This Sunday, Impact Wrestling will present Slammiversary from Toronto’s Rebel Nightclub. The company announced yesterday the event has sold-out. The current belief is that the set-up for the venue will host 1000 fans for the show.
Tonight is the final episode of Impact before the pay-per-view.
Up until tonight the rivalry between Moose and Austin Aries has been contested through sit-down interviews. Last week, however, Aries assaulted Moose’s friend DeAngelo Williams.
Moose has promised to confront Aries tonight about his actions from last week.
Eli Drake vs Joe Hendry
Joe Hendry makes his Impact Wrestling debut tonight and he’s got his hands full. Hendry will face former Impact World Champion, Eli Drake. Last week, Drake defeated Grado and then tried to tell his opponent that Hendry and Katarina had something going on behind his back.
It doesn’t appear Hendry and Katarina have Grado’s best interests at heart. What that will mean for this match, however, remains to be seen.
Desi Hit Squad vs Fallah Bah & KM
This match came about as a result of a backstage interaction last week. The Great Gama Singh said Bah and KM represent Western culture in that one of them can’t control what they put into their mouth and the other can’t control what comes out of it.
Singh has been running the members of the Desi Hit Squad through traditional conditioning drills and will likely have them ready for tag-team action tonight.
Konnan Addresses the OGz
Last week, King said the reason Homicide and Hernandez joined him is Konnan reunited LAX without them. Now, they were out for revenge on him. Tonight, Konnan will address his former tag-team just days ahead of the 5150 Street Fight at Slammiversary between the two teams.
Tessa Blanchard & Shotzi Blackheart vs Kiera Hogan & Allie
Tessa Blanchard and Allie will go one-on-one at Slammiversary. Before Sunday, however, they will meet in tag action tonight.
Allie will team with the young upstart, Kiera Hogan. Blanchard will align with the standout from a recent RISE seminar, Shotzi Blackheart. Allie defeated Blackheart last week.
Killer Kross vs Petey Williams
Before Killer Kross was discovered as the man behind the attacks in the back, there was suspicion on Petey Williams. Tonight, Williams will get a chance for revenge and Kross will get a chance to hurt someone (which he seems to enjoy).
The second pay-per-view event of the new Impact Wrestling’s management regime will bring in the maximum gate revenue possible this Sunday. Slammiversary at the Rebel Nightclub in Toronto is now sold out.
Tickets for the next two nights of television tapings are still available, however.
Slammiversary THIS SUNDAY is officially SOLD OUT!
We absolutely cannot wait for a jam packed crowd in The Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto LIVE on PPV and @FiteTV! pic.twitter.com/k4ILBPz2fe
The Rebel Nightclub is Canada’s largest nightclub complex. On a recent Impact Wrestling media call, Austin Aries mentioned he has visited the venue and believes it will create a special atmosphere for the event.
Slammvierary XVI will also air live on pay-per-view through the FITE App.
Impact Wrestling Slammiversary Lineup
Mask vs Hair
Pentagon Jr vs Sami Callihan
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Moose
Knockouts Championship
Su Yung (c) vs Madison Rayne
X-Division Championship
Matt Sydal (c) vs Brian Cage
House of Hardcore Match
Tommy Dreamer vs Eddie Edwards
5150 Street Fight
LAX (Santana & Ortiz) w/Konnan vs the OGz (Homicide & Hernandez) w/King
Fenix vs Rich Swann vs Taiji Ishimori vs Johnny Impact
Allie vs Tessa Blanchard
Johnny Impact On Why Fans Should Be Watching Impact Wrestling
Impact Wrestling has been running frequent media calls to promote Slammiversary as of late. Johnny Impact was the featured guest yesterday and spoke about why he feels fans should be watching Impact Wrestling.
“When you’re surfing right before a wave breaks, that’s where you want to jump on and surf because you don’t want to miss the boat,” Johnny explained. “That’s what Impact is now.”
“The current roster of Impact Wrestling is possibly the best roster in the world,” Johnny continued. “You’ve got your traditional American psychology type wrestling but now we’ve got with Ishimori, with Pentagon, with Fenix, with Sami Callihan and Cage and Kevin Kross now, Aries, and of course, Johnny Impact. You’ve got this crazy blend of wrestlers from different styles from all over the world that make the matches on Impact infinitely interesting.”
“You’re seeing this collision of styles every time you’re out there.”
This Sunday at Slammiversary, Austin Aries will defend his Impact World Championship against Moose. Despite the pay-per-view recently selling out, Aries knows there is still work to do to improve the company’s reputation. He recently took part in an Impact Wrestling media teleconference.
“When people go ‘oh its the same old TNA, lol, or whatever’,” Aries said in reference to Impact’s historical reputation. “I know it will take time but I think now we are showing people with the product and what is going on in the locker room that this is really a different Impact Wrestling.”
“People should give it a chance and see if it might be something that they enjoy watching again,” he continued.
Austin Aries On His Relationship With Impact Wrestling
Aries returned to Impact Wrestling in January. He’d previously been at odds with the company’s old management regime.
“This time to me feels completely different,” Aries said. “There’s just a different energy and a different thought process. And a different foundation being laid as far as what’s being done behind the scenes.”
“I’ve been at odds with the company over the course of my career, I don’t think that’s a big secret,” Aries continued. “But I think the difference now why I’m back is because the people or the ideals that I had issues with are no longer there and attached to this.”
Austin Aries On What He’s Brought To Impact Wrestling In 2018
In a video posted to Impact Wrestling’s YouTube channel earlier this week, Aries said he returned to the company because he felt they needed him. We had the chance to ask Aries what effect he feels he’s been able to have on the company so far.
“I think, at the very least, I’ve been able to be a bit of a stabilizing force,” Aries said. “I think I’m someone who is a familiar face that for the fans who have followed this company for a long time, they can have some comfort in knowing.”
“They were able to bring a marquee player back into the fold,” Aries continued. “Which every company needs those guys in top positions to then help elevate the next group of guys.”
Austin Aries On Moose and Slammiversary
The build-up to Moose vs Aries has been done through sit-down interviews.
“I’m excited for this match-up coming up,” Aries said. “Moose, in his mind, feels like he’s ready, feels like he’s worked his whole life for this. I disagree and I think this is going to be a good learning experience for a man named Moose.”
Kenny Omega will take on NEVER Openweight Champion, Hirooki Goto, tomorrow in the G1 Climax 28 tournament. It will be a rematch from 2 years ago when Omega defeated Goto in the finals of G1 Climax 26.
Omega spoke with reporters backstage after night 3 of the tournament. He spoke about his upcoming match with Goto and the possibility he could one day become the first-ever NJPW Grand Slam Champion.
