Impact Wrestling Slammiversary 2022 Results: Winners, Grades and Highlights

For 20 years, Impact Wrestling has revolutionized the industry, introducing fans to stars who would go on to become giants in the professional wrestling business and changing the style of in-ring work for years to come.

Sunday night in Nashville, Tennessee, the city where it all started, the company celebrated two decades with its annual Slammiversary pay-per-view, headlined by world champion Josh Alexander defending against top contender Eric Young.

The card also featured the history-making Queen of the Mountain match for the Knockouts Championship, an Ultimate X match for Ace Austin's X-Division title and a star-studded 10-man tag match pitting the invaders from Ring of Honor against the Impact originals.

Who emerged from the night's matches with their arms raised in victory, what did it mean for the future of the promotion and what surprises did Impact officials have in store for the audience?

Find out now with this recap of the June 19 extravaganza.

• Impact World Championship match: Josh Alexander (c) vs. Eric Young (with Violent By Design)
• Queen of the Mountain match for the Knockouts Championship: Deonna Purrazzo vs. Chelsea Green vs. Tasha Steelz (c) vs. Jordynne Grace vs. Mia Yim (guest enforcer: Mickie James)
• Ultimate X match for the X-Division Championship: Alex Zayne vs. Kenny King vs. Jack Evans vs. Ace Austin (c) vs. Mike Bailey vs. Trey Miguel
• Impact World Tag Team Championship match: The Briscoes vs. The Good Brothers
• Honor No More (Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Vincent, PCO and Eddie Edwards) vs. Impact Originals (Chris Sabin, Alex Shelley, Frankie Kazarian, Nick Aldis and a mystery partner)
• Monster's Ball: Moose vs. Sami Callihan
• Knockouts World Tag Team Championship match: The Influence (c) vs. Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie
• Countdown to Slammiversary: Rich Swann vs. Brian Myers (Digital Media Championship match)
• Countdown to Slammiversary: Reverse Battle Royal

Fighting in the honor of best friend Matt Cardona, who recently suffered a torn bicep, Brian Myers battled Rich Swann for the Digital Championship in the night's opening contest as part of the Countdown to Slammiversary.

Myers controlled early and often and even appeared to have the win in hand with a spear, a la mentor Edge. Swann fought back, though, and caught him with a handspring cutter, followed by the 450 splash for the victory.

This was the perfect way to kick things off and set the tone for the rest of the broadcast. Both guys can have a good match with their eyes closed and understand how to generate the desired reaction. They did that here, with a match that had the fans in Nashville red-hot and excited for everything to come.

Swann winning returned the physical title to him after weeks of Cardona holding it at home, then handing it over to his bestie. Should both men have been involved in something a bit more meaningful on the hugely significant card, especially Swann as a former world champion?

Absolutely, but if they cannot be on the main card, being the first match out is almost equally as important.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• In between beating Swann down, Myers looked into the camera and said, "this one's for you, Matt!"

Participants: Steve Maclin, Chris Bey, Shera, Bhupinder Ghujjar, Johnny Swinger, Zicky Dice, David Young, Raj Singh, Shogun, “Action” Mike Jackson, Chase Stevens, Shark Boy, Slash

For better or worse, the Reverse Battle Royal returned to Impact Wrestling as part of Countdown to Slammiversary, with a few other blasts from the past along from the ride.

Former Impact stars such as David Young, Slash, Chase Young, and Shark Boy all competed alongside modern competitors such as Chris Bey, Steve Maclin, Shera, and Bhupinder Gujjar, to name a few.

The match, which called for the field to be narrowed after eight stars fought from the floor to the squared circle, took on the appearance of a traditional battle royal. Obvious favorites Bey and Maclin eliminated each other, and when the action gave way to Shark Boy and Johnny Swinger, it evolved into a singles bout.

Shark Boy earned the win in a nice nod to his significance in the early days of the promotion.

As it always was and will be, this is such a convoluted gimmick bout that is harder to understand than anyone would actually care to. With that said, the nostalgia here was a ton of fun, and the performance by 72-year-old "Action" Mike Jackson, who walked around the ringside area entirely on the guardrail, was awe-inspiring.

The right guy went over, fun was had by everyone, and it appears as though we may get a Maclin-Bey feud out of it. All in all, it was hardly a bad way to spend a few minutes.

Grade

C+

Top Moments

• "He has better balance and more hair than I do at my age," commentator Matthew Rehwoldt on 72-year-old Mike Jackson, who grabbed Shera in an armbar and proceeded to walk the entirety of the guardrail around the ringside area.

