Another year, another anniversary, another TNA Slammiversary Pay-Per-View. I never really enjoyed many of TNA's Slammiversary events in the past especially not the King of the Mountain matches. But despite TNA's best efforts to turn away any possible new fans to their product, Slammiversary IX managed to put on a solid outing.
Match 1
TNA Tag Team Championships
James Storm (c) & Alex Shelley (w/ Robert Roode (c)) vs. The British Invasion (Doug Wiliiams & Brutus Magnus)
The opening moments of the Pay-Per-View saw a championship match as The British Invasion challenged Beer Money Inc. for the TNA Tag Titles with Alex Shelley filling in for an injured Bobby Roode. Leading up this match, TNA has seemingly tossed around the idea of splitting up the longtime partnership between James Storm and Robert Roode several times and their latest effort is no different, but to me this current storyline is only strengthening their bond. Roode has been counting on Shelley to represent his team well and to walk away as champs so if Shelley performs poorly, it's on Shelley. Nevertheless, this match ended up being a solid opener for the entire event. The fans were very much behind both Beer Money and Alex Shelley. Sounds weird? It should but that's how it played out. The fans already love Alex Shelley and his high-flying ways but they also love Storm and Roode and both elements somehow blended together to get the fans on their feet. Credit goes towards Doug Williams and Brutus Magnus as well as they both helped to create a good heel image with a great workrate. The match at some points seemed a little rushed but overall it served its purpose well. Now, what I don't want for TNA to do is to continue Shelley and Storm paired up as a team. It would be best for Roode to heal up and remain with Storm but that's just my preference. Logically, TNA is going to have Storm like teaming up with Shelley so they create their own tag team while Roode becomes jealous on the sidelines and begins a feud with Storm.
Winners: James Storm & Alex Shelley at 10:57 with a Sliced Bread No. 2 for the pinfall victory. (Beer Money Inc. remain TNA Tag Team Champions)
Rating: **1/2
- BACKSTAGE: TNA showed two video clips of both Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle arriving to the arena earlier in the day as they prep themselves for their big match tonight. Nice way to add focus on their bout which means that they'll get a main event slot instead of the TNA World Title Match but I couldn't help but notice that Angle parked in a No Parking Zone.
- BACKSTAGE: Scott Steiner flexed his stuff in a promo as he continues to bash Matt Morgan and promised to take Morgan's girlfriend away and show her what a real man is. I feel like this exact promo may have been used on WWE RAW in 2003 but in any case Steiner does a good job in the mic selling importance to his upcoming match. I'm impressed TNA is putting effort in giving attention to their matches.
Match 2
Matt Morgan vs. Scott Steiner
Two big, meaty, chiseled men brawling in the ring. What else is there to say about this match? There wasn't anything too offensive in terms of workrate and chemistry, however I noticed the fans losing energy as the match slowly continued. Both men put in their share of offense as they continued of storyline of "Who's The Strongest Man?" While, I could have used a few weapons here and there, this match was alright for not having a stipulation attached although if TNA are looking to continue this feud, a Street Fight of some sort is in line for their next battle. Also, don't be surprised to see a bit of quick chains of moves in this match as well as both men somehow traded lighter moves almost seamlessly. Big moment that comes to mind is Steiner pulling off a Victory Roll forwards off the shoulders of Morgan. Matt Morgan picks up a victory which is the right decision in my mind seeing as how Morgan should be built up as a viable main-eventer, something TNA wanted to have happen about a year or so ago along with Hernandez. It might be a bigger climb to the top now with RVD, Sting, Anderson and others in the way but if he's getting solid PPV victories against top names like Steiner along the way, then he should have no problem making his way to a future Title Shot.
Winner: Matt Morgan at 09:20 with a Carbon Footprint for the pinfall victory.
Rating: **
- BACKSTAGE: Jeff Jarrett cuts a promo hyping up his match against Angle. Yeah, definitely looks like they'll get the main event treatment. Jarrett talks about how his focus is on two things, becoming the No. 1 Contender to the TNA World Title and taking the only thing Angle has left (after Jarrett took Karen and kids), his 1996 Olympic Gold Medal.
Match 3
TNA X-Division Championship
Abyss (c) vs. Kazarian vs. Brian Kendrick
On paper, you would think two things: 1, it's an X-Division Match so it should be exciting and the fans should wake up from the last big men match and 2, why is Abyss X-Division Champion? Well to answer number two, Abyss won the belt as a result of Immortal wanting to eliminate the X-Division from TNA for good. Well, they almost succeeded. Abyss in the Impact leading up the PPV mentioned that he's rebranding the belt as the "X-Treme Championship". Fair enough but on this night, Christy Hemme and other supporting graphics still refer to the belt as the "X-Division Title". Confusion aside, the match started off shaky and ended slow. It was basically a 2-on-1 confrontation (with Kaz and Kendrick fighting amongst themselves later on which contributed to the finish) for the majority of the match. The fans seemed torn on who to cheer for, Kaz and Kendrick are both the babyfaces of the feud while Abyss is the heel yet it's the heel who is outnumbered and has to overcome the odds. Think of John Cena as a heel and him doing his usual Superman antics against two faces. Seems out of place. Workrate wasn't much better as while Kaz and Kendrick are both great workers in their own right, they were very sloppy in the bigger parts of the match and Abyss being a big hoss doesn't really help their cause. Abyss picks up the win which will only see the title further change as the X-Treme Title. I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that but I'm also not very comfortable with Abyss quoting The Art of War. How about we find Abyss a suitable gimmick instead of giving him tons of awful ones like over the past few years. I miss James Mitchell.
