TNA Slammiversary was one for the history books. Four new champions were crowned, including in the main event match for the TNA World Championship. It was a spectacular 30-minute match between 6 of the top superstars in TNA. The match was a 6-way elimination match for Moose’s championship.
The challengers included former TNA Champions Steve Maclin and Josh Alexander, as well as Frankie Kazarian, Nic Nemeth, and Joe Hendry. At the end of the match, we crowned a new TNA World Champion, Nic Nemeth.
Although it was a fantastic match and a great outcome, let’s talk about some of the pros and cons of the main event of Slammiversary 2024.
Pro: All 6 Participants Shined in the Main Event
Let’s start with the showings of the six participants in the All-Star main event. All six superstars shined in this match. At any moment, any of these superstars made a compelling argument for winning the match. TNA picked the perfect six competitors to showcase for their biggest Premium Live Event of the Summer. If any of them walked out as champions, it would have made perfect sense.
Steve Maclin was the first eliminated in the match after a brutal spear by Moose. Then, the shocker was that Moose was the second person eliminated by the Standing Ovation of Joe Hendry.
Hendry was the third out by Josh Alexander, who turned heel in the process. Alexander would be caught off guard by a super kick by Nic Nemeth, eliminating Alexander in the process. The final two were Nic Nemeth and Frankie Kazarian, and Nemeth came out on top with the Danger Zone. Nic Nemeth became TNA World Champion at TNA Slammiversary.
With so much talent in the main event of TNA Slammiversary, it was hard to predict who would come out on top as champion. Nemeth is the most accomplished superstar of the six, so it made sense that he won his first championship in TNA. Kazarian winning made sense because he’s never won the TNA Championship in his many, many years in TNA.
Alexander is the longest reigning TNA champion of all time, and he never lost it; he had to relinquish it due to injury. Maclin never had quite the proper championship reign that he should have had. Moose has been carrying TNA for many years. Joe Hendry is one of, if not the most, over-stars in professional wrestling at the moment.
Con: Joe Hendry Isn’t World Champion
Although Nemeth’s win is incredible, Joe Hendry is one of the most overrated stars in Professional Wrestling. His theme song is a hit on streaming platforms, and the fans love the guy. Hendry has been pulling double duty in TNA and NXT, and he has made quite a name for himself lately. It has made you wonder if TNA dropped the ball by not giving Hendry the championship right now at TNA Slammiversary.
Hendry is the hottest star in TNA, maybe even the world right now, and TNA hinted at Hendry beating Moose for months. It seemed Hendry had his number, even eliminating Moose from the championship match at TNA Slammiversary.
With him putting in overtime at NXT, bringing Hendry as World Champion to NXT would have been huge for TNA and NXT. Makes you wonder if TNA did, in fact, ruin the perfect opportunity to crown Hendry since the world believes in Joe… Hendry!
Pro: A lot of Storylines in the Future Thanks to Main Event
The main event of Slammiversary in itself gave us a bunch of storylines for the future. In the mid-match, Josh Alexander turned heel after eliminating Joe Hendry. An Alexander vs Hendry is a match and storyline of the near future. What’s better about this is that thanks to the NXT Partnership, this opens up another storyline for Hendry.
That would be against Alexander’s former tag team partner, NXT World Champion Ethan Page. Page and Alexander were the longest-lasting TNA Tag Team Champions, and having both as heels means they will join up again against Hendry.
TNA Slammiversary also opens up two worthy challengers for Nemeth’s first title defenses. The first is a rematch against Moose since Nemeth never pinned Moose to become champion. That will open up a whole storyline and mind games of Moose and The System. The other is Nemeth against Frankie Kazarian.
The TNA Original attacked Nemeth not too long ago to get rid of him before the match. Kazarian is jealous that Nemeth, who had way less time in TNA than Kazarian and won the championship before Kazarian, would fuel their storyline.
Moose and Maclin could have a mini-feud as well. This is only because Maclin was the first to be eliminated in the first 10 minutes at TNA Slammiversary by Moose, just as Maclin started to gain some momentum.
Maybe Maclin will team up with Nemeth to demolish the System. This will then lead to Maclin vs. Nemeth for the championship in the future. Moose more than likely will also have a possible feud with the man who cost him his championship, Joe Hendry.
Con: The System’s Booking
Moose has been one of the main focuses of TNA since his debut. He has earned that championship, but it also makes sense that he lost it this way. The number game is something the System loves to use to its advantage. So it is only fitting that Moose loses his TNA World Championship at Slammiversary the same way he has defeated all of his opponents by a numbers disadvantage.
However, since Moose created the System, they have been dominant in TNA. But at Slammiversary, their booking makes them look weak. All members of the System besides Alisha Edwards lost their matches and championships.
Eddie Edwards and Brian Myers lost their Tag Team Championships to ABC. “Broken” Matt Hardy defeated the System’s lackey JDC, and now Moose has lost his championship to Nic Nemeth. It was a bad night for the System, but hopefully, it does not mean the beginning of the end for this faction.
Con: Frankie Kazarian’s Last Chance
Just like Joe Hendry, not winning was a waste of an opportunity so that it can be the same for Frankie Kazarian. Kazarian is 46 years old and can still put up incredible matches in the ring. He is a TNA Original, being in the company since 2003.
He has had other stints with various companies, including ROH and AEW. He came back to TNA in 2021 and has yet to win the World Championship in TNA. This could have been the perfect opportunity to crown Kazarian at Slammiversary for all his hard work and dedication to TNA.
Kazarian winning the championship would have also been incredible for TNA to go back to their roots, from TNA to Impact and back to TNA. Not too long ago, Alex Shelley won the TNA Championship after many years at a company like Kazarian. Why couldn’t it have been Kazarian’s turn?
Kazarian is currently one of the best wrestlers in TNA, never to win the TNA Championship, and he’s not getting any younger. Winning his first championship from 5 of the best stars currently in TNA and retiring either as champion or one great reign before retirement would have been a great reward for an incredible career in TNA.
Pro: Nic Nemeth Winning The TNA Championship
Don’t get me wrong, Hendry and Kazarian were winning because TNA dropped the ball when they had momentum. However, because it was a star-studded match, one who would have won would have been great, but anyone who lost would have been bad, too. Although Hendry and Kazarian didn’t win, having Nic Nemeth win was the best choice.
He is best known as Dolph Ziggler from WWE. In WWE, he won the World Heavyweight Championship twice in mediocre reigns. He is best known as the Intercontinental champion and one of the best money-in-the-bank cash-ins.
When WWE fired him back in 2023 after 19 years with the company, there was a lot of doubt that he would return to wrestling. Not only did he sign with TNA, but he has won title after title ever since. Right now, he has a total of 3 World championships, including the TNA World Championship in his first reign.
NJPW, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, and TNA have all treated him way better in the last year than WWE ever has. Nic Nemeth is finally treated as the main eventer the fans knew he could be. Nic Nemeth being the present and future of TNA was the right move, especially if we have the TNA vs NXT feud for the year. What better way to face off against WWE’s NXT than a former NXT World Champion?
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