TNA Slammiversary was already a big night on paper, but the feeling backstage was apparently even bigger once the show wrapped.
The event went down at the Agganis Arena in Boston, Massachusetts, and TNA packed the card with plenty of major moments. Nic Nemeth defeated Mike Santana to become the TNA World Champion, The Hardys captured the TNA Tag Team Titles, and Uhaa Nation finally made his debut after his WWE departure.
Still, the real update coming out of the show is how TNA viewed the night internally. According to PWInsider, the company was very pleased with how Slammiversary turned out. More importantly, several talents felt this was exactly the kind of event TNA needed at this point.
“The company was very happy with how the event played out. Quite a few talents described it to PWInsider.com as an event ‘the company needed’ and to a person, pretty much the locker room wanted to deliver and make a statement.”
That says a lot about where TNA is right now. Slammiversary was not just treated like another pay-per-view by the people involved. The locker room wanted to send a message, and based on the reaction backstage, they believed they did just that.
The title changes helped make the night feel important, especially with Nemeth leaving Boston as TNA World Champion and The Hardys walking out with tag team gold. Uhaa Nation’s arrival also gave the show another major talking point, especially since fans had been waiting to see where he would land after WWE.
For TNA, the bigger story may be the confidence coming out of the event. When the locker room feels like it needed to deliver and actually did, that can go a long way in shaping the company’s momentum after a major show.
Slammiversary gave TNA a night full of big results, big debuts, and a backstage mood that sounded very positive. Now the company has to prove that the statement made in Boston was not just a one-night thing.
What did you think of TNA Slammiversary this year? Did TNA deliver the kind of statement show it needed? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.