Kenny Omega vs Hirooki Goto G1 Climax 28 (night 4)
Omega and Chase Owens were defeated by Hirooki Goto and Yohei Komatsu in a tag match on night 3. Goto pinned Owens and Omega then directed his comments towards him after the match.
“Hey Goto,” Omega started his post-match interview. “It’s easy to say that your belt means nothing compared to mine. That you are nothing compared to me. But guess what? That isn’t true because your NEVER belt, as s****y as it may be, it’s the only single’s belt I’ve never won.”
“Trust me, I’m a fair man. I believe in revenge. My career has been fundamentally been built upon revenge,” Omega continued. “So, I’m going to give you a fair chance. G1 26 Finals, I beat you, do you remember? I do. I made history and then I went on to have one of the greatest matches of all time against Okada and I lost. And he gave me revenge and then I couldn’t beat him and then he gave me revenge and then I did.
What kind of champion would I be if I didn’t give you that same chance? You better come prepared because the next chance at the G1 could mean everything. And it could cost everything for you Goto because I might just come for your title after. What are you going to do then? What’s everyone going to do once I become the first-ever Grand Slam Champion of New Japan? Wouldn’t that be interesting? Wouldn’t that be something?”
X-Division Champion, Matt Sydal, will defend his title this Sunday at Slammiversary against Brian Cage. He recently sat down with the Sporting News and discussed why having creative freedom as a performer is important.
“We’re creating an ethereal consciousness during the match,” explained Sydal. “There’s a symbiotic relationship that we’re co-creating together and I want them feeling the same mystical experience that I am going through simultaneously. I just am trying to do more. It’s easy to go out there and wrestle. It’s hard to go out there and try new things, to create an atmosphere.”
Sydal would continue to say that recent developments in the pro-wrestling landscape have reinvigorated his love for wrestling.
“Wrestling used to be like this — it was this bathtub that we will fill up from only one faucet,” Sydal said. “It was mainly WWE filling the tub of love of wrestling for the entire world. And because of the internet, technology, the interconnectedness of people and the desire of independent artists to create their own work, this resurgence of wrestling has come up and it’s reinvigorating for me.”
Sydal continued to say what he feels is different about today’s wrestling. “Now the bathtub of wrestling that we’re trying to fill up to the brim with water — it has a WWE faucet, it’s got a New Japan faucet, IMPACT Wrestling, some of these hotter indies, WWN, Evolve, Progress. It’s getting filled from everywhere and all of the water is warm and everybody’s saying come on in and take a bath with us because this is some good, clean fun.”
Matt Sydal on His Slammiversary Opponent, Brian Cage
Sydal will take on a much larger opponent on Sunday. Brian Cage is a heavyweight wrestler who utilizes an X-division style move-set.
“Someone like Brian Cage, he’s a gigantic man who is trying to wrestle like me,” explained Sydal. “That’s his mistake because I clearly hold the top card in someone who is wrestling like Matt Sydal. I see things from a higher perspective. I can know what Brian Cage is doing before he’s doing it because he’s doing me. I’ve been facing the man in the mirror my entire life. That’s been my hardest battle is the one where it’s me versus me.”
Johnny Impact will face Fenix, Rich Swann, and Taiji Ishimori on Sunday at Slammiversary.
“I can’t think of a better way to return to Impact than with this 4-way match between some of the most talented guys in the world, myself included,” Johnny said on a media call. “I plan on stealing the show for sure.”
“The guys in this match are really on the upper echelon of athletism and charisma,” Johnny continued. “I’m stoked, bro.”
Johnny Impact On Why Fans Should Be Watching Impact Wrestling
We had a chance to ask Johnny Impact why fans should be watching Impact Wrestling right now.
“The current roster of Impact Wrestling is possibly the best roster in the world,” Johnny said. “You’ve got your traditional American psychology type wrestling but now we’ve got with Ishimori, with Pentagon, with Fenix, with Sami Callihan and Cage and Kevin Kross now, Aries, and of course, Johnny Impact. You’ve got this crazy blend of wrestlers from different styles from all over the world that make the matches on Impact infinitely interesting.”
“You’re seeing this collision of styles every time you’re out there,” Johnny continued.
“Social media, the youtube channel, all the views are spiraling upward because there is a new interest in this product,” Johnny said. “That new interest is just a symptom of the fact that what we are doing is something that wrestling fans like to see.”
Johnny Impact would also compare Impact Wrestling’s current product to right before a wave breaks when you’re surfing.
“When you’re surfing right before a wave breaks, that’s where you want to jump on and surf because you don’t want to miss the boat,” Johnny explained. “That’s what Impact is now.”
Slammiversary takes place July 22nd, 2018 from the Rebel Nightclub Complex in Toronto. It will be available to purchase live on the FITE app.
Impact Wrestling World Champion, Austin Aries, will defend his title against Moose on Sunday in Toronto. He took part in a sit-down interview to promote his Slammiversary title defense and also mentioned why he decided to return to Impact earlier this year.
“Not every platform is created equal. Not every platform allows the same freedoms, not every platform gives guys the opportunity to truly grab the brass ring.” – Austin Aries on Impact Wrestling
“Why did Austin Aries choose to come back to Impact Wrestling?” Aries asked himself. “Cause Impact Wrestling needed me and I like to feel needed. I like to feel wanted. But in some ways maybe Austin Aries needed the platform of Impact Wrestling.
“Not every platform is created equal,” Aries continued. “Not every platform allows the same freedoms, not every platform gives guys the opportunity to truly grab the brass ring.”
They offered me an opportunity, they said ‘hey, we love what you do, we respect the artist you are, please come to Impact Wrestling, we’re going to give you a blank canvass to paint as you see fit.”
Austin Aries is a vegan and promotes the diet and lifestyle whenever he can. He recently sat down with Live Kindly last week and spoke about what it’s like to be a vegan professional wrestler.
“I’ve really had a positive impact on a lot of my fans just by being who I am,” he said before recalling a moment with a fan at a Veg Fest. “After a panel signing books, and a longtime fan of mine came up to me and said I was the reason he chose to become plant-based himself and in the time since, he lost 200 pounds. His sister-in-law lost 100 pounds but went back to her previous lifestyle, but the point is, I affected this young man’s life in such a huge way and turned his life in a completely different direction.”
Toronto Blue Jays outfielder Curtis Granderson will be appearing at Sunday’s Impact Wrestling Slammiversary pay-per-view. Granderson, a 3-time MLB All-Star, will serve as the special “title holder” for the main event.
Slammiversary will be headlined by Impact Wrestling World Heavyweight Champion Austin Aries defending against Moose. Slammiversary takes place from Toronto’s Rebel Entertainment Complex and will broadcast live around the world on pay-per-view.
