On Sunday, July 20th, TNA Wrestling returned to New York for one of its biggest shows of the year, “Slammiversary.” The main event of the show saw WWE NXT superstar, Trick Williams, defend the TNA World Championship against two of TNA’s top talents, Mike Santana and Joe Hendry. This match proved to be more than just a match, as it looked to be for the future of Total Nonstop Action, as Santana and Hendry fought for more than just themselves, as they both fought for the future of the company. But that wasn’t the only time we saw a WWE talent fighting for a TNA Championship on TNA’s biggest night of the year.

We also saw Jacy Jayne put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line against Masha Slamovich. In return, Slamovich put her TNA Knockouts Championship up for grabs in a winner-takes-all match. We also saw new champions crowned, big returns, and so much more on what was a great night of wrestling. However, there were certainly some things that sent fans home with a sour taste in their mouths. So, what went wrong with TNA Slammiversary 2025?

Where Did TNA Go Wrong At Slammiversary 2025?

TNA went into “Slammiversary” calling it the biggest night in its company’s history. This was certainly the biggest North American show in a very long time, with nearly 8,000 fans in attendance. All the attention was truly on TNA entering this night. AJ Styles returned to the company for the first time in over a decade, and we also saw Team 3D challenge The Hardy Boys to one more match at “Bound For Glory” on October 12th. On a night with so much promise for the future of the company, why did it all seem to just come to a brief stop? What went wrong with the TNA Slammiversary show?

The biggest gripe many fans, including myself, have with TNA right now is that both of their top championships currently sit on WWE stars. On Sunday, Williams retained his TNA Championship over Hendry and Santana, while Jayne won the TNA Knockouts Championship. The show went off the air with Hendry and Santana looking defeated, as the TNA World Championship remains over on another promotion’s top star. This was an immensely bad decision for the company and certainly one that will cost them long-term.

Williams and Jayne are two WWE NXT contracted employees. They both left Slammiversary with the biggest prizes they could ask for from TNA. Does this sit right with you? It absolutely should not. This is not a dig at Williams or Jayne. I’m a massive fan of both Williams and Jayne on NXT. However, the booking decision for them to essentially run TNA at the moment is a horrible one. “Slammiversary” should have been a night where TNA stood tall and saved their company from the NXT invasion. However, embarrassingly enough, this was far from the case upon night’s end.

Williams has done a good job at TNA World Champion, continuing to use that championship as a prop and prove himself to WWE. He’s continuing to show his character development, turning the promotion into “TrickNA.” While it’s been fun, this should have all come to an end at Slammiversary. Santana looked poised to be the guy to do just that. Slammiversary was in his home state. This could have been Santana’s crowning achievement, and frankly, it should have been. Fans in attendance were ready to see Santana get that big push, and excitement was at an all-time high for his fans and the fans of TNA. However, when the show ended, you could feel the atmosphere change as many fans left with a sour taste in their mouth.

In an area where it could be considered Santana’s home field, this decision not to have Santana win is so much more puzzling. However, sadly, the company went in a different direction, choosing to have a WWE guy represent them instead of one of their homegrown talents. Could this be a moment that many look back on in the future as a big miss? Absolutely. TNA choosing Williams over Hendry and/or Santana is a mind-boggling decision. Even if Santana goes on to win the World Championship at “Bound For Glory” in October, it will be in Lowell, MA. So it won’t mean nearly as much as it would have at the UBS Arena in Elmont, NY.

The decision to have Jayne win the TNA Knockouts Championship was so much more puzzling. While Jayne is very talented, many still question how she could lead the women’s division of NXT. Now, she not only leads the women’s division of NXT, but the Knockouts’ division too. There’s still a lot Jayne has to prove to WWE NXT fans. Adding yet another belt to her doesn’t look good for TNA in the slightest. Not to mention she defeated one of the toughest knockouts we have ever seen, Masha Slamovich. This made Slamovich look God-awful in front of TNA fans all over.

Overall, the women’s match was a booking mess from the beginning. Jayne wasn’t going to lose the NXT Women’s Championship this soon. As for Slamovich, she’s barely been featured on WWE television despite being one of TNA’s most popular performers. So, it was clear Slamovich was sadly not going to win from the get-go. So, how was this going to help either woman during a time where they should be focused on other priorities? Spoiler alert, it was a huge setback for TNA. In a way, WWE used TNA to continue to put over Jayne, and TNA allowed it. TNA said it’s okay to sacrifice Slamovich for a talent who doesn’t even work for them.

So, yes. The WWE NXT and TNA partnership is in full-swing, but how much of it is truly a partnership? Right now, it just seems like WWE is bossing around TNA and TNA is just accepting anything to continue to get WWE eyes on them. This leaves real TNA fans, like myself, with sour tastes in our mouths. TNA has an outstanding roster, and that shouldn’t be forgotten. Despite WWE using any and everyone they can find with momentum in TNA to put over their stars, TNA has to stand up for itself and take back its company, and most importantly, stop making its top stars look like pushovers.

Yes, there are truly a lot of times where professional wrestling fans and the IWC question booking decisions. However, this may have been the worst booking decision in recent memory. With all the eyes on TNA during their Slammiversary 2025 weekend, WWE is truly the promotion that stood tall in the end, leaving TNA looking like the losers in the long run. This doesn’t look good in the long-term for TNA, and hopefully they can fix the mess that they created… This is no longer a storyline. This is real life.