LIVE with Twisted, Brother Pyro & Desario Preview TNA Slammiversary

Wrestling Crossroads previews TNA Slammiversary with Twisted, Brother Pyro, and DeSario, first airing grievances about recent departures including Tommy Dreamer, Sami Callahan, Tessa Blanchard, and Steve Maclin while still expecting a strong show despite competition from Great American Bash and AEW Forbidden Door. They break down and predict each match: the Ultimate X X-Division title bout (with excitement for returning Amazing Red), Mustafa Ali’s International Title open challenge, Moose vs Eddie Edwards in a towel-throw “No Surrender” match, the Knockouts tag titles (Heather and M by Elegance vs Rosemary and Allie), Eric Young vs newcomer Ricky Sosa. A tag title ladder match featuring The Hardys, The System, The Righteous, and The Great Hands, AJ Francis vs Elijah with an NIL stipulation, Lei Ying Lee vs Xia Brookside former friends battling for the Knockouts title, and the main event of Nick Nemeth challenging Mike Santana for the TNA World Title, including speculation about Santana’s contract and a possible WWE future.

Transcript

Welcome and guests

0:15

What is up, guys? Welcome back to Wrestling Crossroads. As always, I am one half Dynamic Duo Twisted alongside Brother Pyro. What's up, y'all? And today we also have DeSario. Hello, hello. And we are talking TNA Slammiversary. I'm excited for this match card. I am too, but, uh, I need to air some general grievances first. Go for it. And I know you feel the exact same way I do, DeSario. Oh, of course. Um, to anybody that has been paying attention to what has been going on in the world of

Departures Grievances

0:47

TNA, uh, announced last week Tommy Dreamer and TNA have mutually parted ways. I don't believe that load of crock for a second. And, um, Sammy Callahan is no longer with the company. Sammy Callahan's no longer with the company, plus also two wrestlers. One of them, whether you loved her or hate her, you know, she's gone now too. Tessa Blanchard. We're talking about Tessa Blanchard and also- 'Cause they put her in a cho- in a, in a position of you gotta choose between us and them. And you know what? I hope it all works out for her, 'cause I feel she made the right... I feel she made the right move. For herself, absolutely, she made the right call. But then we're also missing Mr. Steve Maclin, a man who has been a rock, a horse, basically an anchor for TNA for the last several years, and they also mutually parted ways. So a lot of misgivings going on with TNA right now. But given that, don't let that sour your grapes about what is for sure going to be a great show Sunday afternoon, because they are also competing with Great American Bash and AEW's Forbidden Door, which we will get into later. Here, let's kick it off. First match on the card. First match on the card, we got the X Division title. Go into who we got going on for this. Oh, yes. We got the Ultimate X match, X Division title. Cedric Alexander defends against Leon Slater, Frankie Kazarian, Casey Navarro, Mr. Elegance, Fabian Aichner? Aichner, yes. Okay. I was like, I, I... And a returning Amazing Red. That is the one I am excited for the most. If you guys have never seen The Amazing Red wrestle, you are in for a treat. This man personified the X Division back in the day, and for him to come back to a big a show as this can only help out with the, uh, match concept- When you- -and how excited it is. When you talk Mount Rushmore of X Division in TNA, I think it goes Amazing Red, Christopher Daniels, AJ Styles, Chris Sabin. Can't argue with that. Can't.

Ultimate X Predictions

2:55

Uh, jumping into the predictions. DeSario, why don't you, uh, go ahead and take it away? This is the match you've been most excited about. Oh, I'm so, so excited because any X Division match is always must-see, and when you throw the Ultimate X out there, you know you're gonna get something special with that title hanging above. For those of you who are unfamiliar with an Ultimate X match, you are gonna have ropes strung above the ring criss-crossing each other to form, you know, the lovely X that we see. Only way to get it, climb up there, swing your way over, and pull that title down. This is gonna be great. Myself and Flash are going for The Amazing Red on this one. We'd like to see, you know, that nice little comeback tour get culminated with something special. Whereas everybody else is going with the current reigning champion, Cedric Alexander. You stumbled upon saying his name. I definitely did. I 100% see that you have been tongue-tied with that one. I know, but at least it was only two names I had to provide for the predictions on this one, as opposed to maybe four or five. You know, I feel like he gives us a valid point. Yep, definitely. But no, I'm, I'm excited for the chaos and the memories that this match is gonna make. If this is your first introduction to that, welcome. Welcome, welcome, welcome. Hey, you wanna step closer this way so you're in camera shot? No, I'm good. Bring yo behind. We, we got a small camera, man. We do. We do. I'm sorry. All right, um- Maybe next time we turn it I feel like that'd be fair. So do you wanna take us into the next match, or do you want me to take it over? Yeah, I got it. All

