On Sunday, July 20th, TNA Wrestling held one of its biggest shows of the year, “Slammiversary.” The event came to us live from the UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. Turnbuckle Times’ Scott Mitchell and Rich Michaels were in attendance. The main event of the show saw NXT’s Trick Williams put the TNA World Championship on the line against Mike Santana and Joe Hendry. What was originally supposed to be a singles contest between Hendry and Williams became a triple threat when we saw Santana get added due to online fan backlash.

We also saw Jacy Jayne and Masha Slamovich unify the TNA Knockouts and NXT Women’s Championships. Also, we saw Nic and Ryan Nemeth defend their TNA World Tag Team Championships in a four-way match against The Rascalz, First Class, and The Hardy Brothers. However, perhaps no moments were bigger than the return of AJ Styles to the promotion he helped build from scratch, TNA. So, what were the top three moments of the stacked night?

3. Jacy Jayne Becomes A Double Champion, Dethrones Masha Slamovich

In one of the biggest matches of the night, we saw Masha Slamovich and Jacy Jayne meet in a winner-takes-all match. Slamovich put her TNA Knockouts Championship on the line, and Jayne put her NXT Women’s Championship on the line. Following her recent war with Killer Kelly in a chain match, Slamovich retained her TNA Knockouts Championship. Slamovich was then attacked by Fatal Influence. Later in the same show, Santino Marella made the match official for Slammiversary in a winner-take-all moment.

Slamovich truly looked unstoppable heading into this match. As for Jayne, she has sent away all of her challengers, including the likes of Jordynne Grace. Jayne’s victory over Grace solidified the big match. The match between Slamovich and Jayne delivered on all fronts. All hell broke loose in the end when Fatal Influence’s Fallon Henley and Jazmyn Nyx got involved. This led to Xia Brookside and Lei Ying Lee helping to fend off Henley and Nyx.

Ultimately, in the end, Jayne knocked Slamovich out with her big spinning fist. Thus, she won the TNA Knockouts Championship and retained her NXT Women’s Championship. This was a very interesting booking decision, which many fans aren’t quite sure how to feel about, myself included. Nonetheless, Jayne as a talent deserves this run, and she’s crushing it in these matches. However, now TNA’s two top championships belong to NXT superstars. However, this was still a phenomenal match and a great moment.

2. The Hardy Boys Win The TNA Tag Team Championships, Team 3D Challenges Them To A Match

In the final match before the massive main event, we saw the Nemeth Brothers defend the TNA World Tag Team Championships against The Rascalz, First Class, and The Hardy Brothers. Unfortunately, Trey Miguel was out with a hernia, which led to Myron Reed teaming up with Zachary Wentz for The Rascalz tonight. AJ Francis and KC Navarro also earned a shot at the titles, being one of TNA’s top young teams. The Hardy Brothers rounded out the four-way ladder match. The ladder match is a match that Matt and Jeff Hardy have felt quite at home in throughout their long and storied careers.

This was one of the most chaotic and simply one of the best matches of the night. AJ Francis hit a moonsault off the top of a ladder, Jeff Hardy hit a Swanton on The Rascalz through a pair of ladders, Francis and Navarro got sent through their Penthouse table at ringside, and so much more. As chaotic as it was, this was hands down one of the most fun matches of the night. Ultimately, Jeff Hardy climbed a special ladder he unveiled to unhook the TNA World Tag Team Championships. However, the story does not stop there.

After the match, as the Hardy Brothers were celebrating, Bully Ray’s music hit, and he made his way down to the ring. He challenged Matt and Jeff Hardy for one final tag team match at Bound For Glory on October 12th. It remains to be seen exactly how that match will work out, but early impressions see it being a tables match. This will be the final time we see The Hardy Brothers and Team 3D go at it. These two teams have a ton of history, and this is sure to be a fantastic match.

1. Leon Slater Becomes The Youngest X-Division Champion, AJ Styles Gives Him His Flowers

In perhaps the biggest moment of the night, we saw Leon Slater challenge Moose for the X-Division Championship. Slater has been on an amazing trajectory as of late. He has shown he is one of the top young high-flyers around today. His match with Moose came about after he pinned Moose at Against All Odds in an eight-man tag team match. This was a pinfall loss that didn’t sit right with Moose, and he vowed to end the Cinderella-like story of Slater tonight at Slammiversary. However, Slater had other plans.

This was another phenomenal match. Key word being, PHENOMENAL. Ultimately, in the end, Slater hit a big Swanton Bomb on Moose, who was halfway across the ring. He followed that up with a Swanton Bomb into a 450-splash and pinned Moose to become the new X-Division Champion. Slater’s big championship win cements him in the history books as the youngest X-Division Champion in history. However, the big story came after the match when the “Prodigal Son” returned home. Of course, I’m talking about the former TNA X-Division Champion, WWE’s AJ Styles.

This was an amazing moment. Styles publicly gave Slater his flowers. Styles told Slater, “You don’t deserve this, you EARNED this.” He also spoke very highly of the young talent in TNA and shared how much it has changed since he was there. This was a huge moment for TNA, and it was a blast to see Styles back inside a TNA ring, even if just for one night. The future of the X-Division is beyond bright, and Leon Slater is the perfect person to lead the charge.

Overall, the wrestling on tonight’s show was great. However, the production and booking of the show, live, was not. TNA allowing both of their top championships to be held by WWE talent doesn’t sit right with many fans, and it’s easy to see why. Tonight should have been Mike Santana’s crowning achievement, and instead it fell flat. This was a main event that sent everyone home with a sour taste in their mouth. Not because a heel won, but because TNA is now without either of their top championships. Nonetheless, TNA continues to have one of the most talented rosters in all of professional wrestling; you just hope that the upper management starts to realize it.