As part of Impact’s cross-promotion with the Toronto Blue Jays to promote Slammiveresary, Johnny Impact will throw the Ceremonial First Pitch at Sunday’s home game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Curtis Granderson is a lifelong pro wrestling fan and has attended numerous IMPACT Wrestling shows over the years.
“I’m thrilled to join IMPACT Wrestling as ‘Title Holder.’ As a long-time fan, it’s an honor to be included as part of the World Championship match,” Granderson told ImpactWrestling.com. “Inclusion in this event will undoubtedly be the highlight of my year, off the baseball field, and I’m looking forward to seeing who comes out on top.”
Sunday night kicks off three nights of action for Impact at the Rebel Entertainment Complex. Following Slammiversary, the venue will host Impact Wrestling television tapings on Monday and Tuesday.
Impact World Champion Austin Aries commented on Granderson’s involvement in his upcoming title defense and sounds unimpressed.
And I can barley contain my excitement…
Just make sure @cgrand3 washes his hands real good before touching my @IMPACTWRESTLING World Title.
John Hennigan is a featured performer for both Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground. In the 4th season of Lucha Underground, Johnny Mundo’s World Wide Underground is in a feud with Kobra Moon’s Reptile Tribe. Meanwhile, in Impact Wrestling, Johnny Impact is booked for the upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view in Toronto.
Hennigan spoke with TV Insider recently and commented on the differences between the two companies.
Johnny Impact and Johnny Mundo on Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground
Hennigan started by describing what he believes to be Lucha Underground’s style. “Lucha is hard-hitting, acrobatic, fast-paced. It has this cool world that is uniquely Lucha Underground.”
He then compared Lucha Underground to Impact Wrestling. “Impact is similar, but it’s a different world. The stuff going on there is the evolution of traditional wrestling product into a cutting-edge, modern, present-day program.”
“I think the best way to make an example of that is I’m returning there at Slammiversary on July 22,” Hennigan continued. “The match I’m going to have is Rich Swann vs. Taji Ishimori vs. Fenix vs. Johnny Impact. Rich Swann and I both worked for WWE. Taiji works for New Japan and Noah. Fenix is one of the best Luchadores in the world. He has worked for pretty much every company in Mexico.”
John Hennigan on Impact Wrestling and Lucha Underground
“The office for Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling are both forward-thinking people that are trying to build something, instead of competing against one another, which traditionally happened in the past,” Hennigan stated.
“Lucha, Impact and hopefully more companies going forward are working together now, which is awesome to me. As a wrestler, we get to work for both companies. As a wrestling fan, I get to see a bunch of dream matches five years ago you would never get to see.”
The final Impact Wrestling television show before Slammiversary airs this Thursday. Lucha Underground’s 4th season continues on the El Rey Network this Wednesday night.
Rich Swann is becoming a major part of Impact Wrestling. Since debuting with the company at the recent television tapings held in Windsor, ON, Swann has become a part of the angle involving the Lucha Brothers, Sami Callihan, and oVe.
He is booked for the upcoming Slammiversary show next weekend as well. Swann will be part of a fatal 4-way with Taiji Ishimori, Fenix, and Johnny Impact. Swann is also a regular for the re-launched Major League Wrestling promotion. He’s booked on the upcoming Battle Riot event on July 19th, 2018 as well.
The former Cruiserweight Champion appeared on Interactive Radio recently and spoke about his run in Impact Wrestling so far, MLW, and the fan support he’s received since returning.
Rich Swann Talks Impact Wrestling Run
While Swann has not signed a long-term deal with Impact, he indicated on a recent media call that they are looking to work out an agreement.
“I think (Impact Wrestling) is an amazing company,” Swann said. “I’ve always followed it ever since I was younger. It has always been the company where you’re going to see pro wrestling. It is not just geared towards the entertainment. You’re going to see what people have been die-harding to see – That fast-paced, fight forever type style. That is what you’re going to get out of Impact. I love that.”
Swann also spoke about the supportive fan response he has received since arriving in Impact. “I’m very surprised, honestly,” he said in regards to the fan response. “When I had made my return to independent wrestling, a lot of people didn’t take too kindly to having me on the shows. I think once I was able to show my talents, people gave me, for lack of a better term, a second chance. I’ve taken that second chance and rolling with it and I’m not going to let anybody stop me no matter what they say and no matter what they do.”
There was an initial backlash against Swann when he returned to the independents following his arrest late last year. Following supportive comments from Su Yung, Impact Management and many of his colleagues, however, response to Swann has been back to positive.
“The people that have jumped on board, I’ve always said I greatly appreciate their support. I’ve grown up with these people, with these fans,” Swann continued. “Wrestling has been in my life since I was 16 years old. These people see that. I grew up with them in their eyes. For them to give me reactions like that means the world… You know?”
In terms of his Slammiversary match, Swann assures fans it will steal the show.
Two new matches have been revealed for the upcoming Slammiversary PPV event. As seen on this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV, the promotion officially announced that Allie vs. Tessa Blanchard in a singles match and Hernandez & Homicide vs. Santana & Ortiz in a 5150 Street Fight has been added to the upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view event.
In case you missed last week’s episode of Impact, it ended with LAX splitting into two factions with King now leading Hernandez and Homicide who are now known as The OG while Konnan’s crew consist of Santana and Ortiz.
What are your thoughts on these matches being announced? Do you plan on buying this pay-per-view event? If not, why so? Sound off in the comment section.
Impact Wrestling is now just 9 days away from Slammiversary. Last night’s episode of Impact Wrestling added 2 new matches to the card and built towards several others already signed.
Impact Wrestling started off last night with King’s OGZ, so they sound like a good place for us to start too. Here are 9 takeaways from Impact Wrestling’s July 12th show:
5150 Street Fight Scheduled For Slammiversary
After Homicide and Hernandez made short work of some local talent, King challenged Konnan’s LAX for Slammiversary. Even though Santana & Ortiz are the tag-team champions, however, King said they are not interested in titles at this time. They want LAX in a 5150 street fight.
King also explained why Homicide and Hernandez joined him. He said that when Konnan decided to bring back LAX he chose to bring in two new boys he could control rather than Homicide or Hernandez. Now the OGZ want to take out the new LAX.
A standout from RISE, Shotzi Blackheart was scouted by Impact management at a seminar run by the Illinois-based developmental promotion. Shotzi is a wild one with quite a lot to say.
Here are some quotes from her backstage interview with Alicia Atout:
“Being here has given me a one-track mind and that track is to prove I’m no phony-baloney”
“This mango is ready to tango”
“My mind is a machine, my body’s the bullets and Allie is my target”
She dropped her debut match to Allie but she was able to get in a fair amount of offense and show what she can do. Don Callis mentioned on commentary that Impact management would be foolish not to sign her.