Ali Open Challenge

4:32

right. International Championship defended. Mustafa Ali has put out an open challenge. I'm curious as to who we think is going to answer the call. Beast being the only one going Mustafa. You, me, and Flash have gone with whoever decides to answer the open challenge. And Daesarae over here has gone no prediction. Why? So whate- whoever they bring out for this match, obviously with it being a big show, it's gonna be a big deal. It's gonna be a big name. But I do not wanna see all the work that Mustafa Ali has put into this character, which is arguably the best run of his career right now, with Order 4 and everything in TNA, losing that title. I don't wanna see it happen, so I'm not picking anybody to win. All right Uh, who do you think it will be? If you had to throw out one name that you, that you want or think it's gonna be, who, what's the first name that comes to mind? Somebody who I would want to see come into it but I know can't be in it because of the 90-day clause would be Mr. Apollo Crews. Okay. You? Who, who, who do you think, or who would you like to see answer Mustafa's open challenge? Just throwing a name out there to throw a name out there, uh, Nick Nemeth's little brother. Just, just for sh- of it. You know, I- He, he, you know, Big Brother's on the card, but little brother's not, so why not? Let's just give Ryan Nemeth- Interesting. I personally would love... You say, y- see, you talk about the 90-day rule. I don't know how well that's gonna play, 'cause they have the working relationship with WWE, so I don't know how much of a factor that's really going to play in. Did somebody in our comments really say The Rock? Yep. Yes. Okay. All right, my guy. What's The Rock doing in the impact zone? Oh, no, wait. They'd have to change his name. What's The Stone doing in the impact zone? Oh, my lord. For those of you who don't get that reference- The Boulder. The Boulder. Back in when TNA used to bring in old WWE guys and they had to change their name, like, "What is so-and-so doing in the impact zone?" Oh, my God. That's, that's great. Um, so I would personally love to see the man come off of the commentary table. Uh, he goes by The Drama King. He used to be, uh, what was his name in, um... What, what was his name? In English? Yes. I love how I knew that- Yes just off of that. Thank you. I, I can't remember what he goes by now other than The Drama King, but I would love, love, love to see him come off the commentary table, at least for one night. It would be great to see that happen. All right. Take us into our next one, Miss Ma'am.

Moose vs Edwards Stipulation

7:24

Uh, Eddie Edwards takes on Moose. Now, I'm a little bit behind in, uh, the TNA drama of it all, but I know that from what I have heard from you two, it, he was kinda tossed out of the faction, thus leaving him to this, like, one-on-one match. And the stipulation is a towel gets thrown in today. Yep. Correct. Officially labeled as a no surrender match. In Moose's corner is gonna be JDC. In Eddie Edwards' corner is gonna be Alicia, uh, Aisha Edwards. And the first person to throw in a towel from the opposite corner, signaling that their p- their partner cannot go on anymore, that's who's gonna be declared the loser. Okay. All right, all right. This will be interesting. Uh- This will be a whole lot of fun to, uh, to watch, uh, 'cause you know what? It really doesn't get as personal, um... It, it, it is not as personal a match as the one we are seeing here. Mm-hmm. Given the back and forth, given the, uh- This is how, you know, we were at one point, we were close. We were thick as thieves. We were all part of a brotherhood. The System, when it was with Moose, JDC, Brian Myers, Eddie Edwards, they ran TNA. Oh, yeah. They were the S- They, they did not sit there and... They were The System. They were what they said they were. Mm-hmm. And then after JDC has his retirement match, they kick out Moose, who was arguably the leader of said stable, and Moose has been on a rampage since. He's been mowing through everybody except Eddie Edwards. He's- And w- and he's been ducking the, the, the- The- behind whooping coming his way. Yep. Yeah, it's been a long time coming here. I'm excited for this, and especially with the no surrender stipulation. You have no disqualification. Anything is gonna go on this match right here. Oh. So I am really looking forward to some violence. All right, uh, so going into our predictions, we have Flash and Beast, who have chosen Moose, whereas everybody else is going Edwards. Uh, I'm only going that more or less out of familiarity. I'm going that solely because I didn't realize the, uh, stipulation had been added. Okay. So via the stipulation being added, do you change your answer? Yes. Yes. Uh, I think, uh, I, I, I 100% believe Moose has a better chance. Okay. Uh, I see it less likely that, you know, the, uh, the system will be as involved- Mm-hmm now, given what is about to happen. Okay. Okay. Uh, DeSario, why don't you take us into our next one unless Pyro wants to hit that one? Nah.