• "I hope Medicare covers this," Hannifan said of Jackson.
  
• Hannifan revealed following Shark Boy's victory that he was instrumental in naming the event, making his victory that much more apropos.

Rules: Two crossing wires hung over the rope with the X-Division Championship wrapped around them. Competitors climb the steel scaffolding, make their way across the wires, and the first to retrieve the title wins the match and championship.

X-Division champion and newest member of Bullet Club, Ace Austin, defended his title against former friend Alex Zayne, Kenny King, "Speedball" Mike Bailey, Trey Miguel and Andrew Everett (replacing the injured Jack Evans) in the company's revolutionary Ultimate X Match to kick off the show.

All of the wild, chaotic action fans have come to expect from the match was present, with several moments of awe defining the opening contest. The spots were high, and the risk higher but so was the reward for Bailey.

Speedball captured his first X-Division Championship, outlasting Austin late to earn his most significant victory to date. Given the history that existed between the two, it was appropriate that even with the wealth of talent involved, it came down to them.

Bailey defeated the newest member of Bullet Club, earned chants of "you deserve it," and put an exclamation point on the opener of the PPV main card. It may not rank among the best Ultimate X bouts in company history, but it delivered everything expected of it with the feel-good finale.

Hopefully, Everrett is OK. He took a nasty bump near the end of the match that saw him clip the top rope on his way down. He did not return to the action.

Grade

B+

Top Moments

• The five-person tower of Doom spot featuring everyone but Miguel, followed by the former champion's Canadian Destroyer from the top rope to Zayne, were back-to-back extraordinary spots.
• Bailey unloading with a barrage of kicks while dangling from the cables high above the ring was a great spot. 
• Bailey delivered a headscissors to Everett that sent him crashing to the mat below, but not before clipping the top rope in a scary spot.
• After the match, a video message from Sting aired in which he discussed his favorite moments with Impact Wrestling. 

Despite doubts about Rosemary and Taya Valkyrie's ability to coexist long enough to end the reign of Knockouts Tag Team champions Madison Rayne and Tenille Dashwood, the Demon Assassin, and La Wera Loca did just that.

A sprint of a match saw the challengers overcome a concentrated attack by The Influence, including a Colab that nearly ended their pursuit of the gold. It concluded with longtime Knockout Rosemary scoring the win for her team by pinning the highly decorated Rayne.

It was a fun match that had nonstop action throughout. The outcome was noteworthy in that it brings Rosemary and Valkyrie back together for the foreseeable future, freshens things up in the Knockouts tag division, and ensures the latter will be sticking around for a bit.

It would not be surprising at all if the feud continues beyond Sunday's pay-per-view, considering it felt as if it was still in its infancy heading into the event. If that is the case, all four women should be able to build on and, possibly, eclipse what they accomplished here.

Grade

B

Top Moments

• Hannifan recalled the sordid history between friends-turned-enemies-reunited Valkyrie and Rosemary to create a sense of uncertainty surrounding their ability to dethrone the champions.
• A strong near-fall late saw the challengers score stereo pins on the champions.
• Rayne appeared to suffer some sort of face or nose injury late in the bout as she repeatedly nursed that area all the way into the finish.

The immensely personal feud between Sami Callihan and Moose culminated Sunday night in Monster's Ball, a hard-hitting, ass-kicking hardcore brawl preceded by 24 hours of no food, water, light or freedom for the imprisoned combatants.

Callihan unleashed nearly a year of frustration on his opponent, attacking Moose during the former world champion's entrance and proceeding to punish him for several moments thereafter.

Moose would recover, then join his opponent in a back-and-forth display of one-upmanship as they inflicted pain and agony on each other reserved only for the fiercest of rivals. Callihan delivered a powerbomb from the ropes onto a trash can set up vertically.

When Moose exploded out of a pin attempt and fired up, Callihan introduced a barbed wire baseball bat. A shot to the gut and the Cactus Driver '97 earned the Death Machine the hard-fought victory.

Arguably the most intense rivalry entering the show and carrying the Monster's Ball stipulation, there were lofty expectations for this one. It did not disappoint. It was appropriately physical and gruesome.

Moose took some big bumps and really sold the hell out of everything Callihan threw at him. When the time called for it, he fired up and defiantly dared his foe to ramp up the attack if he hoped to beat him.

