER (champion) VS TREY MIGUEL VS PETEY WILLIAMS VS ROHIT RAJU VS CHRIS BEY VS ACE AUSTIN
There was a lot of creativity in this one with so many insane risks taken.
Raju provided a comedic element at the beginning where he was too short to reach the rope and climb across the ring. So, he continually grabbed objects including rope and a pole to pull down the belt unsuccessfully.
There was a four-way submission that saw Alexander hanging from the rope upside down with an ankle lock applied to Bey, who had a headlock applied and was a great visual.
Ace Austin hung upside down as Bey hit a springboard into a cutter in mid-air that tough time perfectly but still got a reaction.
Then, Williams hit a series of Canadian Destroyers and the most impressive came when he was hanging from the rope and hit one to Bey off Alexander’s shoulders. They were working super-hard to make this an incredible match.
The end saw Alexander and Bey hanging upside down and having a tug-of-war with the belt, Austin springboarded and missed the title and Bey was knocked down allowing Alexander to grab the belt and win.
WINNER: Josh Alexander in 15 minutes and 49 seconds to retain the X Division Championship
There were a few mistimed spots but overall, these six worked hard and had ambitious ideas to execute some stunning maneuvers. It was a small crowd, but they were into it. Alexander has emerged as a big player for IMPACT. It was a strong opener.
Gia Miller interviewed Don Callis and went over Tommy Dreamer’s newfound power in the company. He called Sami Callihan “a degenerate piece of garbage” and doesn’t want to see Kenny Omega scarred by Callihan. He mentioned being with Omega since he was drafted in the NHL – I missed that draft.
BRIAN MYERS & TENILLE DASHWOOD VS MATT CARDONA & CHELSEA GREEN
Green came out in her “Hot Mess” character. “Dr. Ross Forman” has cleared Green to wrestle, so he has a lower threshold for clearance than Maryland.
D-Lo yelled “catfight” as soon as Dashwood and Green began wrestling, which feels like a call from a bygone era and so out of place now.
It was a short match that didn’t overstay its welcome and had the surprise (albeit heavily hinted one) of Green.
They got the heat on Cardona after Myers hit a flatliner on the ramp. Cardona cut off Myers with a spear and made the tag to Green.
Dashwood attempted a low blow on Cardona, but he wore a cup and stuffed it into Myers’ face. Green hit Myers with a Canadian Destroyer and used her cast to hit Dashwood low and the Unprettier for the pin.
WINNERS: Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green in 6 minutes
There was a very nice mention of Don West’s Go Fund Me campaign including a graphic on the screen, which was very classy to include.
It was a fine match and the audience popped for the reveal of Green and she got the big closing sequence with Myers and Dashwood.
W. MORRISSEY VS EDDIE EDWARDS
The match consisted of Morrissey beating Edwards from the start of the match with minor comebacks from Edwards. After being caught during a dive, Edwards was choke slammed on the edge of the apron. They fought on the ramp and Edwards landed a back body drop. Apparently, they had approximately an hour to get back into the ring.
Morrissey used the referee as a shield and landed a big boot, but Edwards kicked out again. Morrissey was sent to the floor with a Boston Knee Party and pulled a chain off his boot and nailed Edwards, which the referee missed and pinned Edwards after a powerbomb.
WINNER: W. Morrissey in 11 minutes
It was not a spectacular match and got by through the selling of Edwards but it never really grabbed me. Morrissey did not stand out in a big way throughout the match, but they clearly have plans for him as they are pushing that he is undefeated in IMPACT.
Moose warned of dreadful consequences and mistakes like driving on a highway without a seatbelt, going all-in during a game of Poker, or facing him at Slammiversary. He told Chris Sabin his consequences will be worse than a car accident or losing his mortgage and tonight he’ll face his consequences.
There was a vignette with a painting that displayed the words, “Long Live the Drama King”.
Mahabali Shera and Madman Fulton stormed the ring and were confronted by Scott D’Amore, who made an impromptu match with the return of FinJuice.
JUICE ROBINSON & DAVID FINLAY VS MADMAN FULTON & MAHABALI SHERA
Striker mentioned FinJuice was here representing New Japan.
It was a short showcase as Robinson hit the Left Hand of God followed by Finlay’s Prima Nocta to pin Fulton.
WINNER: FinJuice in 1 minute and 17 seconds
Not much to this one beyond reintroducing FinJuice to the IMPACT audience.
MOOSE VS CHRIS SABIN
This turned into a really fun match and a surprising upset win for Sabin.
Moose showcased some spectacular offense including the Bandido fallaway moonsault off the top, which was extremely impressive for someone of Moose’s size.
Sabin played the underdog throughout the match and was nearly out on the floor after an apron bomb and being swung into the guardrail but beat the count.
Inside the ring, Sabin got onto the shoulders of Moose and caught him with a Victory Roll.
WINNER: Chris Sabin in 11 minutes and 59 seconds
They had great chemistry and Sabin worked well as the babyface fighting from underneath with the ending a legitimate surprise. I was impressed with Moose, who has his character work down and displayed looked great in his role while also playing to the crowd.
Decay cut a promo celebrating the Knockouts Tag Team Championship win by Havok and Rosemary.
