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2019 has been a great year for sports entertainment even as WWE's weekly product continues to falter, because of the variety of options available. AEW put on a great showcase with Double or Nothing and honestly, every NXT TakeOver has been truly stellar.
Even WWE's main roster pay-per-views haven't been too shabby and if you caught the first round of the G1, you know that NJPW is on its A-Game as well. Impact Wrestling can sometimes get a bit lost in the mix which is a shame because they're revolutionizing the professional wrestling landscape.
I honestly thought that Slammiversary was, by far, the best show of the year. Maybe the crowd wasn't as packed as some of the other shows I've mentioned in this list, but the quality of wrestling and entertainment was absolutely exemplary.
There were certainly a lot more 'Bests' than 'Worsts' this week, so I suggest you check it out if you haven't done so already.
#1 Best: Historically significant main event match
A lot of you may be critical of the fact that Sami Callihan went over Tessa Blanchard in what was the first ever inter-gender match to main event a pay-per-view. In fact, I think that this was the right thing to do because, in almost every other situation, you have the women beating the men after taking some punishment.
You need to have a belief in your talent to put an inter-gender match in the main event of your biggest pay-per-view. Tessa Blanchard and Sami Callihan had a competitive match and the show of mutual respect between Tessa and Sami at the end was truly something to behold.
Slammiversary was the site for true professional wrestling history, I believe. Sure, Lucha Underground has booked many inter-gender matches but this was perhaps the most significant inter-gender match in wrestling history.
#1 Worst: The injury to Santana
In almost every other situation, you have the tag teams steal the show at every other Impact Wrestling event. I believe that LAX belongs in the conversation for best tag teams of our time, alongside The Young Bucks, The Usos, The Lucha Bros., and The Revival.
So, we all know that The North became Impact Wrestling Tag Team Champions a few days prior. As a result, the match between LAX and The Rascalz was changed into a triple threat, with both of the teams chasing the Tag titles.
During the course of a match which was heating up, unfortunately, Santana would suffer an injury which would derail the contest. I think that the match ended earlier than it should have, because of the said injury.
Let's just hope that Santana recovers in time for the next round of tapings and more importantly, Impact Wrestling manages to hang on to LAX, going forward.
#2 Best: The World Championship match steals the show
Let me club two bests in one, in this particular piece. Even though the arrival of a masked superstar at the end of the match is the most talked about thing on the internet right now, the match in itself was amazing. Michael Elgin proved why he is one of the most underrated performers in all of pro wrestling.
Brian Cage was a great dance partner and it must have been great for him to get such a solid match under his belt after getting injured in his previous outing. While the masked man who interfered is almost certainly Rhyno, meaning that Elgin will be removed from the title picture going forward, I'm glad to report that despite all the controversy that surrounds him, he proved that he belongs in the ring.
I'm honestly glad that Brian Cage won because he needed the win. But that brings us to a big problem.
#2 Worst: No title changes
It is impossible to hate on any of the matches that took place at Slammiversary because every single performer brought their A-Game and then some to the show. However, for all of the good matches, there weren't enough headlines coming out of the event, in my opinion.
Taya Valkyrie and the other Knockouts had a fabulous Monster's Ball match, but it ended with Taya Valkyrie retaining her Knockouts title. Brian Cage and Michael Elgin absolutely took each other to the limit, and quite rightfully, Cage won the match this time.
Rich Swann would retain his title and so would The North, ensuring that there were no title changes at all during the course of the entire night. While this may not have been a bad decision per se, it certainly made the event seem a little lackluster, in my opinion.
I'd have loved to see Rosemary as the brand new Impact Knockouts Champion.
#3 Best: The absolutely bonkers X-Division Championship clash
Rich Swann may just be one of the most talented athletes in the world because of his innate athletic prowess. My issue has always been that he's not been booked as a man who can just go out and tear it up, like previous X-Division Champions in Impact Wrestling history.
Well, Rich Swann and Johnny Impact showed the world just how good they are, by putting on a showcase for the ages. Even though there was no title change, this was a very athletic back and forth match between two of the best workers in the pro wrestling business.
Who will Rich Swann square off with next? Mack won a multi-man X-Division match at the top of the show so maybe it'll be the two best friends battling one another in a truly spectacular clash.
Swann and Mack could potentially have a match that's just as good.
#3 Worst: Not much of a surprise
I didn't have a problem with any of the gentlemen in the match that answered TJP's challenge. However, when you say 'Open Challenge', you expect someone unexpected to show up and compete, especially on a stage as big as Slammiversary.
Even if Petey Williams had shown up, it would have been a surprise. Jake Crist, Mack, and Trey Miguel are all great performers and the opening match was awesome, but overall the lack of a big name just made the whole thing seem underwhelming.
Also, I would have liked it if TJP had come out as the victor in this particular match. He is the hot new commodity and would want to rack up a streak of big wins to establish himself as a serious contender in the X-Division.
Anyone with any kind of WWE pedigree (no pun intended) brings a lot more eyeballs to the product.
#4 Best/worst: RVD
It is absolutely commendable that Rob Van Dam does what he does in the ring at his age, so by no means am I trying to discredit him, at all. The very fact that he can mix it up with a super athlete like Moose speaks volumes about his evergreen skills. He is just a step behind the rest of the roster, as is natural.
Van Dam looked like he was exhausted during the contest, and RVD vs. Moose was probably the worst match in the card. By no means was it a bad match, but in a night full of spectacular clashes the contest just stood out like a sore thumb to me.
With the inclusion of Rhyno into the roster, I wonder if Impact is doing the right thing by getting so many veterans in. Wouldn't a younger roster do the trick?
Also, how cool is Rosemary?
