10 Ups & 1 Down From Impact Wrestling Slammiversary XVI

9. The Spirit Of ECW

Poor old Eddie Edwards has had a rough ride in 2018. Sami Callihan almost caved his skull in with a baseball bat back in March, leading to a series of bitter scraps held primarily in Tommy Dreamer's House Of Hardcore promotion, along with a six-man tag back at Impact's last pay-per-view, Redemption, in April.

The former Impact Champion lost his mind somewhere along the way, turning on Dreamer (whom he teamed with at Redemption) in the process. Tommy was there to tell a cautionary tale of what happens when performers get too caught up in the violence, and this formed the dynamic of their feud.

The duo met in a House Of Hardcore bout, and it was fine. You're not going to get a **** bout out of Tommy Dreamer in 2018 (if ever), but the stipulation helped mask his shortcomings, and Toronto was hot for the action. A noisy building often compensates for lukewarm work. This was the case here, as while the action was largely okay-to-decent, things like Tommy braining Eddie with a replica ECW Title belt felt forced.

A hammy post-match angle that saw Dreamer hand Edwards his kendo stick as a passing of the torch didn't get over, but the ECW-style brawl largely succeeded.

Advertisement
Channel Manager
Channel Manager

Andy has been with WhatCulture for eight years and is currently WhatCulture's Wrestling Channel Manager. A writer, presenter, and editor with 10+ years of experience in online media, he has been a sponge for all wrestling knowledge since playing an old Royal Rumble 1992 VHS to ruin in his childhood. Having previously worked for Bleacher Report, Andy specialises in short and long-form writing, video presenting, voiceover acting, and editing, all characterised by expert wrestling knowledge and commentary. Andy is as much a fan of 1985 Jim Crockett Promotions as he is present-day AEW and WWE - just don't make him choose between the two.