Callihan did, pulling from the playbooks of the hardcore legends who came before him, and put Moose down for the win.

It was a great brawl and arguably the best match of the show to this point.

Grade

B+

Top Moments

• Callihan jumping Moose from the get-go was a great way to establish the fury and rage of the competitors.
• Hannifan paid homage to Abyss when Callihan produced a barbed wire-wrapped door from under the ring, a nice ode to one of the Impact greats and the godfather of all hardcore wrestling the promotion has produced.
• Moose drove Callihan into a pile of thumbtacks with a Sky High. He dragged him through the tacks moments over in an uncomfortable scene.
• Callihan upped the violence with a Death Valley Driver into the aforementioned door.

Two of the most decorated teams in modern wrestling history sought to add another huge victory to their resumes as The Briscoes defended the Impact World Tag Team Championships against The Good Brothers' Doc Gallows and Karl Anderson.

The challengers worked over Jay Briscoe for a large portion of the match, halting what had been considerable momentum by the champions to that point. A little bit of separation and a hot tag to his brother, Mark, allowed the Briscoes to mount a comeback.

It was for naught, though, as Anderson eventually obliterated Mark with a Gun Stun, then joined Gallows for the Magic Killer for the win.

A tense post-match staredown was interrupted by a special appearance from Impact legends "Cowboy" James Storm and "Wildcat" Chris Harris, America's Most Wanted. Beers were shared, catchphrases exclaimed and all was right with the world.

You can tell all in Impact have their workboots on for this show. The Good Brothers can be hit or miss, but they mesh so well with The Briscoes, elevating their own game to match that of their celebrated opposition.

This was a damn good, high-drama match that had fans thinking they might see Dem Boys retain the titles, only for Anderson and Gallows to crush their hopes and dreams by winning world tag title No. 8.

The post-match appearance by Harris and Storm was a great moment and played to the nostalgia that had been such a common theme throughout the broadcast.

Grade

B

Top Moments

• The commentary team put over the intensity of the match by suggesting Anderson and Gallows had pulled one of Jay's dreadlocks out of his head.
• Mark broke up a Magic Killer with a big spear, momentarily preserving him and his brother's reign atop the tag team mountain.
• After the match and AMW promo, Hannifan and Rehwoldt threw to a video package honoring the original voices of Impact, the great Mike Tenay and Don West. As a great team who was so incredibly significant to the early and continued success of the company by way of their ability to get over the stars and stories, their contributions were endless. That emotion painted on the faces of Hannifan and Rehwoldt afterward was indicative of the love, support and respect so many have for Tenay and West. 

Former majority owner of Impact Wrestling, Dixie Carter, made a special appearance Sunday night and announced that Davey Richards would join Nick "Magnus" Aldis, The Motor City Machine Guns, and Frankie Kazarian for the Impact Originals' showdown with Honor No More's Eddie Edwards, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett, Vincent and PCO.

The highly decorated Impact Originals team dominated early, feeding off the energy the unexpected reveal of Richards gave them. The heels downed Alex Shelley, though, and seized control by isolating him from his partners. A missed Reanimator from PCO allowed him to fight back into the match and make the much-needed team to Kazarian.

From there, the action broke down, becoming so hard to follow at times that Impact EVP Scott D'Amore even joked that the commentary team deserved a raise. The closing moments were dominated by cameo appearances from Traci Brooks, Earl Hebner and D'Lo Brown before Shelley and Chris Sabin put PCO away for the win.

This was very much the epitome of Impact Wrestling wrapped up in one match. It was wild, chaotic, hard to track at times and definitely overbooked. It was also action-packed, featured some of the best wrestlers in the world and brought with it unbridled energy.

The feel-good moments toward the end and the Impact originals emerging victorious helped elevate this one exponentially. A great match? No, but easily one of the most fun any fan will see this year, with a ton of heart to boot.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• The introduction of Richards as the final member of the Impact squad was a great, cerebral booking choice that reintroduced him to the mix and played on the long, sordid, violent history between him and former tag team partner Edwards.
• "That's my monster!" Taven exclaimed after catching Aldis with a springboard kick, breaking up a Kings Lynn Cloverleaf.
• The multi-submission spot is always fun, and the one here was no different.
• Brooks, the wife of Kazarian and the original Knockout, wiped Maria Kanellis out at ringside and prevented her from interfering any further in the match.
• A SCARY Flux Capacitor by Kazarian to PCO, from the top rope, nearly ended in disaster.
• Brown made the save for the babyfaces after Kenny King got involved. The former European Champion delivered the Low Down to a big pop, despite a brief hesitation.
• Hebner, just two days removed from losing his brother Dave, entered the ring and counted the fall. A bittersweet moment for the most legendary referee in pro wrestling history. 

