Impact Wrestling Slammiversary 2020 - 7-18-20

The newscaster announces that the Good Brothers are in Impact, while we see a hooded figure for the signing as well. The Rascalz are out for their open challenge and IT'S THE MOTOR CITY MACHINE GUNS! Josh brings up that he figured the Good Brothers would accept and Dez and Shelley are so smooth. Sabin calls for a BRAINBUSTAH and Josh, of course, calls it a suplex. Wentz gets a handspring knee strike and Shelley goes down to try and tag Sabin in.  Shelley gets the knees up to avoid a swanton and the backbreaker/cutter gets 2 and the Guns hit their old finish and win it.

We get some graphic problems and then Taya and Rosemary bully John E. Bravo and then we get a Moose hype video. Dreamer's promo to build this up was good. Josh says if looks and smells like a title match, then it's still not a title match because all he did was find a belt. Moose has the belt on white leather and Moose is now also a wrestling God. Dreamer's head is something else - I'm going to assume his TNA theme is titled "Man with a Box-shaped Head". Dreamer hits him with a can lid and Josh says that old school rules means that's legal. Now if they'd DEFINED THE STIPS, cool, but that term could mean literally anything. Atomic drop on a guardrail to Dreamer, who recovers with a White Russian legsweep. Corner dropkick with a can on the head to Dreamer.

Moose gets a drop toehold into the chair and Tommy tells the ref to check his eye. Uranage on a series of chairs to Dreamer. THAT ONLY GETS 2. THIS MATCH MUST CONTINUE FOR SOME REASON. Moose just took a second rope moonsault bump on his knees on chairs in front of no fans for a TNA World Title replica. TACKS! Dreamer is taking the Abyss spot of THIS SHIT WAS PLAYED OUT 15 YEARS AGO PLEASE GOD STOP DOING IT here in 2020. Flipping spear hits and ends it.

Backstage, someone is stationed to see the mystery man - and IT'S THE SWING MAN! Swinger rolls up in a Jaguar and says that the rental joint says it was for Anderson, but he didn't see Ole anywhere. Tremendous. Knockounts gauntlet for the gold/rumble title shot is up. Kylie went from looking like Bayley's older sister to now looking like Karen Bayley's younger sister thanks to Bayley's haircut. TNA Gauntlet rules are it's a timed battle royal until the final two are in, then it's a regular match. Tasha and Kylie start off before Bravo comes out as Taya and Penzer says that Taya's gone.

Kimber Lee is out and Susie palm strikes everyone after Kiera Hogan's out. Tasha's gone. Katie Forbes is out from Twerk City and the money guns - so she's bringing 2013 back. Havok is out to destroy folks. Taya is actually out now Alisha's out and now Nevaeh is here to aid Havok. Rosemary is out now and hits a spear. Bravo impersonates Rosemary now and Havok throttles folks and BRAVO ELIMINATES HER! Kylie takes out Madison and then Kylie says "I'm sorry!". Taya eliminates Rosemary and now it's down to Taya vs. Kylie. Kylie "hits" a destroyer and wins with a superkick.

HEATH is here and wants to be in the main event. Instead, he gets another man out to prove his with in Rohit and both of their mics suck. Raju says that Heath's last World title match didn't last long - well that's a stupid thing to bring up. Now if Heath beats him, he's slightly above a lower end guy. His real name is Heath Miller - if you don't have a name trademarked, just use that. Calling him HEATH is just awkward.Swinger-Bey recap. I love Josh describing them as "friends-adjacent". Josh puts Mack over as someone who cares about the roster enough to call them and Don says that's why he has CALL DISPLAY, which baffles Josh.

Mack catches him off a dive into a smooth sky high for 2. Corner flying ass attack is shown as completely missing Bey and Mack just flipping off the buckle. Corner exploder gets 2 for Mack. Bey feigns a ref injury to high kick Mack up top and then John Woo dropkicks him! Yoshi tonic gets 2! Art of Finesse wins it and he's the champ. Heath meets with Rhino and D'Amore and his frosted hair tell him to leave because it's a closed set, and while he respects Rhino and Heath, he'll give them a minute but he has to leave. It's hard to believe that we're now nostalgic for 2016 SmackDown mid-card teams - but it was about the last truly fun tag team run in WWE, so it's fitting.

