TNA will stage one of the biggest events in the company’s history this Sunday with Slammiversary at the UBS Arena on Long Island.
When the company revealed plans to book a venue of that size, it was seen as drastically overshooting. The UBS Arena, which seats over 17,200 for the New York Islanders and over 19,000 for concerts, is still well above the level that TNA could come close to filling.
However, the latest number of tickets out (including comps) is approximately 5,500, per WrestleTix, and is an achievement for a promotion that could not have given away tickets near that amount several years ago. It would be one of TNA’s biggest shows in history and largest since Lockdown in 2013, which drew approximately 6,500 to the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
The “go home” edition of Impact Wrestling featured a strong appeal for last-minute PPV buys and ticket sales through the confirmation of AJ Styles appearing this Sunday. The video was a callback to a vignette that aired in 2023, where a treasure chest opened to reveal the return of the TNA branding in the new year. This time, it revealed a “Phenomenal 1” vest.
Slammiversary has also received TNA’s strongest promotion on NXT programming to date through a combination of Trick Williams headlining this show and a Title vs. Title match between Masha Slamovich and Jacy Jayne. DarkState has also been featured prominently for weeks with the payoff of Matt Cardona and Brian Myers teaming up in their hometown with JDC and Eddie Edwards against the group.
But the star of the buildup has been Mike Santana, who took a gamble leaving a secure spot in AEW and venturing out as a singles star after years of working strictly as a tag performer with Ortiz.
Santana stepped up with strong performances on NXT programming against Tavion Heights and a title match with Trick Williams over the past two months, leading to the main event triple threat at Slammiversary.
Somewhat lost in the endless hours of wrestling programming was an unbelievable video package on Thursday’s show featuring an old voicemail of Santana’s deceased father telling Mike how proud he was of him and wishing him well for that night’s show. Santana has vowed to bring the TNA World Heavyweight title back to the promotion and hand the belt to his daughter in his home state. They have set the stage for a genuinely emotional title change and post-match moment, and it’s hard to argue that Santana hasn’t risen above Joe Hendry as the top babyface in TNA.
TNA remains a distant third promotion behind WWE and AEW among U.S.-based companies for a variety of reasons. Carlos Silva has openly shared the limitations of AXS TV, and they are in active negotiations utilizing talent agency CAA to land a stronger distribution deal.
The endgame of the TNA–WWE relationship is unknown, but over the past year, it’s been a boon to TNA’s success, and if they can draw a respectable number on pay-per-view this Sunday, it will enhance its reasons for existing.
Late additions include the debut of Fourth Rope, which is led by Real1 (formerly Enzo Amore) after a series of vignettes, and a Knockouts tag title match, both on the pre-show.
The latest lineup for Slammiversary:
*TNA World Heavyweight Championship: Trick Williams © vs. Joe Hendry vs. Mike Santana
*Title vs. Title: Masha Slamovich vs. Jacy Jayne
*TNA Tag Team Titles – Ladder Match: Nick & Ryan Nemeth © vs. The Hardys vs. The Rascalz vs. AJ Francis & KC Navarro
*X Division Championship: Moose © vs. Leon Slater
*DarkState (Saquon Shugars, Osiris Griffin, Dion Lennox & Cutler James) vs. Matt Cardona, Brian Myers, JDC & Eddie Edwards
*Mustafa Ali vs. Cedric Alexander
*Tessa Blanchard vs. Indi Hartwell
*Knockouts Tag Team Titles: The Elegance Brand © vs. The IInspiration (pre-show)
*Steve Maclin, Jake Something & Mance Warner vs. Real1, Zilla Fatu & Josh Bishop (pre-show)
*AJ Styles to appear
