'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
What's the story?
Last night, we witnessed Impact Wrestling's Slammiversary XVII. The show featured some hard hitting, smash mouth action from the stars of Impact Wrestling. The headlining match was an intergender match between Tessa Blanchard and Sami Callihan. Tessa Blanchard lost the match to Sami Callihan, but the bigger picture was revealed as means for Impact to showcase what Tessa can do on the biggest stage for their company.
In case you didn't know...
Tessa Blanchard proudly accepted the challenge issued by Sami Callihan for Slammiversary XVII following Sami Callihan proclaiming that women wrestling should be given an equal opportunity. He challenged Tessa to a match to give Tessa that opportunity to prove that she is equal to everyone on the Impact Wrestling roster.
The heart of the matter
Sami Callihan would defeat Tessa Blanchard following two vicious piledrivers. Following the conclusion of their match, it would appear as if Callihan was going to bash Tessa in the head with a bat. Instead, he handed over his golden bat to Tessa and left the ring.
This was a topic of discussion on The Wrestling Observer Radio, as Dave Meltzer spoke about Impact not wanting to push Tessa Blanchard to the moon in the same vein as WWE had done for Roman Reigns in the past. If anything, the match was to showcase what Tessa could do on one of the biggest events for Impact Wrestling. Meltzer used the term "backwards booking" as a means for Impact to get Tessa Blanchard over as a top star.
What's next?
The feud between Tessa Blanchard and Sami Callihan is likely to continue beyond Slammiversary XVII. The next major pay-per-event scheduled for Impact Wrestling will be Bound for Glory. The event will be held in Chicago, Illinois on October 20th.
Do you think Impact Wrestling did the right thing by having Tessa Blanchard lose to Sami Callihan? Let us know in the comments section below.
As always continue to follow us here at Sportskeeda for all the latest wrestling news, stories and results!