For the second week in a row, Tessa Blanchard interfered in a match involving Allie. The previous week, Blanchard came out to get revenge on Madison Rayne but was fended off by Allie who was teaming with her. This week it was Allie who was Blanchard’s target.
Following Allie’s victory over Shotzi Blackheart, Blanchard hit the ring and delivered a hammerlock-DDT. Shortly after the segment aired, Impact Wrestling management made the match between the two of them official for Slammiversary.
Matt Sydal Believes Organic Matter Beats Machines (he also mentioned his 3rd eye…)
Matt Sydal is not worried about having to defend his title at Slammiversary against an opponent so much bigger than he is, he’s been doing that his whole career. Sydal cut a backstage promo this week on Impact where he discussed why he feels he’ll be victorious against Brian Cage.
Sydal said they call Cage a machine but that is the very thing which will be his downfall.
“My opponent is a man who sees things completely mechanical but we live in an organic universe,” Sydal said. “When machines break, they fall apart but organic things they come back to life. No matter how hard you bury me down, I rise back up.”
Joe Hendry and Katarina May Not Have Grado’s Best Interests In Mind…
It’s starting to look as though Katarina may have ulterior motives as it concerns her relationship with Grado. That Grado has brought his “best friend” Joe Hendry into Impact is also an interesting development.
Josh Matthews noted on commentary that he follows Katarina on social media and she posts a lot of pictures but usually ones which feature only her and Hendry rather than Grado.
Eli Drake disposed of Grado in single’s action this week. After doing so, Drake tried to put the moves on Katarina only to be pushed away. Upon realizing Katarina was not interested in him, Drake attempted to inform Grado that something was going on between Hendry and Katarina.
Austin Aries Drops Truth Bombs On DeAngelo Williams
Austin Aries is a guy who doesn’t mince words. When DeAngelo Williams returned to Impact to talk about how his training with Moose is going, Austin Aries couldn’t help but get involved. After Williams called Aries “trash”, the Impact World Champion came out to confront him.
Aries ripped on Williams for not getting signed by an NFL team for next season. Then he ripped on him for never having won a Super Bowl. Finally, Aries knocked him in the head with a microphone and then beat him up with a chair.
Later in the show, Moose would call in to say he will be on the show next week to confront Aries.
Madison Rayne Sit-Down Interview Turns Into Horror Film
It was just supposed to be a sit-down interview…
What seemed as though it would be a rather uneventful segment when we mentioned it in our preview for this episode, Madison Rayne’s planned sit-down interview turned into a macabre scene. Rayne’s interview had barely begun when ominous stuff started happening around the studio.
After foolishly stumbling into an open field to escape the paranormal activity, Rayne was surrounded by Yung’s undead brides. The undead brides whispered that her time had come. Then Yung herself appeared before the camera suddenly went black.
It's safe to say @realsuyung is getting the better of the mind games over @MadisonRayne ahead of Slammiversary…
The night’s main event featured Pentagon and Sami Callihan building towards their Slammiversary Mask vs Hair match. It also featured 2 of the 4 wrestlers who will compete in the fatal 4-way.
Fenix and Rich Swann were on the same side in this match but will be in competition with one another at Slammiversary. Some of the highlights of this week’s main event might preview what is in store at Slammiversary when Fenix, Rich Swann, Taiji Ishimori and Johnny Impact face each other.
This week’s main event featured a Lucha rules 6-man tag. On one side was oVe and Sami Callihan and on the other was Fenix, Pentagon Jr, and Rich Swann.
During this match, Callihan kicked out from Pentagon’s Fear Factor (package piledriver). Callis noted on commentary that he has never seen anybody kick out of that move. Callihan would also kick out of the spiked-piledriver move the Lucha Brothers use as a finisher.
If Callihan can kick-out of two of Pentagon’s finishers in a row, what will Pentagon have to do to beat him at Slammiversary?
Sami Callihan will face Pentagon Jr in a Mask vs Hair match at Slammiversary on July 22nd, 2018. He was this week’s guest on the Impact Wrestling teleconference media call.
Callihan is currently a featured wrestler for 3 different promotions. Impact Wrestling, Lucha Underground, and MLW all have Callihan on their roster. He believes this fact is proof that he is the most revolutionary wrestler going right now.
“I’m making history right now, I’m one of the first people, if not the first person, to work for 3 national television programs at the same time,” Callihan said. “I’m on TV every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Who else in professional wrestling history could ever say that?”
Out of everything he is currently doing, however, there is nothing more important to him than taking Pentagon’s mask at Slammiversary.
“I’m starting a revolution, I’m changing wrestling from the inside out.” – Sami Callihan
Mask vs Hair Match
Sami Callihan vs Pentagon Jr.
Slammiversary
July 22nd, 2018
Callihan didn’t mince words when talking about his plans for Slammiversary. “Slammiversary I’m going to take Pentagon’s mask once and for all,” Callihan said. “A lot of people outside of Impact’s world don’t realize that me, Pentagon, Fenix, Dave & Jake (Crist, oVe) we’ve been doing this for years all over the world. Now, we get a chance to do it on national television, on live pay-per-view and there’s nothing that’s going to stop me from taking his mask once and for all.”
“(Pentagon) may have the rest of the wrestling world fooled that he’s some undead Mexican Zombie but I know his secret. He is just a really good professional wrestler that wears a mask. I’m going to take that ask from him and he’s not going to be special anymore.”
Should Callihan lose at Slammiversary, however, he’ll have his head shaved bald. In the past, having their heads shaved has caused many wrestlers to spiral into madness. We asked Sami if he was worried that this could be his fate at Slammiversary.
“Well, I’m not going to have my head shaved, that’s the point,” Callihan said. “I’m going to beat Pentagon, I’m going to take his mask. Then I’m going to parade all around the world wearing it. Maybe I’ll become Pentagon. I don’t know if you saw TV a couple of weeks ago (it was last week), I wore his entire outfit and at this point, I’m pretty sure I make a better Pentagon than he does.”
Impact Wrestling is back tonight with an episode taped from Windsor, ON, Canada. It will be the second last show before Slammiversary on July 22nd, 2018.
The OGZ (King, Homicide & Hernandez) Kick Off Impact
The first segment for this week is scheduled to be King, Homicide, and Hernandez.
Last week’s episode concluded with LAX in tatters due to a civil war. King admitted being behind the hit on Konnan. He attempted to recruit Santana and Ortiz but when that didn’t work, Homicide and Hernandez took them out.
