TNA title matches finalized for Mustafa Ali and AJ Francis at Slammiversary

Mustafa Ali and AJ Francis will be forced to face their rivals at TNA Slammiversary. Both champions had title bouts booked for the PPV event, but opponents needed to be finalized during Thursday night’s episode of Impact (July 11, 2024).

Ali was angry about accusations that he is ducking Mike Bailey, so the X-Division champion called out Speedball for a title defense. Later, Ali backtracked and requested that Bailey earn the shot. Director of Authority Santino Marella acquiesced and scheduled a #1 contender bout between Baily, Kushida, and Jonathan Gresham.

The hectic three-way action came down to a supernatural finish. As Gresham hawked up his poisonous black ink, Kushida beat him to the punch to spit green mist in the Octopus’ face. Kushida applied the Hoverboard Lock submission. That’s when Bailey leaped for the Ultima Weapon knee drop on Gresham to break the hold. Speedball pinned Gresham to earn his shot at Ali for the X-Division Championship at Slammiversary.

Afterward, Ali’s goon squad of security rushed the ring to attack Bailey and Trent Seven. Ali sent a violent message by hitting Seven’s knee with a chair. He hooked a Sharpshooter on Seven while staring with malice into Bailey’s eyes as security held him down.

AJ Francis has a date with PCO at Slammiversary. But first, Top Dolla had to defend the TNA Digital Media Championship against Rhino. The ECW veteran mauled Francis early and was in position for a Gore. Rich Swann stepped in to kick Rhino for a disqualification. Santino wasn’t satisfied with the match being thrown out, so he restarted the contest as a Philadelphia Street Fight. Francis made full use of the rules. As Rhino was in control setting up a table in the corner, Francis struck with a low-blow from behind to win. That result means Francis’ match against PCO will officially be for the digital media title.

After the street fight, PCO confronted Francis. The monster’s attempt at revenge didn’t go well. PCO crashed and burned on a suicide dive. Dolla Two Belts chokeslammed the French-Canadian Frankenstein on the floor to stand tall.

The Slammiversary lineup for July 20 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada currently 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
• Knockouts Tag Team Championship: Masha Slamovich & Alisha Edwards (c) vs. Jody Threat & Dani Luna

Share your thoughts on the latest developments constructing the card for Slammiversary.