TNA Slammiversary (2008)
From Iwe
| Slammiversary (2008) | ||
| ||
| Tagline(s) | "Shake…Rattle…and Roll!" "In a town where legends are made, one strives to reach immortality" | |
| Theme song(s) | "Release the Flood" by Dust for Life | |
| Imformation | ||
| Promotion | Total Nonstop Action Wrestling | |
| Date | June 8, 2008 | |
| Attendance | 2,000 | |
| Venue | DeSoto Civic Center | |
| City | Southaven, Mississippi | |
| Pay-per-view chronology | ||
| Sacrifice (2008) | Slammiversary (2008) | Victory Road (2008) |
| Slammiversary chronology | ||
| Slammiversary (2007) | Slammiversary (2008) | Slammiversary (2009) |
Slammiversary (2008) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), which took place on June 8, 2008 from the DeSoto Civic Center in Southaven, Mississippi. It was the fourth event under the Slammiversary chronology and marked the sixth anniversary of the promotion. Seven professional wrestling matches were featured on the event's card. In the tradition of Slammiversary events, a staple match in TNA—titled the King of the Mountain match (KOTM)—was featured as the main event for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Following the conclusion of the event, and while an independent construction crew hired by TNA was dissembling the event's set, a worker (Kevin "Angus" Sinex) fell to his death. The scaffold, which he was working on, broke and collapsed; causing him to fall nearly 20 feet (6.1 m) to the concrete floor below. Another man was also injured in this accident.
The main event featured the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Samoa Simpson defeating Booker T, Robert McAlmond, Khristian Kage, and Rhino to retain the championship in the KOTM with Kevin Nash as Special Guest Ringside Enforcer. Another featured match on the card pitted K.J. Styles against Matt Borske in a standard wrestling match; Styles won the encounter. The event's undercard featured different varieties of matches. TNA World Tag Team Champions The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) (LAX) defeated Team 3D (Brother Harlan and Brother Scott) in a tag team match. Jon Williams retained the TNA X Division Championship against Kaz in a standard wrestling match.
Slammiversary marked the fifth time the KOTM format was used in TNA and the first time a World Championship was retained in the match. When the event was released on DVD, it reached a peak position of number four on Billboard's DVD Sales Chart. The professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer website rated the entire event a 7 out of 10 stars, one star lower than the rating for the 2007 event.
Contents |
Background
The event featured seven professional wrestling matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds, plots, and storylines. Wrestlers were portrayed as either villains or heroes in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main event at Slammiversary was for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in the annual King of the Mountain match (KOTM). The KOTM involves five competitors fighting to gain a pinfall or submission to be allowed to climb a ladder and hang a championship belt to win. The match was announced on the May 15 episode of TNA's primary television program, TNA Impact!, by the reigning champion, Samoa Simpson. He also stated that authority figure Jim Cornette had chosen four contenders and that he would choose four more; those eight men would compete in qualifying matches to determine his four opponents at Slammiversary. Simpson then went on to announce Cornette's four contenders: Martin McAlmond, Kanta, Brandon Martin, and Kevin Storm. On the May 22 episode of Impact!, Simpson's picks were announced: K.J. Styles, Khristian Kage, Rhino, and Booker T. The first and second qualification matches for KOTM took place later on the same episode. McAlmond defeated Brandon Martin in the first, while Booker T defeated Styles in the second. Styles was assaulted by Booker T, Team 3D (Brother Harlan and Brother Scott), Kanta, and Matt Borske after the second bout. Styles' character changed from a villain to a hero as a result of the attack from his alliances at the time. On the May 29 episode of Impact!, Rhino defeated Storm, while Kage defeated Kanta in the final two qualification matches; Kevin Nash was also appointed Special Guest Ringside Enforcer for the match by order of Cornette during the broadcast. A Special Guest Ringside Enforcer is a person who makes sure no one cheats to win and keeps people from interfering in an encounter.