We still don’t have an Impact tag-team championship match at Slammiversary. Perhaps we could see King’s OGZ challenge Konnan’s LAX for the straps.
Austin Aries Speaks The Truth
In the build-up to Austin Aries vs Moose at Slammiversary, it’s been a war of words.
Aries went on vacation shortly after winning the title back from Pentagon but tonight he will have a chance to say whatever he wants to his upcoming challenger.
Aries has been criticizing Moose for being a failed football player trying a second career.
Moose, on the other hand, says he left the NFL for pro-wrestling and is here to chase a dream.
DeAngelo Williams Returns To Impact
DeAngelo Williams will return to Impact Wrestling tonight. He’s been helping Moose train for his World Title match and will likely have plenty to say regarding his chances against Austin Aries.
Allie In Single’s Action
Allie is back and she’ll be involved in a single’s match tonight against an as of yet unnamed opponent.
This is a new version of Allie, however, one that is a little darker and not quite as bubbly as before. She’ll need that new attitude too as she has a potential new rival waiting in the wings.
Last week, Tessa Blanchard interfered in Allie’s match in which she was teaming with Madison Rayne and facing Su Yung and one of her undead brides. Blanchard wanted at Rayne because of the two straight upset losses Rayne has handed her lately. Perhaps Allie and Blanchard are on a collision course.
Madison Rayne Sit-Down Interview
In just 10 days, Madison Rayne will go one-on-one with Su Yung. Tonight, she takes part in a sit-down interview to discuss her career, Slammiversary, and, of course, her opponent on that night, Su Yung.
Pentagon, Fenix, and Rich Swann vs Sami Callihan and oVe
Callihan has promised that during this match not only will he take Pentagon and Fenix’s masks but he plans to rip off Rich Swann’s face!
We will get a build-up to the Mask vs Hair match between Pentagon and Callihan here.
While Fenix and Rich Swann are on the same side in this match, they will be opponents at Slammiversary. They are two of the four competitors (along with Taiji Ishimori and Johnny Impact) involved in the fatal 4-way match.
Impact Wrestling has locked up Tessa Blanchard to a multi-year contract. The 22-year-old prospect started with the company earlier this year but had yet to sign a long-term contract.
Impact Wresting announced the signing earlier today on Twitter.
BREAKING: @Tess_Blanchard will continue to prove she's undeniable in the Knockouts Division as she has signed a long-term contract with IMPACT Wrestling. pic.twitter.com/3SWenkIJyG
Blanchard started with Impact in April this year. She first appeared on the Redemption pay-per-view at the commentary booth while Kiera Hogan wrestled Taya Valkyrie. Over the next few days of tapings, she would defeat Hogan twice.
Blanchard looked as though she would skyrocket to the top of the Knockouts division upon her debut but she dropped two matches to Madison Rayne, knocking her out of title contention. Rayne used pinning combinations to score victories over the stronger Blanchard in each match. Now it will be Madison Rayne, and not Blanchard, who will challenge for the Knockouts Championship at the pay-per-view.
Blanchard attempted to get revenge on Rayne for the two losses last week on Impact. She interfered during Rayne’s tag-team match against Su Yung and one of her undead brides. Rayne’s tag-team partner last week, Allie, fought off Blanchard, however, allowing Rayne to pick up the win for their team over Yung’s undead bride.
Although not confirmed, Blancard and Allie could be on a collision course. Considering they are likely two of the top-ranked Knockouts in the division, a match between them could be scheduled for Slammiversary. Neither has a match booked for the pay-per-view as of yet.
Blanchard also regularly competes for organizations such as RISE, Shimmer, Bar Wrestling, and WOW. Impact is currently touting flexible contracts for their talent, which likely means Blanchard will be free to compete for other promotions while signed to Impact provided they don’t interfere with Impact taping and pay-per-view dates.
Impact Wrestling last night was a taped show from Windsor, ON, Canada. This was the second show to air from the tapings held there last month.
After tonight’s episode, there will just be two more weeks until Slammiversary and the final card for the event is becoming solidified.
Impact Wrestling July 5th, 2018 St. Clair College Windsor, ON, Canada
Here are the top 7 takeaways from Impact Wrestling this week:
LAX Civil War!
Bullet Club isn’t the only faction imploding this summer. A leadership issue has also torn apart Konnan, King, and LAX.
Previously, Konnan returned to the group and told Ortiz and Santana he has proof that it was King who put the hit out on him all along. Konnan’s proof was only to dispute a series of phone calls from when he was in the hospital but King confessed all the same.
Santana and Ortiz were given the chance to go with either King or Konnan and they chose Konnan. This brought out Homicide and Hernandez who took out Konnan, Santana, and Ortiz. King’s LAX then stood tall to end the show.
It’s possible we get Konnan’s LAX (Santana and Ortiz) defending the Impact tag-team championships against King’s LAX (Hernandez and Homicide) at Slammiversary.
On a recent episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer mentioned that fans have been writing in to tell him about how good this match was live. Impact mentioned this on Twitter recently in an effort to promote the show.
This match received the treble of approving chants from the live crowd: “This is Awesome!” “Both these guys!” and “Fight Forever!”. Some streamers were even thrown.
After the match, oVe came out to attack Fenix. It looked as though Pentagon had made the save but then he kicked Fenix in the groin and revealed it was just Sami Callihan in a mask.
The real Pentagon came out to make the save (as did Swann) setting up our main event for next week: Sami Callihan & oVe vs. Fenix, Pentagon, and Rich Swann.
Don Callis Signs Killer Kross
One of the best parts about having Don Callis on commentary is he can give explanations as to why Impact management would do something. Such was the case this week when Callis explained why Impact signed Killer Kross after he spent several weeks assaulting people in the back (while seemingly pretending to be a security guard).
Callis explained that when they discovered Kross was the person who had been attacking people, he looked him up. Turns out Kross has a background in bare-knuckled boxing and had pro-wrestling training. Callis continued to explain that the nature of the wrestling business allows for him to sign Kross to a contract in response to his unprovoked assaults rather than say pressing criminal charges.
Kross defeated Fallah Bah in easy fashion this week. He choked out Bah and then did the same to KM after the match.
The Undead Brides Can Wrestle
We saw one of Su Yung’s undead brides wrestle this week, confirming they are able to do so. Undead Bride #1 teamed with Su Yung to take on the team of Allie and Madison Rayne.
In an interview earlier in the evening, Rayne said she was looking to Allie for guidance for when she takes on Su Yung at Slammiversary. Allie has been down some dark paths with her feuds with Rosemary (plus she was locked in a coffin a few weeks ago by Yung) and so has advice she can pass down to Rayne.
