On July 22, from the Rebel Complex Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, IMPACT Wrestling presents the sixteenth anniversary of their Slammiversary epic. For the first time ever, the event will air worldwide on FITE.tv in what is a positive step forward for the notable brand.
With a growing reputation for excellent wrestling, intriguing storylines, and a stable product – not something you could always say about the promotion – the company has managed to craft an exciting and packed card which, of course, will be headlined by Austin Aries vs. Moose for the IMPACT World Championship.
On this week’s go-home show, both champion and challenger came face to face before their moment in the spotlight dawned. It had some impressive results. Moose, who had been away from the promotion for several weeks, took a beating from the defender after Aries snuck-up with an eye-watering low-blow and steel chair shot. Believing he had struck first blood before Sunday, Austin took his eye off of the ball.
Holding his title aloft, Aries was blind to Moose rising behind him who hoisted the excellent champion into the air with a standing choke, before throwing him like a child would a doll into the turnbuckle. A rattled holder then ducked a chair shot and lived to fight another day. This match has divided the wrestling world, with some believing that Aries will retain, whilst others see this as the perfect time to crown a brand new figurehead at the top of the tree.
On the eve of Slammiversary XVI, the much anticipated International Fatal 4-Way Match between Johnny Impact, Taiji, Ishimori, Fenix, and Rich Swann is now in doubt after the latter suffered a nasty concussion whilst competing at MLW Battleriot Thursday evening. The extent of Swann’s injury is yet to be announced, meaning this could be altered to a Triple Threat Match on the night.
The final Slammiversary XVI card looks like this:
- Austin Aries (c) vs. Moose – IMPACT World Championship
- Su Yung (c) vs. Madison Rayne – IMPACT Knockouts Championship
- Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact vs. Taiji Ishimori vs. Fenix – International Fatal 4-Way Match
- Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan – Mask vs Hair Match
- Matt Sydal (c) vs. Brian Cage – IMPACT X-Division Championship
- Eddie Edwards vs. Tommy Dreamer – House of Hardcore Rules Match
- LAX vs. The OGz – 5150 Street Fight
- Tessa Blanchard vs. Allie
