A somewhat bizarre music video - and even weirder musical performance from the Lo Cash Cowboys (now known as just LOCASH and actually fairly successful) - starts the show. While a hillbilly instrumental plays, highlights are shown from the earliest years of TNA, which means lots of Jeff Jarrett, Hulk Hogan getting bloodied, and a whole bunch of little people, before the music transitions to something a bit more rocking and we see more recent clips of AJ Styles, Sting, Angle, and others. I'm not sure if the producers were trying to make "old school TNA" look really lame, but it absolutely works.
The crowd was super hyped for this match (and really, this whole show), which really helped take average-to-good matches and make them come off as that much better. The opening contest - LAX vs. Rhino and Senshi - is a perfect example as you wouldn't really expect this bout to "wow" you, but because the crowd is so into it and the performers are motivated and working hard, this match rules. This match also shows why LAX were considered to be one of the best teams on the planet as Homicide takes some crazy bumps and Hernandez gets to show off his impressive strength and shocking agility. This was smartly layed-out too with them going "big vs. small" in the opening minutes before letting the monsters go at it and the undersized guys duke it out. This isn't a match that would make anyone's Best Of TNA list, but as far as starting the show off with a hot match, you really can't do much better than this. (3/5)
Jay "Black Machismo" Lethal challenged Chris Sabin for his X-Division Championship in the next match. Kevin Nash was on commentary but wasn't as entertaining as one would expect. The problem I had with this whole thing was that it was a match where the in-ring action was serious, hard-hitting, fast-paced, and exciting...but the commentary skewed towards comedic, focused a bit too much on Bob Backlund, and I have always disliked Jay Lethal's Macho Man cosplay. The story of Nash tapping into Lethal's respectable mimicry skills and deep knowledge of Randy Savage's vocal tics is just not one that I was able to get emotionally invested in, especially this far down the pike. At no point did I feel like I was watching Lethal break out of a "shell" to claim the X-Division Champion as himself and not a character doing a parody. Say what one may about how vanilla certain X-Division stars were, I still would've preferred to see someone who had gotten over as themselves be the one to dethrone Sabin rather than a guy doing someone else's shtick. A "feel good" moment that didn't make me feel anything because I wasn't invested in Jay Lethal. (2.5/5)
Every major wrestling promotion has attempted to involve real sports stars into their storylines at one point or another, but TNA's always seemed so...local to me. Of course, as I'm not a huge sports fan, I'll readily admit that unless they had brought LeBron James, Shaq, or a Williams sister to the Impact Zone, I probably would have no idea who their star athlete was, but was Frank Wycheck a big name in football? I see that he made the Pro-Bowl a few times, which is a big deal, but it still feels like he was brought in just because the show was happening in Tennessee and he was on the Titans. Anyway, Wycheck teams with Jerry Lynn to take on James Storm and Ron "The Truth" Killings. Killings doesn't even get an entrance, which is a bit ironic because 15 years later, he is easily the biggest star and most well-known of the three wrestlers involved. I was pleasantly surprised with this match as the live crowd was into it and I really liked the way Storm and Killings mocked Wycheck at one point. Speaking of Wycheck, he didn't have to do much, but his sheer size made him stand out and seem like a real threat despite his lack of in-ring experience. The match goes a minute or so too long and I'm not sure why they didn't go with a slightly simpler finish considering Wycheck's amateur status, but this wasn't nearly as bad as it could've been. (2/5)
I know I've complained a bunch about the involvement of Bob Backlund in the X-Division over the previous few shows, but the match he had with Alex Shelley on this show wasn't too bad. Shelley bumped for Backlund huge, taking an awesome overhead release suplex at one point, and doing everything he could to make up for Backlund's noticeably less-than-smooth movements. Chris Sabin showed up towards the end, effectively costing Shelley the match. I don't mind that Shelley - a personal fave - didn't get the W as he was protected a little bit by Sabin's involvement. Not good, but not terrible. (1.5/5)
After some post-match ga-ga involving the Motor City Machine Guns, Backlund, Nash, Jerry Lynn, and Lethal, we get a promo from Christopher Daniels, who is standing in the crowd. Daniels' promo is full of references to God and the Bible. I'm curious what Sting thought of building a storyline out of that sort of material considering he is known for being a fairly devout Born Again Christian. As I've written in the past, I like the concept of Daniels' gimmick around this time, but didn't love the execution and found this promo to be a little corny when it should be more scary.
