7 Ups & 4 Downs From IMPACT Wrestling (15 July)
Bey strikes his team, Decay become four, D'Amore brings the teases.
At the time of writing, Slammiversary is now just one day away. The excitement is there, the buzz is in the air, the surprises are coming. Sadly, the go-home episode of IMPACT's AXS TV show left a bit of a sour taste in certain story arcs.
The apparent culmination of Jordynne Grace and Rachael Ellering vs. Tenille Dashwood's story was overshadowed by the Val Venis-esque mantra of Kaleb With A K in the show-opener. Moose vs. Hernandez, and Joe Doering vs. Doc Gallows vs. Fallah Bahh vs. Willie Mack were both booked to appear as attractive hoss fights - the latter literally being dubbed the Battle Of The Hosses - but failed to build any buzz for their respective Slammiversary bouts.
These aren't minor issues, either. Moose looked laughable, mere weeks after he faced Kenny Omega in a banger, while Joe Doering continues to look senseless, despite coming into IMPACT as a supposed icon of modern-day All Japan Pro Wrestling.
Where IMPACT did good, though, they did exceptionally well. Building hype for Saturday by teasing the likes of Chelsea Green, Mickie James, and the former IIconics, everything - near enough - is in place to make 17 July another momentous occasion for the Anthem-helmed promotion.
Let's get to it...