Sami and Ken Shamrock history package airs to set up their title match tonight. Sami's theme sounds like it should be in a SmackDown vs. Raw game. Shamrock gets the arm and Josh mounts him to palm strike him. Don puts over Page for getting in great shape - but misses the chance to put it over as being done for THIS MATCH. Sami superkicks Page in such a way that he snapmare/stunners Josh to the floor as you do. Ken tosses Josh around and gets 2 off a big slam. Sami gets trapped in the corner and goes up top, but gets double cross-arm slammed off the top and then double-crucifix slammed for 2 mid-ring. "I'M THE KARATE MAN!" Ethan Page hits a Cro Cop kick.

Josh and Sami slap battle mid-ankle lock. Piledriver hits for Sami and a save is made with Ken standing right there. Now to be fair to Ken NOT STOPPING THE SAVE, he is blown the fuck up right now. Ken eats the double-team Gotch-lift dominator to end it. Page says that no one asked about their thoughts on holding the titles for ONE FULL YEAR. They say they're the best ever and the Guns come out to take offense to that. Sabin says that he was just told that on Tuesday, the Guns face The North for the titles. Josh says LET'S KEEP IT TRENDING!

Tremendous Deonna-Jordynne hype video sets the stage for the knockouts title match. Grace bullies her around a bit before Deonna stalls a tad. Then she goes back in and stalls more. She's either playing being gassed or she's got a lot of ring rust. She doesn't look her best here. I like Josh pointing out that Heath was kicked out...here on a night with A MYSTERY TEAM and A MYSTERY MAN in the main event. Lots of arm work leads to more matwork and Grace gets an RNC on. Teepkick to the shoulder leads to a snap Michinoku driver by Grace for 2.

Deonna gets a triangle armbar, but can't hold onto it past the 2 since her shoulders are on the mat. Grace gets a spinebuster for 2. Flatliner suplex gets 2 for Deonna. Pop-up VADER BOMB GETS 2 FOR GRACE! This is the best women's match in the company in ages. Grace lands hammer elbows to the neck. Deonna gets the double armbar and wins it! Perfect finish and she should win it. She needs the win more than Jordynne, who can get it back whenever.

The World Title match is hyped up with Austin as hyped as the modern-day AJ Styles. Ace Austin with Fulton really works in an HBK/Diesel method although their pose is Wish Version-levels. Rich Swann comes out after saying he would be in the title hunt when he's ready - and he throws the crutch away. This feels like a swerve, but if it's not, hey, he's a great talent. EY comes out in a new mask. "Eric Young is TNA royalty!" doesn't put Impact over like Josh thinks it does. EY as THE SURPRISE seems insane, but he's got his working boots on.

EY back elbows Swann down hard. EY has his working boots on...and would be better in a player/coach role in AEW than Impact - but whatever, at least in Impact, he's got a higher ceiling for his push. Fulton gets involved and kicked out. EY is working his ass off here against Trey and Ace and is holding his own. Eddie gets a powerbomb and Trey nails him with a double knee before EY piledrives him and eliminates him. EY goes for a wheelbarrow something or other, but gets bulldogged off the top. EY buckle bombs Swann into Edwards and Austin, sending them off the top through a table at ringside.

EY talks shit to Swann and says he's the disappointment, so of course Swann cradles him to pin him after a piledriver. EY attacks the knee and Pillmanizes the knee. I like this - right away, you get a new upper mid-card feud with EY and Swann that should be good in-ring and I'd bring back the TNA TV Title for them to feud over...but a collector owns it and they'd have to make a new title belt. They're telling a very nice Bash at the Beach '96-style story here with a mid-match injury taking one person out of the match and that opening the door for someone else to enter the fray.

Swann cradles Austin for 2, but The Fold takes Swann out. It's down to Edwards vs. Austin, with Don telling the tale of Austin trying to end Eddie's marriage and now it's come to the World Title. Ace sets up the Fold, but Eddie belly to belly suplexes him in the corner! Disaster kick misses for Ace, but THE BOSTON KNEE PARTY HITS AND ONLY GETS 2.9!

THE FOLD HITS for 2.9! Ace's side roll misses, but a second Knee Party hits! Die Hard Flowsion hits and he wins the Impact World Title! Eddie holds the belt, but Fulton comes out and destroys him. The Good Brothers debut and they tease being heels, but help Eddie and lay out the heels with their finishes. They play Eddie off and we get a dramatic video with EC3 returning looking pissed at the world. Impact needed, more than a good show, needed a newsworthy show - something they haven't had in years, and they got it tonight.