Rules: Wrestlers begin as ineligible. A wrestler becomes eligible with a pinfall or submission over another wrestler. The wrestler who gets pinned or submitted spends two minutes in the penalty box. Eligible wrestler wins by climbing a ladder and hanging the belt above the ring, thus winning the match and the Knockouts Championship.

The Knockouts division once again made history Sunday night as Tasha Steelz defended its world championship in the first-ever Queen of the Mountain match. Her opponents, all former champions in their own right, included "The Virtuosa" Deonna Purrazzo, Chelsea Green, Jordynne Grace and Mia Yim.

The bout has always been one of the more convoluted in wrestling, with too many rules to keep straight and the gimmick of the penalty box seemingly for the sake of it. Working in and around it can be a difficult task for anyone. Sunday night, the Knockouts embraced the challenge and delivered a hellishly wild match.

It was hard-hitting and as physical as any other match on the card. It featured some solid story elements, including special enforcer Mickie James letting her bias get in the way and Green and Purrazzo loosely forming a partnership. It also highlighted all five combatants extremely well.

Steelz took an ass-kicking, selling everything expertly and looking like the star she is, even as she more closely portrayed a tackling dummy. As Grace ramped up the intensity, the crowd got more and more behind her. By the time she exploded out of the penalty box late, they were ready for her to capture the title that has eluded her for two years.

She did and will almost immediately be confronted with the challenge of one of the most talented rosters in all of women's wrestling.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• James first locked Savannah Evans in the penalty box with Steelz, then ejected her from ringside, ensuring the Boricua Badass would have to go it alone in pursuit of a successful title defense.
• Yim took a nasty bump onto the ladder; one of those the viewer feels sympathy pains for at home.
• Grace and Steelz both pinned Yim at the same time, earning eligibility very late in the match.
• Yim sent Green and Purrazzo crashing off a ladder and through a table at ringside in the biggest bump of the match.

For Josh Alexander to retain the Impact World Championship, he would have to overcome the challenge of a grizzled veteran competing in his fourth Slammiversary main event in Violent By Design's Eric Young.

The two students of the game dipped deep into the history of the promotion and its greatest champions in search of the move or submission that would earn them the victory. Young channeled the founder of the promotion, Jeff Jarrett, while Alexander turned to Kurt Angle and Samoa Joe for inspiration as he tried to wear down his challenger.

There was a Black Hole Slam, a la "The Monster" Abyss, and the Best Moonsault Ever, straight from the playbook of "The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels. It was Angle's ankle lock, adopted recently by Alexander, that should have earned him the win. Deaner, though, threw yellow powder in the eyes of referee Brian Hebner, preventing him from seeing the tapout.

Chaos reigned supreme before Young delivered a wicked spike piledriver on the exposed wood of the ring. Alexander recovered, countering a top-rope piledriver attempt and applying the ankle lock. He obliterated Young with a uranage onto the wood, then delivered the C4 spike for the win.

In a match that looked back to the men who helped lay the foundation for Impact Wrestling, it was the trademark finisher of the company's present and future top star that earned him the win and put an exclamation point on the proceedings.

A great match that started slow but picked up exponentially a quarter of the way through was more-than-deserving of its place on the card and further evidence that Alexander is as hot an in-ring performer in 2022 as anyone.

Kudos to Young, too, who repeatedly shows up and shows out in these big match situations. Young is one of the most trustworthy performers in the country, dating back to his days in Team Canada and as the scaredy-cat underdog of the promotion, and has amassed a resume that does not get nearly the respect it deserves. Give EY his flowers.

Grade

A

Top Moments

• The nods to the icons of Impact Wrestling were fantastic. Alexander has repeatedly expressed his fandom for the promotion during his young years, and Young competed against so many of them throughout his Impact Hall of Fame-worthy career.
• The Angle Slam to Joe Doering, off the apron and through the table at ringside was a great spot and eliminated the big man from the equation.
• Young blasted Alexander with a guitar, another ode to Jarrett, who was conspicuous by his absence all night long.
• The finish, with Alexander turning to his own arsenal to finally exorcise the demon that was Young, was a great bit of storytelling.