Knockouts tag titles

9:54

Okay, in what should be a very contrasting styles match for the TNA Knockouts Championship, we have the Elegance brand uh, Heather by Elegance and M by Elegance versus Rosemary and Allie. This has been brooding for a little while now, especially when the mirror, when the Elegance brand came in and says, "We're coming for you." Written in, what could've been blood, could've been lipstick. Who knows? It was more than likely lipstick. Let's- Yeah, but it's definitely sent a very ominous warning to the current tag team champions, and especially with Allie coming back to the company not too long ago, I'm excited to see where this goes from here. All right. Go ahead and read off the, uh- Prediction Going for the predictions, we have myself and Pyro going with the Elegance brand, whereas everybody else is going with Rosemary and Allie. Now, I think it's too soon to take the belts off the Elegance brand. They have been really well showcased, and especially with Ash on the shelf, these girls have really stepped up their game. They really have. Um, plus I think the Elegance brand ha- is more, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, is more tenured as a team. They are. Versus Rosemary and Allie are kinda just- Recently put together Thrown together. Yes. With Rosemary trying to resurrect Allie over the last few months as well. And I think that just because the fact that they're now playing this storyline with trying to resurrect her, that's what's gonna give them this bigger push, you know? She's got that dead side that she can really tap into, and that might be the, the key factor of it. Very true. Mm-hmm. We're all gonna see where it leads into it. So let's go into the next match here.

Young vs Sosa Rookie test

11:31

Eric Young takes on TNA newcomer Ricky Sosa. I really loved this signing for them, by the way. That man has been so over. Uh, can you remind me of how we got here? My notes are kind of- So- Okay so a few mo- a few months ago, Ricky Sosa showed up into, uh, TNA, and Eric Young, who kind of, you know, not so jokingly takes his role as gatekeeper of TNA very, very seriously, where all newcomers have to go through him in order to come into the company- Oh, yeah called Sosa a poser. And wh- and basically, that's kind of the genesis of this whole rivalry that we have going on right now. Match was made official a few weeks ago, and definitely gonna be a good contrasting styles between n- uh, veteran and rookie. So- Got it. So Sos- Sosa's gonna be his first real test, and, like, "I have a whole lot to prove here." Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And Eric Young is like "No." Pretty much. "Not on my watch, kid." Right. All right. Predictions? Uh, going into our predictions, Beast, Da Sario, and Twisted have all gone Eric Young, whereas myself and Flash all believe that Ricky Sosa is going to show why this was the best thing to happen for TNA. I could see that. I could go either way with this match. I, I think the roo- I, I, I think our rookie here gets the best of the TNA original and really shows, like, "Hey, th- this isn't a mistake." And I think post-match there will be a, a, a show of respect here of, "All right." I, I think either way- "You proved me wrong. You, you proved you can hang with one of the best. Go on and do great things here." I think either way there's gonna be a show of respect, honestly. You know, whether Eric beats him, there's gonna be a show of respect. Like, "Look, I could really use kind of just the, the nudge and to know where I s- like, stand here. Teach me things." So you're saying, you know, he loses, maybe he looks at EY as like, "Hey, be my mentor." Yeah. And, "Help me find my footing within this company." Within, yeah. Definitely, especially with- You know- a homegrown person like EY I, I don't hate that idea. It's not bad. I don't hate that idea. Look at you go. Well- Look at you go one thing for me that's leaning towards EY is because a few weeks ago EY had a championship match against Santana, so it's gonna cost EY that match, and that's gonna be weighing on EY going into this one. Oh, yeah, definitely. I, I don't, like, I picked EY as well to go over, but I still think that there will be, you know, even if he takes him to his limit, there's gonna be that small show of respect. Agreed. I don't see- Yeah anything bad wise happening here. So all right, you take us into the next

