Beauty In The Violence: Slammiversary XVII

Two weeks ago, I had the opportunity to witness Gilley’s Dallas transform into the IMPACT Zone.

The unpretentious watering hole came alive as fans from around the country gathered for one of Impact Wrestling’s biggest shows of the year – Slammiversary XVII. Ross Forman, head of media relations at Impact, hooked me up with a press pass to cover the historic event. Since that fateful night, I’ve watched the pay-per-view from beginning to end two more times.

It was a stellar lineup with incredible action throughout the evening, from Willie Mack emerging victorious in a thrilling four-way to The North retaining the Tag Team Titles by any means necessary to Eddie Edwards bloodying Killer Kross to Moose conquering Rob Van Dam in his return to PPV. Of course, you can’t forget Rich Swann’s exhilarating victory over Johnny Impact (in perhaps the latter’s final match in the company) and Brian Cage’s first successful title defense against Michael Elgin.

With all that said, it was the women who stole the show. It was also a night of firsts: four ladies competed in the Monster’s Ball for the first time, and an intergender battle closed the show for the first time in Impact history.

The 51st Monster’s Ball saw the recently returned Jessicka Havok (under the tutelage of “Sinister Minister” Father James Mitchell) face off against Su Yung and the unlikely alliance of Knockouts Champion Taya Valkyrie and Rosemary – the cult leader with a home beneath the stairs. The match was, in a word, brutal. Between insane ladder spots and the introduction of thumb tacks, the Knockouts brought a level of intensity and pain not often seen in women’s wrestling. Taya was able to brave the hellish landscape and retain her title after capitalizing on a failed pin attempt following an inverted power bomb from the second turnbuckle onto the thumbtacks.

Then, we saw Sami Callihan take on Tessa Blanchard in not only their first encounter, but also the first intergender main event on a North American wrestling PPV. The match was hard-hitting and at times uncomfortable. The leader of oVe pulled no punches and drove Blanchard repeatedly into the steel barricade. The third-generation grappler was able to fight back with hard strikes and mat wrestling, as well as her gold baseball bat – an insurance policy against the other members of OVE. Eventually though Callahan’s strength and brutality paid off as he scored the pinfall over Blanchard. Of course, Callihan is no stranger to baseball bats, and ultimately defeated Blanchard with a Cactus Piledriver.

After the dust settled, Callihan uncharacteristically extended a hand to Blanchard, helping her to her feet before vacating the ring and allowing her to soak in the loud and fervent adoration of those of us who were there live. It spoke volumes that even Callihan knew that she had held her own.

In the annals of time, Slammiversary XVII will be remembered for the women of Impact stating loud and clear that they had more than earned their place in the spotlight.