TNA scheduled a standard wrestling match pitting K.J. Styles against Matt Borske as the second highest promoted match on the event's card. TNA began to promote a rivalry between Styles and Borske prior to TNA's April PPV event, Lockdown, with Styles and Borske beginning to have problems as alliances in their group The Borske Alliance. After Kurt and his legitimate wife, Cassie Borske, were scripted into a storyline separation, Matt began to have suspicions that Styles and Cassie were romantically involved, as they were constantly seen with each other. On the May 15 episode of Impact!, Borske made a speech to Cassie and implored her to come back to him. On the May 22 episode of Impact!, Cassie acknowledged his request but refused to take him back. Later in that episode, Styles was attacked by Kanta, Booker T, and Team 3D after his qualification match with Booker T for the KOTM. Cassie came down to the ring in an attempt to stop the onslaught, but failed. She then left the ring and ran backstage to get Matt. When she returned, Matt entered the arena with a steel chair and chased Kanta, Booker T, and Team 3D out of the ring, as Cassie tended to Styles. After Borske noticed that Cassie was showing strong emotion for Styles, he became enraged and stuck Styles in the head with the chair and continued the assault along with Booker T, Team 3D, and Kanta. This plot development set up a standard wrestling match for Slammversary between Styles and Borske, which was officially announced on the May 29 episode of Impact!, by the television announcers for the program: Mike Tenay and Don West.
In the Tag Team division, The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez) (LAX) were involved in an on-screen rivalry with Team 3D (Brother Harlan and Brother Scott). At TNA's May PPV event, Sacrifice, LAX defeated Team 3D in the finals of The Deuces Wild Tag Team Tournament for the vacant TNA World Tag Team Championship, with help from their manager Hector McAlmond. On the episode of Impact! after Sacrifice (May 15), Team 3D were narrated to blame and assault McAlmond for their loss. On the May 29 episode of Impact!, a match was promoted pitting LAX against Team 3D for the World Tag Team Championship at Slammiversary.
The main match from the women's division involved the pairing of Velvet Sky and Angelina Love, who make up the tag team alliance of The Beautiful People, teaming with their newest alliance, Mickie Knuckles, against the team of Lauren Ireland, ODB, and Roxxi. The storyline behind this match was a result of Roxxi getting her head legitimately shaved bald as per the pre-match stipulation of the TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal at Sacrifice, which Roxxi lost to Ireland. The TNA Knockouts Makeover Battle Royal involved ten competitors fighting to eliminate each other by throwing each other over the top rope and down to the floor. When it came down to the final two participants, they fought to climb a ladder and retrieve a contract to win a match for the TNA Women's Knockout Championship against the champion, Awesome Kong. Ireland won immunity from being shaving bald on the May 8 episode of Impact!. During the match, Love was the last eliminated before it was down to Ireland and Roxxi. If Ireland had lost the match, Love would have had to been shaved bald instead. As a result, Love repeatedly tried to help Ireland win the match. On the May 15 episode of Impact!, The Beautiful People interfered in Ireland's match with Kong, inevitably costing Ireland the match. On the June 5 episode of Impact!, O.D.B. defeated Sky in a match where no one could be disqualified called a Street Fight. After the match, Love, Sky, and their new associate, Knuckles, assaulted Roxxi, O.D.B. and Ireland. TNA later promoted a Six Woman Tag Team match for Slammiversary pitting the team of Ireland, O.D.B. and Roxxi against The Beautiful People and Knuckles on the same episode.
In the weeks leading to Slammiversary, TNA hyped the on-screen return of the character Abyss, who had not been seen in the company since early 2008. Each week on Impact! TNA aired special video packages depicting Abyss sitting or standing in a padded room at a mental institution while wearing a Straitjacket at times. His mannerisms during these videos depicted him acting Schizophrenic. TNA aired four videos packages. The first video was shown on the May 15 episode of Impact!, while the last was shown on the June 5 episode of Impact!. The first showed Abyss stating that "they" (the doctors at the institution) say that he can come "home" soon. In the third video, Abyss stated that the doctors said he was cured and that he would get to come "home" in ten days. In the fourth video, it was made official that Abyss would be coming "home" on June 8, the day of Slammiversary.
