A WWE legend made an emotional return at TNA Slammiversary over a decade after his last appearance.
After rumours and teases turned into an announcement from TNA Wrestling, AJ Styles returned to the promotion where he made his name and helped inspire a generation.
Partway through Sunday night’s show – which made history with a record breaking North American crowd for the company with 7,623 in attendance – the Phenomenal One came out after the match between Leon Slater and Moose.
Slater, 21, made history of his own by becoming the youngest ever X-Division Champion, but there was another special moment on the way.
Styles, who was the inaugural X-Division Champion over two decades ago, came out to his iconic Time To Fly theme music from his TNA days.
He asked the crowd if they missed him, before praising the way TNA has continued to thrive, and paying tribute to Slater for continuing the rich history of the title and the company.
Styles corrected fans chanting ‘you deserve it’ as Slater, insisting the Bradford-born wrestler ‘earned it’ instead.
The crowd also chanted ‘one more match’, calling for the former world champion to step into a TNA ring before he retires.
He promised to ‘get to that match’, although he didn’t address the calls on the night.
During the broadcast, commentator Tom Hannifan announced TNA had made history with its highest ever attendance in North America over its 23-year history.
‘This company has worked tirelessly since last December when it was announced that Slammiversary would be held at the UBS Arena,’ said TNA Wrestling President Carlos Silva in a press release.
‘To see a record-setting crowd at the UBS Arena was a milestone moment for TNA Wrestling that no one will ever forget.’
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Elsewhere on the show, there were more surprises as both of TNA Wrestling’s major world championships went home with WWE superstars.
In the main event, TNA Wrestling World Champion Trick Williams was able to fool his opponents Mike Santana and Joe Hendry to steal a win and keep hold of the gold.
Earlier in the night, it was NXT Women’s Champion Jacy Jayne’s turn to make history by becoming the first WWE-contracted star to capture the Knockouts Title.
She dethroned Masha Slamovich in a Winner Takes All match, with TNA’s Director of Authority Santino Marella revealing he’ll be at NXT tomorrow night to address the situation.
In another big moment, legendary tag team the Hardy Boyz won the TNA Tag Team Titles in a wild Ladder Match.
Bubba Ray Dudley confronted Matt and Jeff after the bell, laying down a challenge to face him and D-Von Dudley at Bound For Glory later this year.
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