{"id":72546,"date":"2020-07-16T12:02:10","date_gmt":"2020-07-16T16:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/?p=72546"},"modified":"2020-07-16T12:40:20","modified_gmt":"2020-07-16T16:40:20","slug":"slammiversary-can-impact-deliver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2020\/07\/16\/slammiversary-can-impact-deliver\/","title":{"rendered":"Road To Slammiversary \u2013 Can IMPACT Deliver Despite A Bumpy Ride?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong> is just days away from a defining moment in their history as a hopeful fanbase lies in wait for Slammiversary.\u00a0 In the midst of a global pandemic that has ravaged the entertainment industry, the company may be able to pull off a masterstroke that will show there is still life in them yet.\u00a0 This Saturday will be a culmination of months of trials and tribulations for Impact management. They have lost top stars including the history-making first female World Champion <strong>Tessa Blanchard<\/strong>, but with <strong>WWE<\/strong> releasing talent en masse at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak this also presented new opportunity to add to their roster.<\/p>\n<p>Wrestling companies are struggling to adjust to restrictions around weekly tapings and pay per views in empty arenas, canceling live shows, issues with TV deals and talent being unable to travel the challenges seem never-ending.\u00a0 In an increasingly competitive sector, Impact has gone from a top US promotion with innovative matches, hot young talent, and industry legends to slowly dropping down the ladder with the emergence and hype of <strong>NXT<\/strong> and <strong>AEW <\/strong>in recent years, the future looked grim.<\/p>\n<p>Somehow, Impact has turned this all to their advantage and people are talking about them again as they can feel the potential that something great could happen on Saturday.\u00a0 The mystery returning champion has everyone talking about who will take the final spot in the main event against <strong>Ace Austin, Trey, <\/strong>and<strong> Eddie Edwards<\/strong> and there are several candidates all with great possibilities.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Timeline<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>To get a full understanding of just how many curve balls have been thrown, look at the timeline below:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>1 April 2020<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>Bully Ray&#8217;s<\/strong> ROH contract officially expires.<\/li>\n<li><strong>15 April 2020<\/strong> \u2013 Due to the Covid-19 outbreak WWE release over 30 employees to cut costs.\u00a0 This included talents such as <strong>EC3, Luke Gallows, Karl Anderson, Kurt Angle, Eric Young, Rusev, Mike Bennett, <\/strong>and<strong> Zack Ryder.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>1 June 2020<\/strong> \u2013 Tessa was due to send in promos for IMPACT tapings but never did so, causing creative to rewrite the episodes at the last minute.<\/li>\n<li><strong>16 June<\/strong> <strong>2020<\/strong> \u2013 IMPACT release a teaser trailer confirming AT LEAST one former world champion will return at Slammiversary, showing a video package of many of the released WWE talent and others such as Bully Ray, <strong>Mr. Anderson,<\/strong> and <strong>Austin Aries<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>20 June 2020<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>NWA<\/strong> Vice President <strong>David Lagana<\/strong> resigns after being accused of sexual assault by Liz Savage leading to NWA deciding to shut down amidst ongoing internal investigation and seek to restructure their management.<\/li>\n<li><strong>22 June 2020<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>Joey Ryan<\/strong> and <strong>Dave Crist<\/strong> released and <strong>Michael Elgin<\/strong> suspended by Impact following #SpeakingOut allegations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>24 June 2020<\/strong> \u2013 IMPACT tease a video of <strong>D-Lo Brown<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/06\/28\/aces-eights-is-the-band-getting-back-together\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">hinting at <strong>Aces &amp; Eights<\/strong> returning<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>26 June 2020<\/strong> \u2013 Tessa Blanchard confirmed as <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/06\/25\/impact-strips-tessa-blanchard-terminates-contract\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">being fired by IMPACT<\/a>, her contract was due to expire on 30 June and negotiations broke down.<\/li>\n<li><strong>27 June 2020<\/strong> \u2013 IMPACT announced<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/06\/26\/michael-elgin-impact-programming\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Michael Elgin will no longer appear<\/a> on their programming<\/li>\n<li><strong>30 June 2020<\/strong> \u2013 IMPACT announce the Slammiversary main event will now be a Fatal Four Way including the mystery former champion.