The last few years, Impact Wrestling has changed the world of wrestling at Slammiversary, and this year they celebrates the company’s 20 year anniversary and they brought back many of their biggest names for Slammiversary.
While Sting and Kurt Angle speaking were awesome moments, the surprise of the night came when AJ Styles appeared via satellite.
While Sting and Angle were pre recorded with clips of their matches and moments in TNA mixed in for voice overs, Styles appeared to be live as he walked in and took a seat by his computer.
He got one of the loudest pops of the night for appearing, and in a way it broke through the WWE’s Forbidden Door.
Check out what @AJStylesOrg had to say about being voted the most IMPACTful X Division wrestler of the past 20 years!#Slammiversary #IMPACT20 pic.twitter.com/8uIK0Dhhty
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) June 20, 2022
TNA/Impact through it all
Styles has been with the WWE for the last six years, but he’ll always be one of the biggest stars in TNA/Impact Wrestling history and remains a fan favorite to this day.
He’s a decorated star destined for the Hall of Fame after winning the TNA world title five times (two TNA World Heavyweight Champion, three time NWA World Heavyweight Champion), six time tag team champion, and TNA/Impact Wrestling’s first ever Triple Crown and Grand Slam Champion
In a poll to celebrate the last twenty years, the fans voted Styles the most IMPACTful X-Division Wrestler of the last 20 years.
The WWE allowed Styles to appear in a video message from his home, and he thanked them for that as well as sharing his appreciation with the fans.
“Happy Anniversary, IMPACT Wrestling! It was Huntsville, Alabama, 2002, when myself, Jerry Lynn, Low Ki versus The Flying Elvises. That’s when it all started. That was the first match. Then from there, it was Jeff Jarrett and Raven. The X-Division, the Ultimate X, the Elevation X. Matches that I will never forget; matches with Kurt Angle were unbelievable. But the match that changed everything was myself, Samoa Joe, Christopher Daniels in 2005.
“We weren’t 6 foot 5, jacked, but we changed things because of who we were. It wasn’t about weight limits; it was about no limits in the X-Division. We transcended wrestling. We changed it.
“You the fans voted AJ Styles as most IMPACTful X-Division wrestler in the last 20 years. And not only that, but the most IMPACTful make wrestler, and for that thank you.
“It means everything coming for you, the fans.
“AJ Styles would still be AJ Styles, but how ‘Phenomenal’ would I be without Impact Wrestling? So, thank you. I want to thank WWE for allowing me to do this because they understand that this is a special moment for me.
“Impact Wrestling, with a glass in my hand, here’s to the next 20 years.”
In many ways, this was the highlight of Slammiversary as Styles will always be part of the company. He’s even said he’d still be there had Dixie Carter not cut his pay by 60%.
There’s always hope that he’ll return to Impact at some point, but it’ll most likely be after his wrestling days are done. Still, we expect him to be welcome with open arms.
A class moment from a class act.
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