Well on the DVD thread, since Slammiversary 2013 is coming up, I am going to go ahead and rank all of the Slammiversary events to date.
Not only will I be talking about the 3 Hour PPV event which started in 2005, but I will also throw in the first two anniversary shows during the weekly PPV era, which TNA themselves sometimes count as part of Slammiversary retrospectives (though the name wasn't used until 2005).
So from worst to best, here we go!
10) Slammiversary VIII (2010) = The Hogan/Bischoff Era was in full force here and this show was just painfully forgettable. They had built up Sting Vs. Rob Van Dam for the World Title for months and the end result was a rather dull main event. Other insane goings on were the seemingly never ending Matt Morgan/Hernandez feud, Abyss and Desmond Wolfe having a match over Hogan's magic HOF ring, Bully Ray facing Jessie Neal for some reason (this was when Team 3D was REALLY getting stale), Jeff Hardy & Mr. Anderson teaming up and defeating Beer Money for some reason, and dull matches all around. Even a match like AJ Styles Vs. Jay Lethal, which you'd think would be good, was kind of ordinary. The only match on the show that stood out was the opening bout between Kurt Angle & Kazarian which was part of that awesome Kurt Angle goes up the rankings storyline that ultimately got dropped. Also, I should note that this PPV was held in the Impact Zone after three years of Slammy being on the road, so this show really had none of the electricity of an amped up crowd.
9) The Two Year Anniversary Show (2004) = What a weird show this was. It felt like they tried to make it bigger than their usual weekly show and the first month of FSN episodes of Impact built up to it. Comparing it to the 1st year show, it looked better produced and more professional. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. We got Jeff Hardy making his TNA debut in an X Title match against AJ Styles which got a HUGE reaction and made that match feel special. We got AMW having a pretty good match against Japanese duo Nosawa and Miyamoto. Trinity & Desire (remember them?) actually had a pretty decent womens stretcher match. Christopher Daniels also made his return to TNA which felt like a big deal just watching it. But then it got mixed in with all this other strange shit like a Mini-Luchador match, and a Jerry Lynn Vs. Scott D'Amore match that went on FOREVER! I don't have a problem with wrestler vs. manager matches, but they should be relatively short and done for laughs (ala Bobby Heenan). I swear to God this thing went on for at least 15 minutes. And then we got a mediocre World Title match between Jeff Jarrett and my all time fucking favorite Ron Killings which ended in bullshit controversy. It is a shame the 1st ever King of the Mountain Match they did before they went to FSN wasn't saved for this show. That would have certainly helped to make it feel bigger.
8) The 1st Anniversary Show (2003) = Fortunately, the last two matches were good. AMW Vs. XXX for the Tag Titles was a pretty solid match that only served as a prelude to their Cage Match a week later and AJ Styles & Syxx-Pac Vs. Jeff Jarrett & Sting had a nice big main event feel to it. Fortunately, they were the last two matches so at least it ended with a nice 1-2 punch. The rest of the show was a mess. Anyone remember the Hard 10 Tournament? If you don't, good, because it was stupid. Jerry Lynn & Justin Credible had a disappointingly short match, far beneath their usual work. There was a random ass six man tag at the start of the show too and there were bad segments and promos all around, including one VERY bad 3 Live Kru promo (God they sucked). TNA was definitely still having growing pains during this phase of the company. CM Punk was actually on this show briefly as part of the Gathering, so if you're a Punk mark, there is something to check out.
7) Slammiversary III (2005) = The strange thing about this show is that after seeing it, I remember feeling like the Preshow to the event was better than the event. That bit in the preshow where Jarrett attacked a fan, got arrested, and then Raven got put in his spot in the King of the Mountain match was actually pretty awesome. The show didn't quite live up though. It was just forgettable with a bunch of meaningless X Division matches, a dull tag title match (one of their many attempts to push The Naturals), Lance Hoyt Vs. Bobby Roode before anybody cared about Roode, an AWFUL match between Ron Killings & Billy Gunn (going by The Outlaw here). The 3 Way X Title match felt like it really dragged too (It was Daniels Vs. Michael Shane Vs. Chris Sabin). The only things on this show that really stood out were 1) The King of the Mountain Main Event with Raven winning the NWA Title which was fine and 2) Samoa Joe's debut which was impressive. TNA had been off FSN for a month prior to this event and with a summer of no television ahead of them, it really seemed like it was dark times for TNA. Fortunately SpikeTV was on the horizon.
6) Slammiversary IX (2011) = It felt like TNA was trolling the internet a bit with this one. Matt Morgan Vs. Scott Steiner? Samoa Joe jobbing to the undefeated Crimson? Yeah, that was a thing. Abyss as X Division Champion? Yeah, that was also a thing. Jeff Jarrett Vs. Kurt Angle for the 20th time as the main event? Mr. Anderson on what felt like his 10th heel turn in six months defending the title against Sting. There was so much to hate about this show, but AJ Styles Vs. Bully Ray in the LMS match was amazing, one of the best in the event's history. That raises the event at least slightly, and to be fair, Angle Vs. Jarrett was a pretty good match though far beneath their best (BFG08 & Gen09). Also, we got James Storm & Alex Shelley teaming up to form Gun Money to defend the tag titles & they had a good match with The British Invasion. The Hogan Era was still going and they were smack dab in the middle of Immortal, but the end was coming soon thank heavens.
It is at this point that I thought to myself, "Man, some of these shows really sucked!", but it does get better.