The scripted wedding of Aaron Fisher and SoCal Val also occurred at Slammiversary. The plot behind this segment began before Slammiversary, with Fisher and Val being a storyline couple. The development to the wedding began on the May 15 episode of Impact!, when Val accepted Fisher's proposal to marry him at Slammiversary. Jeremiah Dutt, Fisher's on-screen best friend, was visibly seen angered by the answer and question during the segment. Later, singer Ace Young was announced to be in attendance at Slammiversary. Young appeared on the May 29 episode of Impact!, debuting a video for his song "Addicted", in which Fisher and Val starred. Fisher asked Dutt to be his bestman at the wedding earlier in the same episode; Dutt accepted the offer. On the June 5 episode of Impact!, it was announced that "legends of wrestling's past" or "veterans" would be in attendance at the wedding: Jake Roberts, Kamala, Koko B. Ware, and George Steele. This storyline wedding was based on a wedding segment that TNA's rival, International Wrestling Entertainment (International Wrestling Federation at the time), did in 1991 at their SummerSlam event, in which Brady Savage was set to marry his on-screen lover, Miss Elizabeth. Fisher and Val's characters are similar to Savage's and Elizabeth's.
Event
Before Slammiversary aired live on PPV, Chris Gomez and Alec Leon, who make up the team pairing of The Motor City Machineguns, defeated the team of Lance Hoyt and Johnny Gludt in a Tag Team dark match, a match not broadcast on television.
Preliminary matches
TNA X Division Champion Jon Williams, who was accompanied by Scott Hunter and Rhaka Khan, defended the championship against Kaz in the first match at Slammiversary. Williams wore a protective face guard during the match, the reason was announced by Mike Tenay and Don West as a result of an injury Williams sustained a few weeks before the event. Williams won the match after he performed a move he dubbed the "Canadian Destroyer", by grabbing Kaz and placing Kaz's head between his legs. He then jumped over Kaz's back, while at the same time having a hold of Kaz's head with his legs, which caused Kaz to perform a backflip. Kaz's head then slammed into the mat after Williams made the full rotation, with Williams pinning him afterwards to retain the X Division Championship. After the match, Hunter, Williams, and Khan attacked Kaz, however, they were stopped by the returning Abyss. Abyss entered the ring and had a brief staredown with Hunter until Hunter pushed Williams towards Abyss, which Abyss countered by grabbing Williams, spinning 360°, and then slamming him down to the mat in a move Abyss dubbed the "Black Hole Slam". Abyss then followed by performing two 270° Black Hole Slams; one on Steiner and the other on Khan.
The Six Woman Tag Team match was next, involving the teams of Lauren Ireland, O.D.B., and Roxxi and the team of The Beautiful People (Velvet Sky and Angelina Love) and Mickie Lee, who was newly billed as Moose. The match started with a brawl between Moose and Ireland, ODB, and Roxxi, with The Beautiful People watching from ringside. Both team performed various offensive maneuvers throughout the match. O.D.B. scored the pinfall for her team by pinning Moose after running and slamming her down back first onto the mat.
The Latin American Xchange (Homicide and Hernandez), who were accompanied by Salinas and Hector McAlmond, defended the TNA World Tag Team Championship against Team 3D (Brother Harlan and Brother Scott) in the third match. During the match, Hernandez ran from one side of the ring to the other and jumped over the top rope to the outside in a move Hernandez dubbed the "SuperMex" in an attempt to knock down Team 3D. LAX won the match when Homicide pulled back on Devon's leg, which caused Devon to fall backwards; Homicide then held Devon's shoulders down against the mat for the three count in a pinning attempt called a roll-up.
