Impact Wrestling held its 2020 Slammiversary pay-per-view in July, and it was a perfectly timed event. This was not because Impact planned it to be at the perfect time, but it seemed that fate shined on the company, as the event happened the weekend after the non-compete clauses of several released WWE superstars expired. It was just a perfect storm.
Impact Wrestling did a lot of good things at the PPV and made sure that it was must-watch television by promising surprises, hinting at several of the released WWE superstars showing up. Some of the surprises hit big, and some of them fell flat. But, at the end of the day, Slammiversary 2020 was a success. Here are the five best moments of the show and five moments that fell short.
10 Great: Motor City Machine Guns Return
The biggest surprise of the entire night at Slammiversary happened in the opening match of the show. The Rascalz had made an open challenge, and everyone expected Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson to answer the call. However, that is not what happened, though what happened was even better. The Motor City Machine Guns made their Impact Wrestling return, beat The Rascalz, and, three nights later, won the tag team titles from The North on television.
9 Mistake: No EC3 Return
EC3 was a major star in Impact Wrestling. He came in with a silly gimmick, but he made it his own, cementing his name as one of the biggest stars in the company. When Impact was in a period of significant upheaval, EC3 went to WWE to try to fulfill his dream there, and WWE dropped the ball in a big way.
Now, EC3 is back in Impact Wrestling, and all he did at the biggest PPV of the year was have a video promo at the very end. Fans tuning in to see the return of EC3 left disappointed.
8 Great: Deonna Purrazzo
Much like EC3, Deonna Purrazzo is someone that WWE dropped the ball with. Now, there are only a few spots for top women wrestlers in WWE, but Purrazzo proved time and time again that she could hang with the best of them. With Becky Lynch pregnant and Charlotte Flair out after surgery, there is an opening. However, WWE let Purrazzo walk, and now she is the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Champion, and she deserves it completely.
7 Mistake: Knockouts Gauntlet
This is not a knock against Kylie Rae, the woman who won the match and is the new number one contender for the Impact Wrestling Knockouts Championship. If anything, this gauntlet match proved there are plenty of great wrestlers in the Impact women's division, and Rae is one of them.
The problem here is that the Gauntlet Match was not entertaining at all. It was jumbled, had little rhyme or reason, had several moments that fans expected to see not happen, and just seemed to add too much comedy for a match for a chance for a title shot. It was a low point on an otherwise excellent show.
6 Great: Chris Bey
Willie Mack is great. There is no doubt about that. He was a great X-Division Champion and is someone who should always be in a prominent role on TV. However, it was time for a title change, and Chris Bey is going to be a great X-Division Champion. The fact that he won it clean, without help from Johnny Swinger, was perfect, and the reign of Bey was something that Impact Wrestling fans have been waiting on. This was another well-deserved title change.
5 Mistake: Rich Swann Return
Leading into Slammiversary 2002, there was an open spot in the Impact World Championship match, vacated by the released Tessa Blanchard. This was a four-way match, and only three names were known. Everyone believed that it was going to be one of the released WWE superstars, with most hoping for EC3. As previously mentioned, EC3 didn't even show up at Slammiversary.
Most disappointing was the mystery wrestler was Rich Swann, returning from injury. Now, Swann is great, but this moment would have seen him booed out of the building if there were fans and did nothing to help him in his return to Impact Wrestling.
4 Great: Eric Young Return
The good news is that, while the fans would almost surely have booed Rich Swann when he came out as the mystery opponent, they would have popped huge for what happened next. Eric Young showed up in Impact Wrestling and made his way down to the ring.
Young is a former Impact Wrestling World Champion and is a TNA Original. After WWE dropped the ball with Young, TNA fans want to see him back and winning again. Young was a welcome return and salvaged the Swann misstep.
3 Mistake: Heath
One of the biggest complaints from most of the released WWE wrestlers is that they were treated like a joke and an afterthought in WWE. There is no one this applies to more than Heath Slater. He is very talented and isn't that bad on the mic.
However, Heath showed up at Slammiversary, proved he could hold his own in the ring, and then got thrown out of the building? His next appearance on TV saw him trying to get into the building, making it look like he is back to playing a comedy sideshow, just like he was in WWE.
2 Great: Eddie Edwards
While a lot of people online speculated that EC3 would return and retake the Impact Wrestling World Championship and start his rehabilitation from WWE, that would have been a mistake. EC3 has said that two men stand at the top for sticking with Impact through the bad times, and those men are Moose and Eddie Edwards. Edwards is a deserving man who never left or turned his back on the company, and he is a worthy champion in the ring, as well.
1 Mistake: Good Brothers
The two wrestlers who announced they signed with Impact Wrestling before Slammiversary ever happened was Luke Gallows and Karl Anderson. They revealed it online and talked about choosing Impact while also being able to return to New Japan when international travel makes it possible again.
However, they were barely used at Slammiversary, coming in to save Eddie Edwards at the end, and celebrating with him to end the show. It seemed like a wasted opportunity.