5) Slammiversary VI (2008) = There is certainly some dead weight on this event like the Lethal/SoCal Val wedding and Awesome Kong's open challenge which amounted to nothing but a bad joke. However, good stuff was to be found at this event like a really good X Title match between Kaz & champion Petey Williams, a solid KO six women tag, a solid tag title match between LAX & Team 3D, and a pretty solid King of the Mountain main event where Samoa Joe successfully retained the title. We also got a pretty damn good AJ Styles Vs. Kurt Angle match, the first time these two had faced on PPV. They had much better matches down the road, but this match was really good too. Nothing spectacular about this show, but overall, it did feel like a bigger than usual event from TNA, even with the deadweight.
4) Slammiversary V (2007) = Alot of people seem to be down on this show, but I really liked it. Yes there were 10 matches, which is way too much, but overall, I thought the show was fun and entertaining to watch. Not only did we get BY FAR the best King of the Mountain Match of all time this year, but I thought there was alot of fun stuff on the undercard. Roode Vs. Eric Young was actually really well executed and a sign of Roode's emerging greatness. Frank Wycheck and Jerry Lynn Vs. James Storm & Ron Killings was surprisingly fun. Rhino & Sensi Vs. The LAX in the opening match, though random as hell, was action packed and exciting. Jay Lethal won his first X Title in a really good match with Sabin. We were supposed to get Team 3D Vs. The Steiners, but this was when Scott had that bad injury in Puerto Rico, so to take his place, they got Road Warrior Animal which actually provided a nice little nod to have a Steiner & a Road Warrior team up. Daniels & Sting had a disappointingly short, but still really good match and Abyss & Tomko's hardcore match was about 10 times better than it had any right to be. I wasn't a fan of Alex Shelley jobbing to Bob Backlund or The New Age Outlaws (Known as Voodoo Kin Mafia or VKM by this point, ugh) being on this show...at all. But I thought the show was just fun and exciting all around and it was the first Slammiversary on the road, so it felt like a big deal. And like I said, the King of the Mountain Match (Angle Vs. Joe Vs. AJ Vs. Christian Vs. Chris Harris) was friggin awesome.
3) Slammiversary VII (2009) = The swerve at the end of the show ended up amounting to nothing worth noting, but it didn't take away from the fact that this show was very good. They did two King of the Mountains here, one for the X Division Title and one for the World Title. I normally had overdoing a gimmick, but they had them bookend the show so it didn't feel too much like over-saturation and both matches were different and provided great action in different ways, so it worked. I also really liked Beer Money Vs. Team 3D for the Tag Titles, another really strong match between the two teams. And then there was the intergender Monster's Ball with Abyss & Taylor Wilde taking on Raven & Daffney which quite honestly almost stole the show due to its violence and just wild nature. Another match I really liked was Sting Vs. Matt Morgan just because Sting was the first guy to try and make Morgan look like a giant which led to a much cooler match than the norm for him. Overall, this Slammy was just action packed and exciting from start to finish and it made for a fun PPV viewing experience.
2) Slammiversary X (2012) = This show really caught me off guard. I really didn't expect it to be as good as it was. I stated last year that this was my 2nd favorite Wrestling PPV last year, placing it only behind WWE's Extreme Rules. I just really liked this show. It wasn't loaded with MOTY contenders or anything like that. It was just a well booked show infront of a hot crowd and everything just came off amazingly well. Well, almost everything (Garrett Bischoff was on this card). What can I say about Joseph Park Vs. Bully Ray? That match, by all rights, should have been a disaster, but they told a story and put on a match that entertained and captivated everybody. Kudos on that one. You want to know why Bully Ray got a main event push? I am willing to bet it was because of this match. Other really good matches included a killer opening between Aries & Joe for the X Title, a wild 3 way contenders match between RVD, Jeff Hardy, & Mr. Anderson, and I thought Sting Vs. Roode for the title was solid and had the right finish (thank heavens Roode retained here). And then of course there was that awesome tag title match with Bad Influence taking on AJ Styles & Kurt Angle in a wild display. They also provided a handful of great little moments like Sting being announced to go into TNA's Hall of Fame (as ludicrous as that sounds, the segment came off well) and James Storm returning to end Crimson's unbeaten streak. They really hit a home run with this show. I can't say enough good things about it.
1) Slammiversary IV (2006) = Yes they were still in the Impact Zone by this point, but I wasn't quite sick of the place or its fans yet. What I loved about this show was how they built it up and executed. The blueprint for booking this show felt like it was taken from huge shows like Wrestlemania or Starrcade. Just great feuds with great build ups and satisfying match ups at the PPV to follow up on them. I loved the Kevin Nash Vs. The X Division storyline with his partnership with Shelley and their various skits together. That shit was gold, and it led to a pretty good match with Sabin at the PPV. We also got a really good X Division Rankings match that actually displayed individual personalities & talents like Low Ki & Alex Shelley to great effect. Team 3D & The New Age Outlaws (called the James Gang here) had a shockingly good hardcore match to kick things off and that was a payoff to a two month tag team rivalry. Speaking of tag team rivalries, AJ Styles & Christopher Daniels Vs. AMW with AJ/Daniels finally winning the tag titles was an amazing match & moment and a bit of a personal favorite of mine. Another great rivalry was Samoa Joe & Scott Steiner. They did an unbelievable job of making it look like these two wanted to beat the shit out of each other and it made the match exciting. Also, it was Joe's biggest win up to this point and felt like a big deal. And then of course we got the ending with the King of the Mountain Match. The match was good as usual with Jarrett, Sting, Abyss, Christian, & Ron Killings mixing it up to make an entertaining closer. What grabbed me was the ending where Jarrett cheated his way to the title yet again and the fans almost caused a riot. Personally, I loved it! That was some great heel heat and made for an awesome visual to close the show with. Overall, Slammy 06 was a great show with a build up and execution I wish TNA & WWE would adhere to more often when booking big PPVs.