4 Ups & 2 Downs From Impact Wrestling (Dec 29)
2. Rich's Rise
An emotional video package highlighting the rise up the card of Rich Swann almost brought a tear to this writer's eye. Impact's production team excel at these hype packages; mixing the right shot to the beat of some music track that perfectly fits the narrative of the story, it's one thing that helps them stand apart from their competition.
Reminiscing about Swann's seven months spent on the shelf was a tough one. You knew exactly how much it meant to him to be able to make it back for Slammiversary. There's no point hiding it, Swann's reveal as the mystery man in that World Championship match felt like a blow to the stomach as Impact had essentially told us it would be one of the many WWE releases from April, so to see Rich's music hit instead initially fell flat. Once Eric Young entered, though, and began the story between he and Swann, that's when the sympathy settled in for the now-current World Champion.
It's weird to think that Swann might not in the position he now is if it hadn't been for that ankle injury he suffered back in January. Remember, that's the same injury that resulted in Willie Mack's sensational Handicap Match for the World Tag Team Championships vs. The North - another match that would never have happened had Swann not been injured. Sometimes, injuries work out for the best.