TNA Slammiversary match card & rumors: Mustafa Ali tries to back out of title fight

The road to Slammiversary leads to Montreal, Quebec, Canada for TNA’s next PPV on July 20. With only two episodes of Impact remaining, that’s look at the card and directions for possible matchups.

The current lineup for Slammiversary includes:

• TNA World Championship: Moose (c) vs. Josh Alexander vs. Steve Maclin vs. Nic Nemeth vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Joe Hendry in a six-way elimination match
• Knockouts Championship: Jordynne Grace (c) vs. Ash by Elegance
• X-Division Championship: Mustafa Ali (c) vs. “Speedball” Mike Bailey
• TNA Digital Media Championship & International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship: AJ Francis (Dolla Two Belts) vs. PCO

The main event seems to be set after a series of qualifier matches, but questions were created when Nic Nemeth was ambushed in the hallway. Nemeth might not be able to compete. Signs point to Frankie Kazararian as the perpetrator, or at least the mastermind behind the attack.

Jordynne Grace had enough of Ash by Elegance trifling in her business, so the Juggernaut is going to give Ash a pair of fat lips the old-fashioned way without cosmetic injections.

Mustafa Ali was tired of hearing claims that he was ducking Mike Bailey. The X-Division champion lost his cool and challenged Speedball for a title defense to embarrass Bailey in hometown Montreal. When Ali’s head cooled, he sweet-talked Director of Authority Santino Marella trying to back out of the match. Ali thought Bailey should have to earn the bout, and Santino agreed to book a #1 contender contest next week. Bailey’s opponent remains a mystery at this moment.

AJ Francis will have a busy schedule in TNA. He has to defend the Digital Media Championship against Rhino on Impact. Won or lose (Top Dolla is not losing), Francis has to defend that belt and the International Heavyweight Wrestling Championship against PCO at Slammiversary. This feud erupted when Francis ruined PCO’s date with Steph De Lander and chokeslammed her through a table.

Two championships are not accounted for yet, and both belong in the tag team division. Matt Hardy & Jeff Hardy were advertised to wrestle Brian Myers & Eddie Edwards at the last TV taping, so that match could have ramifications for the PPV. Ace Austin & Chris Bey have been shaping back into form, and they have a title shot in their pocket. The Slammiversary bout will likely revolve around the System, the Hardys, and ABC, whether it be straight up or a triple threat.

Former Knockouts tag team champions Jody Threat & Dani Luna have been tested by coach Lars Frederiksen to be ready for the moment to claim gold once again. Frederiksen’s latest idea was to put Threat and Luna against each other in a singles match. They wrestled to a time-limit draw and pleaded for five more minutes. The crowd was hot for it, but current tag champs Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards spoiled the fun with an attack to ruin overtime. Since the Malisha butt in uninvited, it makes sense for a showdown with Spitfire at the PPV.

The PPV could just be six title bouts, since the main event will likely run long. However, other potential contests could be Mike Santana versus Johnny Dango Curtis after JDC interfered in Santana’s qualifier to protect Moose, Charlie Dempsey against the Rascalz or Leon Slater after the NXT wrestler invaded the Impact Zone to attack Slater and Trey Miguel in the middle of their match, and Jonathan Gresham wrestling Kushida after the Time Splitter took a scientific sample of the Octopus’ black ink.

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