Slammiversary is right around the corner on July 18, and Impact has been filling the lineup the past few days with title bouts. Today, Impact announced a gauntlet with 10 women. Becoming #1 contender for the Knockouts Championship is at stake.
BREAKING: A #1 Contenders Knockouts Gauntlet match is OFFICIAL for #Slammiversary on July 18th! @WeAreRosemary vs. @nevaehOi4k vs. @realsuyung vs. @HoganKnowsBest3 vs. @TheTayaValkyrie vs. @RealTSteelz vs. @MrsAIPAlisha vs. @IamKylieRae vs. @Kimber_Lee90 vs. @FearHavok! pic.twitter.com/7xjBrhA8fr
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) June 29, 2020
As a reminder, a gauntlet match is not what it sounds in Impact. Their version is a Royal Rumble with the final two having a regular match to crown the winner.
That’s a solid field with unpredictability as to who will win. Alisha Edwards is the only contestant I would say has no chance at victory. Taya is the favorite, but I don’t anticipate her winning if the plan is for Jordynne Grace to retain the Knockouts title against Deonna Purrazzo. Grace won the belt off Taya and won the rematch as well, so I don’t see a need for a third contest so soon. All the rest would be credible contenders of varying degrees.
The announced Slammiversary card so far is:
- World Championship: Ace Austin vs Eddie Edwards vs Trey Miguel vs ??? vs ???
- Knockouts Championship: Jordynne Grace vs Deonna Purrazzo
- X-Division Championship: Willie Mack vs Chris Bey
- Knockouts #1 Contender Gauntlet: Rosemary, Nevaeh, Susie (aka Su Yung), Kiera Hogan, Taya, Tasha Steelz, Alisha Edwards, Kylie Rae, Kimber Lee, Jesicka Havok
The main event is under a cloud of uncertainty. It was originally a five-way with Tessa Blanchard defending the gold, but both Tessa and Michael Elgin have since been fired. Impact has yet to announce if there will be replacements or if they will trim the title fight down to a three-way.
Other matches that look likely for Slammiversary are The North defending the tag titles against Ken Shamrock and Sami Callihan, Moose unofficially defending the TNA Heavyweight Championship, and perhaps something with a bunch of tag teams.
There is also the tease that at least one former world champ will make a return to Impact. EC3 is the most probable candidate. A second former champ may return to fight Moose for TNA pride.
Are you excited by the Slammiversary card so far? Is it enough to get you to purchase the PPV on July 18?