Winner: Abyss at 12:05 by yanking Kendrick out of the ring to steal a pin on Kazarian. (Abyss remains TNA X-Division Champion)
Rating: *1/2
- VIDEO: TNA played a hype video to hype up Joe and Crimson's recent feud as well as the coverage on their "bar fight". Again, TNA putting in effort to make their matches matter.
Match 4
Samoa Joe vs. Crimson
Crimson, in my opinion, is a name to look out for as TNA progresses through the year. He has the look and the build to be molded as a future top star in TNA but it's the experience and exposure that TNA has to give him that will help him out on that journey. That said, he's getting nice exposure through his recent undefeated streak as well as his feud with Samoa Joe (who also had an undefeated streak, a year and a half long streak, when he first debuted). This match was very physical throughout the near ten minutes that it lasted. Fans weren't too hot especially after Steiner/Morgan but with Samoa Joe, a clear favorite amongst pro-wrestling fans, in the ring, people pay attention. Crimson, while impressive for what he's able to do, is still green as it looks like he has a lot on his mind in terms of remembering spots and reading Joe's signals but that's why he's in the ring with Samoa Joe, someone who is capable of helping a rookie like Crimson grow. Crimson picks up the win which helps to build him up (imagine that, TNA gives two future stars in Morgan and Crimson wins over veterans!) but TNA better not let Crimson's rise to the top get out of hand. They need to continue this feud which will not only let Crimson get more comfortable in the ring and with Joe, but also have the fans see him as a legitimate contender and not someone who is slingshotted to the top. WWE has issues with this with Sheamus, Wade Barrett, Jack Swagger and others. TNA needs to avoid their mistakes and carefully pick their future stars when they're ripe.
Winner: Crimson at 10:33 with a Sit-Down Slam for the pinfall victory.
Rating: **
- BACKSTAGE: Winter and Angelina Love share a promo hyping themselves up rather than their title match. The storyline of Love being controlled by Winter continues. I am not a fan.
Match 5
TNA Knockouts Championship
Mickie James (c) vs. Angelina Love (w/ Winter)
With Winter being at ringside, you know she's going to be involved in some way which will somehow contribute to a sketchy finish. But it didn't, surprisingly. That's not to say that he didn't interfere in the match, but the match was seemingly built around her presence and Mickie James being hindered by it up until the point where Winter was neutralized and Mickie and her faithful fans could breathe and focus and eventually pick up the win. What I like about this match is that it wasn't godawful as many past Knockout matches have been and I could actually sit through it. What I didn't like was how weak everything still seemed. The Knockouts Division used to be something TNA could be proud of and further distinguish it from WWE's "Divas Division" with solid wrestling and storylines. Nowadays, everything seems like a last minute decision without much focus. Mickie James is fine as a champion but I'm assuming that this feud is going to be a throwaway feud while TNA finds a better opponent perhaps in the build up towards Bound For Glory if James remains champion for that long which seems likely. Perhaps Sarita and Rosita will feud with Mickie James at Bound For Glory while using a "Mexicans vs. White American Country" storyline or perhaps Kharma (Awesome Kong) will return to TNA as she reveals that her pregnancy was a fluke. Maybe we'll get that Bubba the Love Sponge vs. Kong match TNA fans have been dying for. I should stop now.
Winner: Mickie James at 8:00 with a Mickie DDT for the pinfall victory. (Mickie James remains TNA Knockouts Champion)
Rating: *3/4
- BACKSTAGE: Bully Ray cuts a great promo hyping up his match against AJ Styles. No harm done in building interest to matches but at this point, it looks like TNA is struggling to add emphasis on their matches. What looked like a great idea at first now looks like as if TNA never added hype to their feuds on their regular Impact shows to begin with. In any case, Bully Ray is always great on the mic and this promo is no different.
Match 6
Last Man Standing Match
AJ Styles vs. Bully Ray
What. An. Awesome. Match. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't a five star classic but this match ended up being Match of the Night and perhaps a contender for TNA Match of the Year. The match began with Bully Ray in control but after getting busted open, AJ Styles soon took over and the fans were solidly behind Styles (he's getting huge reactions) as he took Ray to town over and over again. Big spot after big spot helped keep the fans on their feet as they are jolted back to life after a slow half in the PPV. AJ Styles continues to throw out jaw-dropping moves further telling TNA's audience that Styles should be in the main event and not Sting or Anderson or Jarrett or even Angle. One memorable spot saw AJ leap off the stage and forwards about 5 feet before landing an elbow on Ray. AJ may have just found the secret to human flight without the use of machine. During the closing moments, AJ climbed up a steel truss about 15 feet high and jumped off landing on Ray who was sent through a table. While that should have been the end of the match, Bully Ray somehow kicked Styles sending the babyface crashing into the side of the stage. In my opinion, that entire move looked very weak and caused Styles to lose the match. It kinda lost any momentum built up by Styles with his big moves which hinders the entire scope of the match. It's like why bother with the big spots if Ray can just lightly shove you into the side of cardboard? This way of thinking keeps me from truly lauding this match as a perfect piece of work but regardless, it is still a great match and this feud is not yet over.