Fallah Bahh came out to introduce TJP’s replacement “No Way” (the former No Way Jose) and he entered with a Conga Line.
IMPACT TAG TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
JOE DOERING & RHINO (champions) VS WILLIE MACK & RICH SWANN VS KARL ANDERSON & DOC GALLOWS VS FALLAH BAHH & NO WAY
They tried to put a lot of emphasis on No Way’s introduction and perhaps it’s a character worth having when you have larger crowds but didn’t leave a strong impression after this match.
It was a fast-paced match with Gallows & Anderson getting the heat on Swann in the early portion.
Later, Doering and Gallows had a big face-off as the two giants and trading big boots. Doering has a real aura to him that works in this setting.
We had a procession of combinations with big moves being hit all over the place including Doering hitting a DVD and lariat on No Way but the pin was stopped when Swann shoved Rhino into Doering.
Rhino set up for the gore but as Gallows distracted the referee, Anderson hit Rhino with a Gun Stun. Gallows & Anderson followed with the Magic Killer with Gallows pinning Rhino.
WINNERS: Karl Anderson & Doc Gallows in 10 minutes and 39 seconds
I feel this match may have worked a bit better with Doering & Rhino against Gallows & Anderson, which are two heel teams but those were the two teams involved in the finish anyway. It was a decent tag match for the time allotted. I really like the team of Violence by Design and especially Doering, who is an entertaining big man with a hard-nosed style that translates well.
The outcome provides another set of titles for The Elite on AEW programming.
IMPACT KNOCKOUTS CHAMPIONSHIP
DEONNA PURRAZZO (champion) VS THUNDER ROSA
Thunder Rosa received a strong response as the mystery opponent for the match. There was a buzz as soon as they locked up at the beginning.
Thunder Rosa was going for covers early on until Purrazzo hit a draping Divorce Court off the middle rope to target the arm of Thunder Rosa.
Purrazzo attempted the Fujiwara armbar and it was countered into a rear-naked choke from Thunder Rosa but Purrazzo escaped and went back to the Fujiwara, which Rosa escaped from.
Thunder Rosa came off the top with a double stomp to the back.
Thunder Rosa landed a head kick and the Thunder Driver was countered with a roll-up. Purrazzo proceeded to hit the Queen’s Gambit for the abrupt win in 10:44.
WINNER: Deonna Purrazzo in 10 minutes and 44 seconds to retain the Knockouts Championship
The work was very good and Thunder Rosa brought out the best in Purrrazzo. The finish was a bit early as they were just establishing the flow of the match and it caught me off guard. It was a nice surprise having Thunder Rosa on the show and the audience took to her very well and saw her as a big deal.
After the match, Mickie James came out and said it was great to be back. Mickie has been watching Purrazzo and has “mad respect” for her and invites Purrazzo to appear on the NWA Empowerrr show in August.
Purrazzo said to “take your trash bag and get out of here” and was attacked and dropped by Mickie.
IMPACT CHAMPIONSHIP – NO DISQUALIFICATION
KENNY OMEGA (champion) VS SAMI CALLIHAN
Don Callis introduced Omega as the “King of the Deathmatch” and tougher than Jon Moxley, and Nick Gage. When he rattled off the names Omega was greater than included Terry Funk, which got a lot of heat.
Callis joined Striker and D-Lo on commentary.
The match was insane, but both worked their asses off, and it was a high-caliber violent hardcore match although tastes will vary.
Callihan introduced a fork and a pizza cutter and both were bleeding within the first ten minutes.
Omega used the trash can when he hit a moonsault and dropped onto the ankle of Callihan allowing Callis to make a Conor McGregor reference.
The biggest obstacle was that no one believed Callihan was winning although in a larger setting with more fans the near falls would have been more dramatic, and they lacked certain energy with so few fans.
Callihan introduced a chair wrapped in barbed wire, which Omega took a tombstone on for a two-count.
After being blinded by powder, Callihan took out referee Brian Hebner with a piledriver. Omega hit Callihan with the belt and a second referee ran in to deliver a two-count. Omega decked the backup referee.
The Good Brothers tried to interfere and were fought off by Eddie Edwards and Chris Sabin.
Callihan hit the piledriver for a big near fall and then dropped thumbtacks on the canvas. Don Callis distracted Callihan and allowed Omega to hit a V-Trigger, place the tacks into his kneepad (which was creative), and hit a second V-Trigger. Then, the tacks were placed in Callihan’s mouth, Omega hit a third V-Trigger and One-Winged Angel on the tacks for the victory.
WINNER: Kenny Omega in 27 minutes and 23 seconds
They worked really hard and in front of a big audience this would have torn the house down and that was the only negative. Some may be burned out on these types of matches and I can understand that viewpoint but in a vacuum, it was a well-put-together match, although not a challenger anyone bought nor is there any opponent people are going to be convinced is beating Omega now.
The big angle was at the end as Omega, Callis and The Good Brothers celebrated, the lights went out and Jay White walked out. They threw up a “too sweet” sign. This is when the pay-per-view feed ended.
Those at the show noted that FinJuice ran down and it ended with White hitting Robinson with the Blade Runner.