Back to the ring we go for the Voodoo Kin Mafia vs. Doug Basham and Damaja. At the previous show, Basham and Damaja got the win because the Road Dogg was kayfabe injured and their scheduled bout became a Handicap Match (seemingly done to protect the VKM for some inexplicable reason). This match was part of the dreadful VKM/Christy Hemme feud, which should have been stopped after their first terrible segment together. Anyway, Basham and Damaja get some offense in early but once Kip James comes him, the tide turns and the VKM get the win in what felt like just 4-5 minutes. Basham and Damaja look like complete jokes, James gets his win back (which was meaningless), and we get the very predictable heel turn from Lance Hoyt during the post-match that could've and should've happened months earlier. Bad. A half-point because there is a universe where they somehow gave this more time. (0.5/5)
In the back, Rick Steiner reveals to Jim Cornette that he has a mystery partner to replace his injured brother Scott for the now-canceled Steiners/Team 3D match. On a show that was already promising one mystery participant in the main event, the inclusion of another mystery participant angle is an interesting development...
Robert Roode took on Eric Young in a Freedom Match, with Young fighting to escape the contract he was being held to by Roode and his evil business manager, Traci Brooks. The crowd was hot for this match and 1000% behind Young. I wasn't an avid TNA viewer in 2007 - or really at any time, save for maybe a few weeks in 2010? - but these sorts of feuds, when well-executed and played correctly, are what I love about pro-wrestling (even if they've been done to death over the years). Roode and Young took a classic wrestling storyline and didn't really do anything special with it, but it worked with the audience because it was classic and Young was a lovable, goofy underdog while Roode was great as the cocky, bully heel. Oh, and these guys know how to work in the ring. Young shows great fire and Roode has always been an above-average ring technician, not necessarily the flashiest worker, but a guy that executes his offense with impact and bumps and sells as good as anyone. At one point, we almost got a wardrobe malfunction when Young "pantsed" Traci Brooks. That could've been good or bad depending on your view of such things. I really liked the false finish of Young hitting a double Samoan Drop on both heels only to get a 2 count. Roode blasts Young with a chair to get the initial victory before Jim Cornette restarts the match. What I really liked about the execution of all this was Roode and Young allowing the various "swerves"/false finishes to breathe, including interference from Gail Kim, which made it believable that Young would be able to kickout despite getting knocked out cold by a chair just minutes earlier. This attention to detail is too often overlooked. Young ends up rolling Roode up, saving his career in the process. Not "must see," but a significant step up from the previous few matches on this show. (3/5)
The NWA World Tag Team Championships are on the line in the next match (I think?) as Team 3D take on Rick Steiner and his mystery partner...Animal. I'm not sure if Team 3D had turned heel prior to this match, but the nostalgia pops that Steiner and Animal get make them the defacto heels as the crowd is chanting "LOD" and barking like The Dog-Faced Gremlin for the entirety of this match, which goes under 7 minutes. This was about as good as it could've been, I guess, considering how old and unimpressive everyone looks. Animal was essentially retired prior to this match and Rick Steiner hadn't appeared regularly in a major US promotion since WCW, but what were the Dudleys' excuse for looking like shit (especially Bubba)? This was bound to be a disappointment after hyping the legendary battle between The Steiners and Team 3D, but I'll give credit to TNA for at least replacing him with a legitimate tag team legend in Animal. (2/5)