Winner: Bully Ray at 20:18 as AJ Styles could not respond to a ten-count.
Rating: ****
- BACKSTAGE: Mr. Anderson is interviewed by Jeremy Borash as he hypes up the upcoming title match. Again, good move but still looks bad on TNA's part. TNA should have instead used these interview segments for their bigger matches like Styles/Ray, Sting/Anderson and Angle/Jarrett and left the undercard interviews for episodes of Impact where build-up should matter (I guess wrestling should as well).
- VIDEO: TNA fed to a video package hyping up Sting vs. Anderson and what led up to it. They should have just skipped Anderson's interview segment and went to a video package hyping up TNA's rebranded Impact or the next PPV and then followed up with this video package. What they're doing isn't bad by any means, it just seems like it was piled on as a last minute effort to get people to care which looks bad on their part.
Match 7
TNA World Heavyweight Championship
Sting (c) vs. Mr. Anderson
Mr. Anderson finally gets his one-on-one title match against Sting after months of waiting. So how did it fare? Not great, but not bad. It was very average which speaks volumes seeing as how this was for the TNA World Title and the months of build-up behind this one match. While Anderson oozes charisma and Sting has the name to draw people in, the workrate in a match is an important part of the equation and this match kept coming up short in many cases. Much of the fault lies with Mr. Anderson. While it doesn't seem like he's being incredibly lazy in the ring, he does show signs of it as it looks like he's just going through the motions. HOWEVER, Mr. Anderson ends up winning the World Championship anyways. Just when you think TNA has their act together, they do not. In the finish of the match, Eric Bischoff who ran out in support of Anderson, distracted the referee in mid-count of Sting's pin on Anderson. Why wouldn't he just count the three and then deal with Bischoff later? Equally as odd was Anderson hitting a low-blow on Sting right in front of the referee but nothing was called. Anderson then followed up with a Mic Check to end the match. Wonky finish but it's painfully obvious that this feud is far from over.
Winner: Mr. Anderson at 15:52 with the Mic Check for the pinfall victory. (Mr. Anderson wins the TNA World Heavyweight Title)
Rating: *3/4
- ARENA: Mike Tenay and Taz then introduced Karen Angle who was live via satellite. She sold the feud between Angle and Jarrett sharing her view of what's happening which is welcomed but may actually be overkill in terms of hype. To the faithful TNA followers, her being "live from satellite" may actually mean she's backstage waiting to interfere in the match. She's not.
Match 8
#1 Contender Match for the TNA World Heavyweight Title
Angle's Olympic Gold Medal On The Line
Kurt Angle vs. Jeff Jarrett
From a great match in Styles vs. Ray to an average yet eye-rolling encounter in Sting vs. Anderson to a solid finish with Angle vs. Jarrett. This isn't the best match these two men have had but it is the least gimmicked match. Nobody expected this feud to last as long as it has but that's because TNA has hyped the last couple of encounters as the final battle or it at least felt that way. But the fans were once again awake for the main event of the Pay-Per-View and are looking for a clean contest following the TNA World Title Match. They got one. Both men put on a good showing as they continue to sell the feud gripping and clawing at each other. TNA also did a good job at putting importance on the match itself as not only was it to be the Final Battle between these two men in their heated rivalry, but the winner also earns himself a one way ticket to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. A lot was riding on the match and the fans became equally invested. I never saw Jeff Jarrett as a fantastic worker by any means but he did his part to keep up with Angle and do his best to make the main event of Slammiversary a good one but I cannot for the life of me fully invest in The Stroke as a finisher. It is incredibly weak looking, very sloppily applied and detracts from the moment in the match. Jeff even tried one from the turnbuckle and it still looked weak. Another thing I noticed about the match is that the main event didn't last over 20 minutes, clocking in at around 18. I'm not saying main-events should be hour-long spectacles but for a match of this magnitude, a nice breathing room for two aging vets would have been nice to further create depth in the match. I know some people would have rather had Samoa Joe or AJ Styles close out the PPV considering the year we are in and how old some of these performers may be, but this feud was well-done and deserves its top billing even just for tonight. Overall, a fine match though it seems like it could have used a little something extra to really make it memorable. Having countless other encounters in the past didn't help make this match stand out from the rest.
Winner: Kurt Angle with an Ankle Lock for the submission victory. (Angle is now the Number 1 Contender to the TNA World title)
Rating: ***
OVERALL: The best TNA PPV of 2011, so far. I can make that claim without hesitation. With every good step forward TNA takes, they take about five steps back but throughout this PPV it seems like they only took two steps back. It's still an improvement but perhaps not enough to drag them out of the bad habits they've placed on themselves over the past two years.
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