A curious choice to have Chris Sabin in the #1 contenders match. I guess Alex Shelly retired.

Yeah on the Phantasmo train as well. He reminds me a lot of Tyler Black without the ego and a much deeper style. Why he is not in WWE I do not know. Dude is the total package. I just hunting down a fucking Impact match to see him he is that good.

This is a good look at him for those not familiar.  

Wooo and the strut 

This should be a great match. Hope it goes to a time limit draw or nondecision. Its too early for a title change

I know some people dislike Swinger's Palace but this was hilarious. From Swinger and Alisha to Maple Leaf Muscle.

The X match seems like they booked themselves into a corner.

I hate that stupid rope walk spot El Phantasmo does. His knucklelock has the power to paralyse a wrestler indefinitely, rendering him unable to do anything as he walks a lap around the ring ropes? Give me a break. All the guy has to do is jerk his arm a little and Phantasmo falls.

I like his rope walking since he usually does it into something interesting. His balance is unreal.

It was first time to see him walk the ropes and I marked out a little for the woo's and strut

my Slammiverary early prediction Kenny vs Moose vs Sami. Moose wins the gold, Sami takes the loss, and Omega can say he never actually got beat for the title.

May 14, 2021 16:44:38 GMT Emperor said:

I hate that stupid rope walk spot El Phantasmo does. His knucklelock has the power to paralyse a wrestler indefinitely, rendering him unable to do anything as he walks a lap around the ring ropes? Give me a break. All the guy has to do is jerk his arm a little and Phantasmo falls.

like this?

Hey if you resign we will give you a title reign.
Sure
Ok, the ink is dry now we are going to need you to give the titles back to the only real team in the division. Yeah

May 16, 2021 4:17:04 GMT bodyslam said:

May 14, 2021 16:44:38 GMT Emperor said:

I hate that stupid rope walk spot El Phantasmo does. His knucklelock has the power to paralyse a wrestler indefinitely, rendering him unable to do anything as he walks a lap around the ring ropes? Give me a break. All the guy has to do is jerk his arm a little and Phantasmo falls.

like this?

Exactly!!! Now there's a sensible wrestling spot.

Seen a rumor that he's on his way out. His EVP profile has been removed from Anthem's website. Then again it maybe part of the current storyline? Time will tell.

I would love Alexender Wolfe to join Violent By Design. In the future.

I can get behind VBD Doering and Rhino as tag champs. I assumed Ace and Fulton were going to get the win. I was a little disappointed FinJuice won, but when VBD came out I marked out.

You know? since Rhino still has the call your shot trophy, I think they'll use it to turn him babyface.

this is good stuff

Look out Steve Culter is on his way!

Jun 4, 2021 12:24:45 GMT NATH45 said:

Look out Steve Culter is on his way!

He will always be a forgotten son to me since I saw his teaser on Impact and had no idea who he was.

Jun 4, 2021 11:54:37 GMT bodyslam said:

this is good stuff

Normally a heel would just do this to put themselves over. But the shirt did help the bad tattoos. And he doesn't need to come out smelling his finger.

The ironman match was incredible!

I wish they kept a balance of having events on Impact plus & on the weekly shows.

Ex TNA all time great commentator Don West got diagnosed with brain lymphona. Hoping him the best, absolute hilarious and full of energy commentator for the ol' TNA days.

Damn that is horrible.

Jun 16, 2021 1:36:28 GMT Blindy said:

Ex TNA all-time great commentator Don West got diagnosed with brain lymphoma. Hoping him the best, absolutely hilarious, and full of energy commentator for the ol' TNA days.

This news breaks my heart. :shocked:

This segment is how you book an authority angle. All sides have points & reasons for doing what they've done but, Don is the lowlife here.

The past few weeks have been just ok. Hope they kick it up heading into Slammiverary.

I guess Moose might be on his way out. First we get Moose vs Omega on a impact+ ppv. Which I assumed was to get more eyes on plus. Now he loses clean to Sabin. Something is not right in the Moose nation.

Impact Wrestling Slammiversary 2021

I had to think about the last time I watched an Impact show in full and was surprised it's been nearly 3 years. Bound For Glory 2018 was the last show where I just hit play and watched the show from start to finish. bodyslam, you're my eyes and ears when it comes to Impact and the only time I watch anything on the show it's usually just a promo or a match. Suffice to say it was time to rectify that and see what's happening in Nashville.

