Slammiversary IX took place on June 12, 2011 at the Impact Wrestling Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the seventh Slammiversary PPV and celebrated the nine years of TNA Wrestling.
The main event of Slammiversary IX was a little different to previous years, rather than have a King of the Mountain match (that was scrapped in 2009) or have a TNA World Heavyweight Championship match (like last year), TNA had a number one contender’s match between Jeff Jarrett and Kurt Angle, but it’s safe to say that this match had nothing to do with the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.
The Jarrett/Angle feud was based around very real events. Karen Jarrett was the catalyst in this feud after her marriage to Kurt Angle broke down and, very soon after, she was romantically involved with, and later married, Jarrett.
Slammiversary IX opened with a match for the TNA Tag Team Championship. Gun Money (James Storm and Alex Shelley) (C) (with Bobby Roode) vs The British Invasion (Douglas Williams and Magnus). The team of Gun Money, a combination of Motor City Machine Guns and Beer Money Inc came about after Robert Roode’s shoulder injury at the hands of Immortal, so Beer Money couldn’t defend their Tag Team Championship. However, Alex Shelley, whose partner Chris Sabin was injured at the hands of Mexican America, was given permission by The Network to defend the tag titles for Roode, along with James Storm, so Beer Money could keep their gold. And that they did with Gun Money getting the win over The British Invasion.
Next up was Matt Morgan vs. Scott Steiner. This match was all about dominance, which is more dominant. And in the end it was Morgan that proved he was more ‘genetically jacked’ than ‘Big Poppa Pump’ Scott Steiner.
Next was the second title match of the evening, and was for the X Division Championship. It saw Abyss defend his belt in a triple threat match against Kazarian and Brian Kendrick. Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan decided to try to rid TNA of their legendary X Division to rebel against the overbearing “Network” aka Spike, who felt they were overstepping their boundaries in terms of power. Bischoff decided to try to get an Immortal member to win the TNA X Division Championship, so he booked Abyss against Kazarian, and Abyss ended up winning. A number one contender’s match with Kazarian and Kendrick ended in a time limit, so with some ‘genital’ persuasion to Abyss from Kazarian and Kendrick involving Abyss’s beloved ‘Janice’ weapon, the match was made for Slammiversary IX. After a hard fought match to try and get the X Division Championship back into the hands of an X Division star, Kaz and Kendrick fell short and Abyss picked up the victory.
Next was the undefeated rookie Crimson vs Samoa Joe. After Joe attacked Crimson’s older brother Amazing Red, Crimson confronted Joe. After the two started brawling the match was made. I’m sure that if you are reading this and still watch Impact Wrestling you’ll know that Crimson is still undefeated after over a year of being on the TNA roster, so I don’t need to tell you that it was Crimson who picked up the victory.
Then was the third title match of the evening for the TNA Knockouts Championship. Mickie James vs Angelina Love (with Winter). This match was made after James had a match with Winter and accidentally busted her open, Love attacked James and the title match was made. Even with Winter in Love’s corner, she still couldn’t get the victory over James who retained her Knockouts Championship. In these matches, there are possibilities for the participants to come across fatal injuries like severe brain injuries. In such cases, you can take an attorneys help for TBI, who will give you expert consultation and help you get the compensation for the damages caused.
Next up and maybe one of the most physical matches of the night was Bully Ray vs AJ Styles in a Last Man Standing match. After Ray powerbombed Styles off the stage through a table and injured his neck, Styles was out of action, only to return at Lockdown to cost Immortal and more importantly Ray their Lethal Lockdown match against AJ’s Fortune. The pair had been feuding for a few weeks until the match was made. The things Styles does in this match are incredible. His dive off the stage is something that needs to be seen and not read about, and his splash off the third rung of scaffolding putting Ray through a table is the same. But after all that Styles did to Ray, it was a well-placed kick that drove A.J’s head through the staging which ensured that Ray answered the ten count and picked up the victory.
Next up was the TNA World Heavyweight Championship match with Sting defending against Mr Anderson. Anderson had been trying to get into Sting’s head for weeks before their match at Slammiversary. Anderson had been coming down to the ring in old Sting ring gear and face paint. He had also brought out a former rival of Sting’s (Disco Inferno) to the Impact Zone, just to beat him down. Anderson even had Eric Young dress as The Great Muta to recreate a classic match between him and Sting. In the end, it worked as Sting snapped and covered Anderson’s face with paint. After a pretty solid back and forth match, it was Anderson who picked up the victory and became the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion.
Finally was the main event of the evening. Jeff Jarrett vs Kurt Angle in a number one contenders match for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. As I said earlier, this match was not about the TNA Heavyweight Championship and to say this was personal would be an understatement. On an Impact taping before the PPV, Jarrett stated that he wanted the match to be for Angle’s Olympic Gold Medal, as he had ‘already taken everything else, including his wife and kids’. It was then that the match was also turned into a number one contender’s match. After an altercation between Angle and his ex-wife Karen, Karen fell down some stairs and was therefore unable to accompany Jarrett to the ring. It would be the first one-on-one match between them without interference from Karen Jarrett.
To say this was a great match is an understatement. Angle and Jarrett are both great in the ring and when they wrestle each other it’s truly amazing to watch. When you add the personal aspect to the match, you could tell that they both brought everything they had. It is a true testament to just how professional both Angle and Jarrett are, to have all the personal animosity towards someone who was the reason for your marriage breaking down and put on an amazing match with no attempt to injure them. I honestly believe that this match is one of their best, and could very well be one of TNA’s greatest matches of all-time.
Hope you enjoyed reading and watching! Leave me a comment, tell me your thoughts and check back tomorrow for some Slammiversary X predictions.
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