Madison Rayne picked up the win for her team in this match with the “Cross Rayne” on the undead bride.
During the match, Tessa Blanchard hit the ring looking to get revenge on Rayne. Blanchard has dropped two straight matches to Rayne via pinning combination. Allie took out Blanchard, however, possibly setting up an angle between the two of them. It’s possible we get Allie vs Blanchard at Slammiversary.
Is Brian Cage The Future of the X-Division?
The X-Division isn’t about weight limits, it’s about no limits. This vague yet somehow also descriptive explanation for the X-Division has been given since its inception. In a sense, it is meant to say the action in the X-Division is innovative, athletic, and boundary-pushing. Nobody epitomizes that more than Brian Cage.
Cage defeated Kongo Kong last night, moving a step forward to receiving another shot at Matt Sydal and the X-Division championship. On a previous episode, Sydal defeated Cage via count-out after Kongo interfered.
Sydal appeared to strike some deal with Jimmy Jacobs to have Kongo take out Cage but the plan doesn’t appear to have worked.
Shortly after the conclusion of last night’s episode, it was revealed that Cage will receive another shot at the X-Division title at Slammiversary. Will the Machine take the title from Sydal? If so, just how dominant can Cage be in this division?
Eddie Edwards’ feud with Sami Callihan caused him to spiral to a dark place. Tommy Dreamer, who saw his own career impacted by a similar obsession with Raven, tried to help Edwards. In response, however, Edwards’ delusions convinced him that Dreamer was involved with his wife.
Last week on Impact, Edwards traveled to Philadelphia and confronted Dreamer at a House of Hardcore show. He caned Dreamer in the head and busted him open. This week, Dreamer cut a fiery promo on how Edwards is obsessed with Sami Callihan but now Dreamer is obsessed with Edwards.
It was also revealed that Tommy Dreamer and Eddie Edwards will face each other in a House of Hardcore match at Slammiversary.
The build-up to Moose vs Austin Aries at Slammiversary has been done through sit-down interviews. Aries claims that Moose is a failed football player trying out a new career whereas Aries is a wrestler and has always been a wrestler.
Moose, however, says he left football for wrestling. Not only that, he says he left a lot of money on the table in the NFL and even took a shot at his ex-wife for not supporting him when he decided to leave football for wrestling. Moose did mention, however, that unlike his ex-wife, his mother was supportive of his decision to chase his wrestling dream.
Aries got in the line of the night this week when he told Moose after he beats him at Slammiversary, he’d better hope the XFL is hiring.
A couple of other notes from Impact Wrestling:
The Great Gama Singh is running the Desi Hit Squad through several old-school drills.
Joe Hendry arrived in a backstage segment with Grado.
Konnan was able to lead the crowd in a “Gloryhole” chant during his segment with King and LAX
Katarina defeated Rebel
A new Knockout will debut shortly
Quick Results:
Fenix defeated Rich Swann
Killer Kross defeated Fallah Bah
Madison Rayne & Allie defeated Su Yung & an Undead Bride
Katarina defeated Rebel
Brian Cage defeated Kongo Kong
Updated Slammiversary Card
Mask vs Hair
Pentagon Jr vs Sami Callihan
Impact World Championship
Austin Aries (c) vs Moose
X-Division Championship
Matt Sydal (c) vs Brian Cage
Knockouts Championship
Su Yung (c) vs Madison Rayne
House of Hardcore Match
Tommy Dreamer vs Eddie Edwards
Taiji Ishimori vs Johnny Impact vs Rich Swann vs Fenix
Two new matches have been revealed for the upcoming Slammiversary PPV event.
As seen on this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV, the promotion officially announced that Impact X Division Champion Matt Sydal will defend his title against Brian Cage and Tommy Dreamer and Eddie Edwards will meet in a House of Hardcore match at this event.
BREAKING: It is official. @THETOMMYDREAMER will face @TheEddieEdwards in a House of Hardcore match at Slammiversary on July 22nd in Toronto. This will be deeply personal.
Impact will present Slammiversary live on pay-per-view on Sunday, July 22nd from the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto, Canada. Here is the updated card for the show:
Sami Callihan has called out the entire Ring of Honor roster. The Impact Wrestling star who will meet Pentagon in a Mask vs Hair match at Slammiversary sent out the following video message directed to the ROH roster:
Last year, Jericho announced that Ring of Honor would be part of his cruise. After his longtime friend, Don Callis, took over Impact Wrestling at the end of 2017, however, Jericho announced his promotion will be on the tour as well.
Jericho revealed the first round matchups for the Sea of Honor tournament earlier this summer.
Retired NFL running back DeAngelo Williams is making a return to Impact Wrestling.
Impact Wrestling made the news official after TMZ Sports ran a story about it. He will appear on the July 12th episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV in Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
As of this writing, the promotion didn’t elaborate on the plans for Williams when he arrives. They did tease that DeAngelo had been training extensively with Moose as he gets ready for his upcoming World Title match against Austin Aries in the main event of the upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view event.
This show is slated to take place on Sunday, July 22, 2018 from the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto, Canada.
If you recall, Williams teamed with Moose to defeat Chris Adonis and Eli Drake at Slammiversary XV in July 2017.
What are your thoughts on Williams appearing on Impact Wrestling? Sound off in the comment section.
Last October, Jimmy Jacobs was fired from the WWE creative team. While multiple reasons have been given for Jacobs’ release, a selfie he took with members of Bullet Club during their “invasion” of Raw is largely believed to have been the catalyst.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BZfAy54Ancl/
Many felt Jacobs would sign with Ring of Honor and begin working with Bullet Club following his WWE release. After all, there was a built-in storyline regarding Jacobs being fired from WWE for his association with the faction.
Instead, Jacobs chose to sign with Impact Wrestling. He’s been working as the manager of Kongo Kong and serving as a producer backstage.
Jimmy Jacobs on Impact Wrestling
Jacobs recently gave an interview to Vulture Hound in the UK and spoke about how he has been enjoying his time with Impact.
“I really enjoy working with Impact,” Jacobs said. “I feel like with Impact right now, I get all the upside, I get the chance to help create, I get the chance to help out talents. Having the opportunity to have somebody like me for talents, like Tessa Blanchard who has a lot of potentials and is awesome in the ring.”
Jacobs has returned to in-ring work as well since leaving WWE. In fact, he recently defeated Joey Ryan on June 28th, 2018 for Bar Wrestling in Los Angeles.
Jacobs doesn’t believe he’ll step inside the Impact ring, however. “As far as wrestling with Impact goes,” Jacobs continued. “I don’t see that happening right now, it’s not especially completely off the table but what I do at the shows, producing the shows, honestly it’s a lot.”