Tag ladder match debate

14:12

one. Next one, Tag Team Title Ladder Match, we have The System, Brian Myers and Bear Branson. Bronson? Is it Bronson? Bronson. Okay. Yeah. Versus The Hardys. We have Broken Matt and Brother Nero for this one, uh, taking on The Righteous of- Are we getting Brother Nero, or are we still under the Willow gimmick? Nope, it says Brother Nero on the website. Willow did show back up. Who knows which one comes in? 'Cause who knows, if lights could go out and Brother Nero can transform into Willow again. Willow was probably one of my favorite Jeff Hardy personas. I really wish we would've gotten that when they came back, uh, a number of years ago to WWE. Yeah. 'Cause Broke, Woken Matt Hardy, the faction of a Woken Matt Hardy, Willow, and possibly a Bray Wyatt would have been, was so much money left on the table. Yeah, that would've been great. Just like the Eater of Worlds the- Dude, the Deletor of Worlds- Eater of Worlds was one of my favorite tag teams at the time. Um, they also take on The Great Khans. Okay. You laugh. Who's The Great Khans, by the way? I don't know. Okay, cool. Cool. We're all lost in the dark here. Got it. Um, so going into our predictions, three of us are going Hardys. You two stand on the side of The Righteous. Your reasonings. It's time. I, I love The Hardys. Ladder matches are their thing. This, everything about this on paper or as a, like, as a fan that only really know, like, it's, it's y- on paper you're gonna think, "Oh, The Hardys got this. It's their style of match. This is what, you know, they have the most experience. It's, it's favored." This is their favor. This is in their favor. I personally think they've done so well with The Righteous. You need to elevate them, and how do you elevate them any more than finally putting the straps on them? And at the end of the day, it takes nothing away from the vets that are The Hardys, or any other team in this match really, 'cause- Aside from the Great Hands nobody has to- Nobody can remember who they are. No- Nobody eats a pin here. No. Nobody has to eat a loss. No. And w- actually, to go into the whole Great Hands thing, I think the reason they got inserted is to kinda get that rub with some of the veterans that are in this match right now. Right. Get established with those guys. I was gonna say 'cause if I remember, they're, they're a y- relatively newer and younger team. They recently signed to TNA from not that long ago. Okay, yeah. So they're, they, they als- they need that elevation, and I think being put in such a high-profile match will help them too. Mm-hmm. But I think it's time to do something with The Righteous. I love the characters, I love the gimmicks, but you gotta make it mean something. Yeah. Now, are these- They've done a very- the people that come out in all white? Yes. Yes. Okay. That's what I was thinking. 'Cause then all... I, I know, like, the difference between The Righteous and obviously AEW, but all I kept seeing was freaking Juice Robinson in all white. And I don't know why, don't ask me, but that's all I kept seeing. Wrong company, but, like, I see where you're going with it. I get it. Okay. Thank you. I'm not alone. Thank you. All

AJ Francis vs Elijah feud

17:19

right. Well, we're gonna move into a nice little singles match going right here. Yep. Built over music. Who doesn't like music, guys? Oh, my lord. Who doesn't like a good stylistic clash of musical styles? Da-ring. AJ Francis went to Elijah not that long ago, he's like, "Hey, man, I like your sound. We need to collaborate." And Elijah's like, "Hey, man, I'm a drifter. I just go it alone." And AJ's like, "Hey, that's gonna be the biggest mistake you've ever made in your entire life." And so they've been kinda going back and forth, jumps happening backstage. Finally, a match got signed to where if Elijah loses this match, he has to sign over his name, image, and likeness over to AJ Francis. Come on. Come on. How could you not make money with... Okay, this is kind of crap. I've given you guys- But it's fine. He tried so, you tried so hard to convince me this was a good story. You tried. I tried. I, I, I applaud the effort. You, you tried so hard. That's like 90% of like WrestleMania this past year. Oh my goodness. He's tried so hard. This is a- He's like, "This is a great story." Like, I can't lie to y'all. No, I tried. I tried. But, but at least, but let's do give credit where credit's due. AJ Francis, since being in, uh, TNA, has been money. Is he? He has been doing great work. He's been showing that he can wrestle, not just be Top Dolla hanging over the top rope. Yep, I went there. Yep, yep, yep. He has been doing a great job. It's- Oh, look at how pretty this guy is. He's been doing a great job. But let's get into the results of this match because we've already spoke way too long about this one than needed to be. Yeah. Um, everybody is on walking with Elijah except for me. I'm going with Top Dolla, AJ Francis. That man, I've already explained, has been money. And plus, I wanna see this story play out. But- But do you feel like Elijah, since signing with the company, also hasn't been at the top of his game? He has been on the top of his game. I just like what AJ's doing better. So how many guitars do we see broken and brought out during this match? And they actually use them is the real thing if it's a one-on-one contract. They'll find a way. They'll find a way. Referee, bat will get turned. I'd say, oh, I'll give it an over under to one and a half. Okay. One and a half? I can see that. I can see that. All right, going into the next match. You wanna take it or you wanna take the, uh, main event? Um, you know what? Take it away. All right. Take