<\/li>\n<li><strong>1 July 2020<\/strong> \u2013 <strong>Heath Slater<\/strong> (now Heath Miller) <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/07\/01\/heath-miller-impacts-slammiversary\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">teases appearing<\/a> at Slammiversary.<\/li>\n<li><strong>2 July 2020<\/strong> \u2013 EC3 releases a promo <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/07\/02\/ec3-teases-aew\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">teasing joining AEW<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>3 July 2020<\/strong> \u2013 Bully Ray&#8217;s departure from ROH gains more publicity and begins trending across wrestling news sites.<\/li>\n<li><strong>7 July 2020<\/strong> \u2013 Karl Anderson tweets a picture of tag team partner Luke Gallows in an IMPACT t-shirt.<\/li>\n<li><strong>8 July 2020<\/strong> \u2013 IMPACT release further teaser confirming the former champion will not be coming alone.<\/li>\n<li><strong>13 July 2020<\/strong> \u2013 Rusev (now Miro) announces <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/07\/13\/miro-aka-rusev-reveals-hes-tested-positive-for-covid-19\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he has tested positive for Covid-19<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><strong>What happens next?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Now, this cannot be stressed enough, this is IMPACT.\u00a0 <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2020\/07\/12\/slammiversary-2020-do-or-die\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">They have been here several times before over the years<\/a> where a former world champion was teased and the likes of <strong>Bobby Lashley, Tommy Dreamer, <\/strong>and<strong> Rhyno<\/strong> were brought out much to the disappointment of many fans hoping for someone bigger.<\/p>\n<p>While optimists everywhere are fantasy booking almost endless possibilities given the plethora of talent on the free-agent market, all signs point towards a potential Aces &amp; Eights reunion.\u00a0 It would be almost unthinkable to attempt to reactivate the faction without Bully Ray and Gallows being involved as the two were the most synonymous with the group.\u00a0 It fits the profile of a former champion who wouldn\u2019t come alone and the last month or so it has been heavily speculated Gallows and Anderson have indeed signed on with Impact.<\/p>\n<p>If this is done right it would put IMPACT back on the map in a big way. \u00a0Despite involving talents fans struggled to take to such as <strong>Garrett Bischoff<\/strong> and <strong>Wes Brisco <\/strong>in its initial incarnation, Aces &amp; Eights is generally regarded as one of IMPACT&#8217;s success stories over the years and remembered fondly for entertaining segments and the build-up to the Bully Ray reveal as their leader.<\/p>\n<p>While that is the popular theory, there is always the possibility it may well be a return for EC3 who excelled in his role with Impact during his five-year tenure there.\u00a0 Although he has teased a likely AEW debut, it wouldn\u2019t be the first time a wrestler has sent everyone in the wrong direction.\u00a0 Certainly, a potential faction including EC3, Gallows and Anderson would make headlines sparking a lot of interest in what is happening in Impact right now.<\/p>\n<p>Those are the two front runners who could make this event something special, unless they can somehow get Kurt Angle to return, as much as it would be amazing it seems highly unlikely.<\/p>\n<p>Again, this is IMPACT Wrestling, and we have been here before, so expect greatness&#8230;and not so greatness all at once.<\/p>\n<p><em>Stay tuned to the<a href=\"http:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a>\u00a0for more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world.\u00a0 We provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. You can watch IMPACT every Tuesday on AXS-TV at 8pm EST and see past episodes of IMPACT Wrestling on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/impactplus.tv\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">IMPACT+<\/a>. IMPACT Slammiversary 2020\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fite.tv\/watch\/slammiversary-2020\/2p7le\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">airs live on FITE.tv<\/a>\u00a0at 8pm EST.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>IMPACT Wrestling is just days away from a defining moment in their history as a hopeful fanbase lies in wait for Slammiversary.\u00a0 In the midst of a global pandemic that has ravaged the entertainment industry, the company may be able to pull off a masterstroke that will show there is still life in them yet.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3555,"featured_media":72379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,6],"tags":[6575,716,1216,130,3098],"class_list":["post-72546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-impact","category-north-america","tag-aces-eights","tag-bully-ray","tag-ec3","tag-impact","tag-slammiversary"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3555"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}