The next match - Christopher Daniels vs. Sting is also a bit of a disappointment. As I've written about before, Daniels' gimmicky "Anti-Christ" character did not click with me. It is too corny at times, Daniels' overacts too much, and I don't see that extra element of evil and brutality that he needed to tap into in order to make this gimmick work. Instead, he's just Christopher Daniels with a little bit of face-paint and some goofy mannerisms. Sting is fine here and he does bump and sell for Daniels, but he never really looks like he's in all that much danger or is being out-wrestled. It would've been interesting to see Sting feel overwhelmed by the high-flying style of Daniels, but the story they tell is a bit more ho-hum than that and the match never really hits that "second gear" before it wraps up in under 7 minutes. Defeating Daniels in under 10 minutes didn't do the Fallen Angel any favors. (2/5)
I wasn't expecting a Tyson Tomko match to snap a string of sub-average matches, but his No DQ match against Abyss is surprisingly quite good. The match starts with some stiff, heated brawling, but its not too long before Abyss pulls out a bag of thumbtacks and we get to the hardcore stuff. It may be "cheap," but its exciting. If the thumbtacks spread across the mat weren't enough, we also get glass, which I very much hope (and am guessing) is of the sugar variety. It doesn't really matter, though, because it looks great and Tomko gets to look like a killer by not only delivering a CURB STOMP onto Abyss into the glass, but also picking up a shard and driving it into Abyss's face. They eventually make their way towards the stage area and climb up the lighting structure for no particular reason at all. Like, zero. But who needs ring psychology when you know you're going to get a big bump? In this case, you get two and, again, they both look terrific even if it is painfully obvious that both guys are landing on a massive stack of cardboard boxes to break their fall. At close to 14 minutes, this match was longer than the previous two matches combined and nearly doubled their score too. Not a "must see" match or anything, but great fun and probably the best Tomko match I've ever seen. (3.5/5)
Main event time - Kurt Angle vs. Christian vs. AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Chris Harris in a King of the Mountain Match for the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Before the match begins, we get a video interview with Jeff Jarrett, the guy that most people, including myself, believed would be the mystery 5th entrant. However, after the interview, Jim Cornette makes his way to the ring and announces that it will be "Wildcat" Chris Harris instead - per the request of Jarrett, who shrewdly realized that he would probably get heel heat if he had inserted himself into the match. The stipulations of the King of the Mountain Match are hot garbage, but I'll give credit to TNA for at least trying to come up with new concepts and not just bailing on them. Plus, with AJ and Samoa Joe in the ring, and the experience and star power of Christian and Angle, there was little chance this match would stink the joint out. There was lots to like here, especially out of the aforementioned Styles and Joe, who both took great-looking bumps off the penalty box at one point. Harris was somewhat of the odd man out, mostly because everyone else in this match has been intertwined for the past few months and, in some cases, even longer. My biggest gripe was the somewhat awkward finish as Harris speared Cage off a ladder, thus allowing Angle to climb it and retrieve the title without having to do any offense to get there. It would've been cooler if Harris and speared the ladder, knocked both guys out, and we got some sort of race to the top. That minor criticism aside, this was start-to-finish action and the crowd was into every second. I've seen some really, really high ratings for this match that I don't agree with, but this was very good. (3.5/5)
With a Kwang Score of 2.35-out-of-5, Slammiversary 2007 is a show that contains way too much filler and fat to carry over the course of its runtime. Some of the matches on this show would be awful on your average episode of Impact, let alone on one of the company's flagship events. The main event delivers, the Abyss/Tomko match is surprisingly strong, Roode/Young is solid old-school 'rassling, and the opener kicks thing off well...but the lows of this show are low. The Voodoo Kin Mafia and everything they were involved in for the duration of their existence is shit. Daniels/Sting is a disappointment and the other X-Division matches on the card are okay at best. Recommended for superfans of this particular era of TNA, but not for anyone looking for a top-to-bottom great show to watch.
FINAL RATING - High Risk Maneuver
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