Ultimate X

Josh Alexander (c) vs. Ace Austin vs. Chris Bey vs. Petey Williams vs. Rohit Raju vs. Trey Miguel

Was this the best Ultimate X match of all-time? All six guys did a hell of a job putting together spots for this match and everyone got a chance at bat. It's not an easy match to put together because it can become like Ninja Warrior if you lose sight of entertaining the crowd but I thought they did a good job of balancing that out. A good showcase of everyone with Josh Alexander, for my money Impact's best prospect, getting the big win.

Brian Myers & Tenille Dashwood vs. Matt Cardona & Chelsea Green

This was the prototypical second match on the card. They didn't take up any time in the ring, it was just a matter of everyone hitting all their big moves and getting out. I enjoyed it for what it was because the money was the reveal of Chelsea and just building this rivalry up.

Eddie Edwards vs. W. Morrissey

10 years ago, I was watching Eddie Edwards face Davey Richards in that generation's version of Flair/Steamboat. 10 years on, Eddie has put on weight and he's effectively become this generation's Tommy Dreamer. He can take an ass whooping and Morrissey looked like a beast here. It reminded me of how uncomfortable some of those ECW matches could be especially when it was just somebody like Sandman getting his ass-kicked for 10 minutes. I get what they were going for, Eddie got to look tough but Morrissey ultimately was dominant.

Juice Robinson & David Finlay vs. Madman Fulton & Shera

This was just a way to give the fans a nice surprise and promote the NJPW relationship. Robinson and Finlay jump the two heavies for Rohit and come across as stars.

Moose vs. Chris Sabin

This felt like a re-run of the Morrissey-Edwards match except for whatever reason they put Sabin over. I don't mind the booking decision because they can take it in different directions but it just felt odd that Moose came off so strong in this only to lose via a fluke.

Impact Tag Team Championship

Violent By Design (c) vs. Rich Swann & Willie Mack vs. The Good Brothers vs. Fallah Bah & No Way (Jose)

These matches are always a train-wreck because it's virtually impossible to build any tension. This just seemed to be a way to switch the titles onto the Good Brothers and lighten up the show with the No Way Jose surprise announcement.

Impact Women's Championship

Deonna Purrazzo (c) vs. Thunder Rosa

Thunder was a great get for Impact, in my mind she's easily in the Top 5 women working today. I thought Deonna worked this like an NWA Champion going out of her way to showcase Rosa but reeling her back in just enough not to be completely out-classed. The shame about this match is that it ended just as it was beginning to heat up with Deonna instantly reversing Thunder's finisher into her own to take it.

That was a nice surprise at the end as well with Mickie James coming in and doing some business for the NWA.

Impact World Championship

No Disqualification

Kenny Omega (c) vs. Sami Callihan

I've been critical of Don Callis' promos in the past for being too disingenous but I found him really entertaining here. First the promo earlier in the show and then on commentary where he played the overzealous fanboy to a tee. You know with Kenny that his matches are going to go long and they're going to throw everything including the kitchen sink at one another so you just strap in and go along with it. I actually find the Omega character in TNA more appealing because he is this outsider holding the company hostage and there's nobody on the roster who can stand up to him. Whereas in AEW it feels like he's just a charlatan who is always within a whisker of losing the title.

What I liked about this match is that it felt like Sami got a head-start, but then Omega not only caught up to him but ended up lapping him. A really impressive showing from Kenny and a fairly generous performance from Sami who in all fairness really does go out of his way to make his opponents look like a million bucks.

Then after the show Jay White made his presence known only to the Elite only for Juice Robinson to rush the ring as the show came to an abrupt finish. Supposedly Robinson attacked White to set up a match for an upcoming NJPW USA show.

Really enjoyed this show and I haven’t properly watched Impact in years, thought I’d check it out after I was tagged in predictions thread.

Had no idea that W Morrissey was Big Cass 😂.

I know the honeymoon period won’t last but it’s cool seeing fans in NA simply enjoying shows again without being obnoxious and sabotaging shows.