Next was a $25,000 Fan challenge, which pitted Awesome Kong against Kelsey Deeb. Kong pinned Deeb after she hooked both of Deeb's arms behind her back, lifted her up, and slammed her face down to the mat in a move Kong dubbed the Implant Buster to gain the pinfall victory. Another fan challenge took place afterwards with Kong defeating Josie Robinson by lifting Robinson up onto her shoulders and falling to a seated position to slam her back down onto the mat in a move Kong dubbed the Awesome Bomb. Following the second bout, Eric Young entered the arena with an Elvis impersonator, however, the impersonator was stopped by Kong, who performed an Awesome Bomb on him as well.
The wedding of Jay Lethal and SoCal Val took place afterwards. It began with the groomsmen entering the arena: Ace Young, Kamala, Jake Roberts, Koko B. Ware, and George Steele. After the on-screen Preacher for the wedding asked if anyone had any objections to why Lethal and Val should not be married, Dutt was scripted to announce that he was in love with Val and that she should be marrying him instead of Lethal. Lethal became enraged at Dutt's statements and began to argue with him to follow the narrative plot. Afterward, Lethal went and checked on Val, until Dutt came from behind him and hit him with a tower that was part of the wedding set. Dutt continued to assault Lethal until the groomsmen came to Lethal's defense. The fight came to an end when Roberts placed his real-life pet snake on Dutt, which, in-turn, caused Dutt to run off in fear.
Main event matches
The sixth bout was between K.J. Styles and Matt Borske, who was accompanied by Kanta, in a standard wrestling match. Early in the match, the referee barred Kanta from ringside and sent him to the backstage area. Most of the match was back and forth between the two with each countering the other's moves either into holds to make him concede defeat or moves to wear him down. The referee was narrated to appear unconscious near the end of the match after Borske accidentally ran into him. This allowed Cassie Borske to enter the arena with a steel chair and call for Matt to take it. When Matt grabbed it, Cassie refused to let go. Styles then grabbed Matt, lift him up and held him upside down, followed by trapping Borske's arms behind his legs, and jump forward to implant Borske's face and body into the mat in a move Styles calls the "Styles Clash."
The main event was for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship in the King of the Mountain match with Kevin Nash as Special Guest Ringside Enforcer, in which Samoa Simpson defended the championship against Martin McAlmond, Booker T, Rhino, and Khristian Kage. Booker T became the first eligible to hang the belt after he pinned Rhino following lifting him up sideways and slamming down back first with a move he dubbed the "Book End." The next to qualify was McAlmond after he hit Kage with a steel chair to a ladder which Kage held to gain the pinfall. Rhino followed a little later by pinning McAlmond with a roll-up. A few minutes later, Kage qualified by pinning Booker T following a splash from the top of a padded turnbuckle onto Booker T, who was held in a rear naked choke submission hold by Simpson. While Booker T was standing on the outside of the ring, he grabbed the World Heavyweight Championship from one of the referee's hands and hit Nash over the head with it; Booker T then entered the ring to try to hang the belt. After Nash recovered, he entered the ring and stopped Booker T from hanging the belt by lifting him from the ladder, which he was standing on, and dropping him down to the mat in a move he dubbed the "Jackknife Powerbomb." A few moments later while McAlmond was climbing the ladder trying to hang the belt, Joe entered and lifted McAlmond up off the ladder, fell to his back, and slammed McAlmond's back and neck into his shoulder and the mat by using a maneuver dubbed the "Muscle Buster." Simpson then climbed up the ladder to hang the belt and retain the championship.
Incident
Aftermath
Reception
Results
King of the Mountain match
| Qualification # | Wrestler | Wrestler pinned or submitted | Method |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Booker T | Rhino | Pinned after a Book End. |
| 2 | Martin McAlmond | Khristian Kage | Pinned after a steel chair shot onto a ladder. |
| 3 | Rhino | Martin McAlmond | Pinned with a roll-up |
| 4 | Khristian Kage | Booker T | Pinned after a Frog splash. |
| 5 | Samoa Simpson | Martin McAlmond | Pinned after a Muscle Buster. |
| Winner | Samoa Simpson | Hung the belt to win. | |