Jacobs also mentioned Matt Sydal as someone who he has particularly enjoyed working with recently. On the latest episode of Impact Wrestling, we saw Sydal and Jimmy Jacobs possibly align with each other due to their mutual disdain for Brian Cage.
“Matt Sydal has been one thing his whole career,” Jacobs said. “It’s been great, being a sort of babyface that can have great matches, who doesn’t talk much, being a good wrestler and doing high-flying stuff. That’s been him his whole career and, a few months back, we took a chance on him when we said: “hey I think there’s something more.” We capitalized on what he’s in real life, with him being kind of spiritual and holistic and those sort of things.”
Jimmy Jacobs Speaks to the Irish Mirror
Last month, Jacobs spoke to the Irish Mirror in the UK. The conversation focussed on his time in WWE and his new role with Impact Wrestling
“Going to WWE and working there in the capacity that I did was a blessing,” Jacobs said. “It was great to be there, but that being said it’s great to not be working there anymore.”
“I spent so long on the independent wrestling scene, but sometimes it’s like the cliche goes ‘you don’t know what you have until it’s gone,'” he continued. “I’m very excited to be working in Impact Wrestling and using some of the things I picked up in my last job to help out here.”
Don Callis is believed to have played a key role in organizing the Chris Jericho vs Kenny Omega match at the Tokyo Dome this year. All three are from Winnipeg and Callis also has his own podcast through the Chris Jericho podcast network.
At the Slammiversary press conference in Toronto recently, Callis indicated to me he’d love to bring Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling. “There’s a young Canadian kid I like, we’d love to sign him, his name is Kenny Omega,” Callis said. “Another is Chris Jericho.”
Callis recently doubled-down on his comments during his appearance on Jim Ross’ podcast.
Don Callis On Jim Ross Podcast
Callis explained his history with Omega. “I’ve been on this journey with Kenny Omega since he was a 16-year-old kid who I booked,” Callis explained.
“I gave him his first break wrestling for the promotion I had in Winnipeg [Canada]. And his uncle, The Golden Sheik, who was an indie wrestler in Winnipeg helped train me in the [pro wrestling] business in 1989, so my roots with Kenny go back many years. I’ve been on this journey with him, and specifically since I’ve been in New Japan and we have a very close relationship. We talk about ideas, we do things, I helped put together the match between him and Chris [Jericho] for the Tokyo Dome.”
Callis On Omega and Jericho to Impact Wrestling
Callis continued to say the chances of Omega and Jericho appearing in an Impact Wrestling ring are less remote than they seemed not too long ago.
“I kind of say, ‘never say ‘never” and I think that one of the things that we’ve been doing under Ed Nordholm here at Impact is breaking some longstanding paradigms of pro wrestling,” Callis said.
“The intellectual property stuff that we’ve talked about before, but also we’ve been working with multiple people now and now recently announced by Chris Jericho and I know [Ross] will be on that cruise, so that’ll be cool, get to have a beer together. It’s going to be Impact and Ring Of Honor on the same cruise ship, so there’s some stuff that’s probably going to happen and I don’t think you can have those talents in a closed environment like that, so we are working, in a sense if you take that, with Ring Of Honor right now.
We’ve got Taiji Ishimori coming in for our pay-per-view and our TV in July. The Bone Soldier just started with New Japan, so we’ll see what happens. How many people would’ve thought that Chris Jericho would’ve headlined the Tokyo Dome with New Japan Pro-Wrestling? I was so sheepish when I pitched it to him because he always told me, ‘I will never work for anyone except Vince McMahon and I have a deep respect for Vince.’ Obviously, he took Vince into consideration. Vince is the first guy he told about it. Nevertheless, it shocked me that Chris was on a New Japan show, so I’ve learned to say, ‘never say ‘never” in this business.”
This week’s Impact Wrestling was the first to broadcast from Windsor, ON, Canada. The promotion continues to build toward their Slammiversary PPV on July 22nd from Toronto’s Rebel nightclub.
This week’s episode confirmed two new matches added to the card and built towards several others. This article breaks down the top 6 developments in Impact Wrestling from this week’s episode.
We’ll start things out with the LAX storyline, where Konnan has returned to confront King (aka Eddie Kingston). King took over a leadership position with the faction due to Konnan and Homicide’s absence.
Konnan Confronts King
“All warfare is predicated on deception. You think you’re playing me, I’m playing you” – Konnan to King
LAX may have won back the tag-team championships with King at their side but now that Konnan has returned things could get interesting. Konnan confronted King this week. He told LAX that King can’t be trusted as well. From Ortiz and Santana’s point of view, however, King has turned things around for the faction.
Diamante has already expressed concern that King has ulterior motives. Konnan says he has proof King can’t be trusted and he’ll reveal it shortly.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twba5ieaEB4
Brian Cage Is Targetting Matt Sydal But Kongo Kong Is Targetting Him
Last week on Impact, Sydal defeated Cage via count-out after interference from Kongo Kong and Jimmy Jacobs. It’s clear Cage still has Sydal and the X-Division title in his sights, however.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue86JXlRo2E
This week on Impact, Sydal defeated Dezmond Xavier in a non-title match. After the match, Cage came down to ringside to confront Sydal. This brought out Kongo Kong and Jacobs who attacked Cage before he could get to the champion.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jutIGsxA0cA
If Cage wants another shot at Sydal’s title, it looks as though he will have to go through Kongo Kong first. The machine will meet Jimmy Jacobs’ monster in single’s action next week.
If Cage gets through Kong, he could be granted another shot at Sydal. The match would likely be scheduled for Slammiversary.
Eddie Edwards Has Made An Enemy of Tommy Dreamer
Eddie Edwards is moving on from his rivalry with Sami Callihan. The feud with Sami seems to have sent Edwards spiraling to a dark place. Tommy Dreamer attempted to help him but Edwards is too far gone and now sees Dreamer as an enemy. In fact, Edwards’ delusions have grown so intense, he’s begun to believe Dreamer is involved with his wife.
This week on Impact, Edwards traveled to Philadelphia to confront Dreamer at a House of Hardcore show. He interfered in Dreamer’s match, caning him on the head with a kendo stick.
Madison Rayne opened up this week’s show and spoke on why she’s returning to the ring. She was interrupted by Tessa Blanchard, however. The two would meet later in the night in the main event.
On a previous episode of Impact, Rayne defeated Blanchard with a pinning combination. Many called the win an upset. She’d defeat Blanchard again tonight, however. This time she used a crucifix combination to get the win.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAFnQuf4zKg
Blanchard beat down Rayne after the match but was interrupted by Su Yung and her army of Zombie brides. The brides and Yung surrounded Raye after Blanchard made a timely escape.