Knockouts title grudge

19:40

it away, Tracy. Knockouts title, we have, I'm probably gonna butcher this name, Lei'd Tapa. Very good. Takes on Xia Brookside. Um, I believe I know kind of what's going on here. This is, um, Lei'd turning her back on Xia or Xia turning her back on Lei'd? Xia turning her back on Lei'd. Okay. So it is, you know, friendships, former partners turning their backs on each other. Um, now Xia is more or less fighting for that chance at a title. Everybody but Flash is going Xia Brookside as he is more familiar with, uh, Lei'd's old, previous persona, is what I should say. Yeah, Xia Li was really great in WWE for the short time that they showcased her. Wish they would've done more with her, but she's really gotten to showcase herself in TNA right here. Mm-hmm. And Xia Brookside, second-generation wrestler. She knows how to put on a clinic with everything, and she's been well overdue for a Knockouts title. Oh, yeah. Yeah, honestly.

World title main event

20:36

All right, going into our main event, Mike Santana defends his TNA world title against Nick Nemeth. Uh, Nemeth back at Bound for Glory. Cole won the Call Your Shot gauntlet. Yep, with Kazarian. With Kazarian. Kazarian tried to call his shot. He inevitably failed at calling his shot. Kazarian got his. He called his shot on the, uh, debut episode. Oh, yep, on the debut episode of- AE- TNA on AMC. Mm-hmm. Then proceeded to turn around and quickly re-lose the title to Mr. uh, Nix, or- Santana Mike Santana. Mr. Santana. English. Yeah. Not your best suit today. No, it is not. You know what? You know what? Shut up. Uh- We're working out the kinks for the other ones. We only got one other one. But it's a bigger one. It's got, like, three more matches, if that. Not even. Still. It's also AEW, so shut your face. But, yeah, uh. Exactly. Uh- Anywho Nick Nemeth is like, "Yo, uh, I'm gonna do... go about calling my shot the right way. Here's when I want it, you, me, one on one." And after weeks of going back and forth, a few brawls, it's been made official. We are now standing on the cusp of what's going to be a really, really good match. I'm looking forward to it. Oh, yeah. Um, going into... Oh, wow, unanimous decision here, guys. Nick Nemeth to walk out of Boston with TNA Gold back around his waist. I think his first run was absolutely phenomenal. This is probably the best Nick has looked in his en- high, for, for, for, in a really long time when it comes to when you look at how his career has taken- The trajectory, yeah shape. Absolutely. And honestly, nothing against Santana as w- much as he's had a good two runs, or decent two runs, one, you pulled the trigger too late, and it should've been Slammiversary last year. And I think it's just time to move on from the Santana, uh, experiment and give it to somebody el- just a little more deserving right now.

Santana future and wrap

22:59

I think they were also talking that Mike Santana may be no longer with the company. He may be letting his contract expire. So if he does leave the company, where do you guys see him going? In all honesty, like don't give me that face he's, he's not gonna go back to AEW. No. He burnt, he went scorched earth with that bridge. Okay. So- So do you see him- It, it's, it's gonna be a WWE call. Okay. I was gonna say, you- And it's 1,000% it's definitely gonna have other ones They have already expressed interest in as soon as his contract sh- uh, is null and void in TNA, here's one for us. Like, they have expressed so much interest, let's be real, this is, that, that is where we're going. But- That is the path we are about to go down when we speak WWE, we have to look at two different brands. We have to look at the main roster, or we have to look at NXT. Where do you guys see him going? Does he- NXT does he fit there? He'll probably make a stint through NXT before making his way on, on Raw or SmackDown. There's also, there's also the possibility of shoring up the talent in Triple A. That's what it, more or less what I was thinking too. You have other promotions. I mean- The point is, he will be under the WWE umbrella- Okay if he doesn't choose to re-sign or hasn't already re-signed a deal- Quietly, yeah quietly, that none of us know about in TNA. All right. 'Cause honestly, let's be real, Santana has talked about maybe being on the back half of his career. So I wouldn't mind seeing him retire in the TNA system. That's true. Okay. Well, with that being said, we have concluded, uh, TNA's Slammiversary, and, um, we will be coming back for AEW's- Forbidden Door later