7 Ups & 5 Downs From IMPACT Slammiversary 2023 (Review)
Three surprise returns and the ascendancy of Trinity highlight a mixed bag for IMPACT Wrestling.
Slammiversary 2023 was an unmitigated success story that will receive little-to-no major social media discussion because of the event's prefix: IMPACT Wrestling presents.
The brand, though having been revived and rebirthed by Scott D'Amore, is not without its haters and trolls, just like WWE is, just like AEW is, just like your favourite wrestling promotion is. It's a global issue, but one that particularly affects the success rate of IMPACT's content output.
Slammiversary, though, has had its identity restored across the six events put together by D'Amore. 2018 and 2019 were his first offerings, boasting immense cards with genuine must-see matches across both; Sami Callihan and Pentagon Jr's Hair vs. Mask match from the former being the most must-see. 2020 and 2021, meanwhile, relied heavily on the element of surprise amidst swathes of WWE releases. In 2022, IMPACT celebrated its 20th birthday, bringing back a horde of relics from the past, sans the RelliK.
As for 2023? There was a good-to-great championship match for each of IMPACT's six championships, the conclusion to a never-ending saga that, although mundane, brought with it a hero's welcome, a bitter feud between two pillars of IMPACT's past and present, a maniacal Ultimate X match, and the comeback of IMPACT's Ace.
Was it any good?
Let's find out...