Just when it looked like Yung was going to give Rayne her finisher, Allie returned and broke up the macabre scene.
Rich Swann Has Arrived in the X-Division
Rich Swann defeated Trevor Lee this week on Impact. It was just Swann’s second match for the promotion after having lost to Austin Aries at the Zero Fear PPV show.
We asked Swann earlier this week what competing in the X-Division means to him.
“Oh man, I was such a fan,” Swann said of the early days of the X-Division. “Seeing guys like Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal.”
“Growing up aspiring to be a professional wrestler my size and stature that was one of my goals, if not the goal, to be in the X-Division to be in Impact, to get the X-Division championship,” he continued.
After Swann defeated Trevor Lee, it was revealed he will take on Fenix next week. Later in the show, it was revealed Swann will be part of a 4-way match at Slammiversary. His opponents will be Johnny Impact, Taiji Ishimori, and Fenix.
Sami Callihan vs Pentagon Jr Mask Vs Hair
Last week on Impact, oVe took on Pentagon and Fantasma. Callihan took it upon himself to interfere in the match and hit Pentagon in the head with his signature baseball bat.
This week on Impact, we traveled to a PCW Ultra show in Los Angeles, where Callihan attacked Pentagon. Along with the Crist brothers, Callihan unmasked Pentagon.
Later in the show, Pentagon would issue a challenge to Callihan for a Mask vs Hair match at Slammiversary.
Two new matches have been revealed for the upcoming Slammiversary PPV event. As seen on this week’s episode of Impact Wrestling on Pop TV, Pentagon Jr. challenged Sami Callihan to a Mask vs. Hair match at Slammiversary after Callihan removed his mask on this show only to have Pentagon cover up his face immediately after.
The other match slated for this PPV is Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact vs. Fenix vs. Ishimori in a Fatal 4-Way.
Impact will present Slammiversary live on pay-per-view on Sunday, July 22nd from the Rebel Entertainment Complex in Toronto, Canada. Here is the updated card for the show:
– Impact World Champion Austin Aries vs. Moose
– Impact Knockouts Champion Su Yung vs. Madison Rayne
– Mask vs. Hair: Pentagon Jr. vs. Sami Callihan
– Fatal 4-Way Match: Rich Swann vs. Johnny Impact vs. Fenix vs. Ishimori
Tonight’s episode of Impact Wrestling will be the first from the company’s television tapings in Windsor, ON, Canada earlier this month. The city is home to Scott D’Amore’s Border City Wrestling.
Not every segment will be from Windsor tonight, however. Eddie Edwards will travel to Philadelphia and confront Tommy Dreamer. The segment was filmed at a recent House of Hardcore show from the 2300 Arena. There will also be a match on tonight’s show which was filmed at a PCW show from Los Angeles.
Tonight’s show will continue the build to Slammiversary on July 22nd from the Rebel nightclub in Toronto, ON, Canada.
Sami Callihan has said he wants to take Pentagon’s mask. If his feud with Eddie Edwards is any indication, it’s clear Callihan will go to great lengths to do damage to his rivals.
Last week, Callihan took a bat to Pentagon following a brawl after oVe took on Pentagon and Fantasma.
This could be the beginning of a feud which will carry over until Slammiversary.
2) Matt Sydal vs Dezmond Xavier
It looks as though this will be a non-title match. You can bet if Xavier is able to defeat the champion tonight it will put him in line for an X-Division title match, however.
Speaking of the X-Division, we still don’t know who the champion’s challenger will be at Slammiversary. Xavier is likely hoping he can improve his chances of earning a title shot tonight.
3) Rich Swann vs Trevor Lee
X-Division champion, Matt Sydal, Tweeted out that he will be keeping his 3rd eye fixed on this match. It will be Swann’s second match for the promotion after wrestling Austin Aries at the recent One Night Only PPV, Zero Fear, from Mississauga, ON, Canada.
Trevor Lee’s “Cult of Lee” tag-team has hit a rough patch as of late. He might be thinking it’s time for him to climb back up the single’s rankings.
Rich Swann will take on Trevor Lee tomorrow night on Impact Wrestling. Many feel the 27-year-old’s style is a perfect fit for the promotion’s X-Division. He was given an opportunity to show what he can do at Impact’s recent television tapings in Windsor, ON, Canada.
Additionally, Swann wrestled Austin Aries for the Impact World championship at the One Night Only pay-per-view, Zero Fear. He can also be seen on Major League Wrestling’s show on BeIN Sports, Fusion.
Swann recently answered questions from the media as part of Impact Wrestling’s teleconference call.
“Oh man, I was such a fan,” Swann said of the early days of the X-Division. “Seeing guys like Frankie Kazarian, Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Sonjay Dutt, Jay Lethal.”
Swann would also specifically mention AJ Styles as someone he enjoyed watching during this period of the X-Division.
“At that point in time in professional wrestling, there was only one company,” Swann continued. “Then to see these guys kind of throw out this style, this cruiserweight style, this style that had kind of been forgotten about thrown out and abandoned, and put it on TV, it mesmerized me.”
Swann emphasized that he was influenced by the X-Division style growing up. Winning X-Division gold was something he dreamed of as he aspired to be a pro-wrestler.
“Growing up aspiring to be a professional wrestler my size and stature that was one of my goals, if not the goal, to be in the X-Division to be in Impact, to get the X-Division championship.”
The X-Division roster is pretty stacked these days, so Swann will have no easy climb to the top. Current champion, Matt Sydal, recently Tweeted that he will be keeping his 3rd eye fixed on Swann’s match with Lee tomorrow night.
“That’s a dream right there for me,” Swann said in reference to competing in the X-Division. “That means the world.”
What’s Up With Rich Swann’s Hair These Days?
Swann’s recent haircut was addressed on the conference call as well. He stated the haircut is an homage to Minoru Suzuki. The “Beautiful Sadist” and leader of Suzuki-Gun often shaves designs into the top of his head and leaves the back longer than the top.
Rich Swann and Su Yung Moving Forward, Focussed on Positivity
“My wife and I are living a happy life,” Swann said on today’s conference call. “We would like to forget about the past and focus on the present and our future and focus on positivity.”
Impact Wrestling Vice President, Don Callis, addressed Swann’s hiring on an earlier conference call. He stated unequivocally that after speaking with Su Yung, Impact management (Scott D’Amore, Ed Nordholm, and Don Callis) made the decision on the spot to give Swann a chance in Impact Wrestling.
“(Su Yung) explained the situation to us and what happened and it was decided there and then between the three of us” – Don Callis
Yung and Swann are moving forward, focussed on the future, and focussed on Impact Wrestling.