15 days remain until Impact Wrestling‘s latest installment of Slammiversary. With that being said, here’s a look back at the very first event: Slammiversary 2005.
A multi-man X-Division opener
The first Slammiversary opened with an X-Division six-man match where Shark Boy scored a win over Amazing Red, Delirious, Elix Skipper, Zach Gowan, and Jerrelle Clark. Whether it was meant to be a tradition or not, the 2005 card set the tone for future events as many Slammiversary pay-per-views have opened with a multi-man X-Division match or even an X-Division Championship defense.
Ron Killings (R-Truth) beat The Outlaw (Billy Gunn)
Once upon a time, wrestling veterans R-Truth and Billy Gunn were TNA employees. In fact, Ron Killings scored a win over The Outlaw in the third match on the card in 2005. After a few more years there, R-Truth and Billy Gunn went on to have successful careers in WWE. Gunn now resides in AEW, while R-Truth is a record-breaking WWE 24/7 Champion.
Samoa Joe beat Sonjay Dutt
Samoa Joe and Sonjay Dutt are both synonymous with TNA, especially in the X-Division. And before they became the legends that we know them as today, the talented athletes had a chance to showcase their skills against each other in the middle of the card. Ultimately, Joe beat Dutt by submission. Nowadays, Joe works as a commentator in WWE, while Dutt works behind the scenes as a WWE producer.
Bobby Roode defeated Lance Hoyt
Before evolving into the AEW star he is today, Lance Archer once went by the name of Lance Hoyt in TNA and WWE. Believe it or not, Lance came up short to one of TNA’s (eventual) biggest stars in Bobby Roode fifteen years ago. And who happened to be in Roode’s corner at that time? Current Impact VP Scott D’Amore.
Raven won King of the Mountain
Slammiversary 2005 was headlined by a King of the Mountain match for AJ Styles’ NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Abyss, Monty Brown, and Sean Waltman also competed in the match, while Raven served as a late replacement for Jeff Jarrett. As fate would have it, Raven pulled off the win and subsequently captured his first NWA World Title.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT2YHytxc94
Below is the entire Slammiversary 2005 match card:
- Shark Boy def. Amazing Red, Delirious, Elix Skipper, Zach Gowan, and Jerrelle Clark
- Shocker def. Alex Shelley
- Ron Killings def. The Outlaw
- NWA World Tag Team Championship: Andy Douglas & Chase Stevens (c) def. Eric Young & Petey Williams
- Samoa Joe def. Sonjay Dutt
- Bobby Roode def. Lance Hoyt
- Chris Harris & James Storm def. BG James & Konnan
- NWA World Championship King of the Mountain Match: Raven def. AJ Styles (c), Abyss, Sean Waltman & Monty Brown
The entire Slammiversary 2005 event is available to be streamed via YouTube in the video player above.
Stay tuned for more editions of Slammiversary Fun Facts in the days leading up to Slammiversary 2020.
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