Impact Wrestling issued the following statement to announce the addition of Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori to the tag title match at Sunday’s Slammiversary event.
GFW/IMPACT Wrestling, a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment Corp., announced today that it will bring two superstars from Tokyo-based Pro Wrestling NOAH to participate in Slammiversary 15 on July 2, a live pay-per-view filmed in The Impact Zone on the backlot at Universal Studios Florida.
Naomichi Marufuji and Taiji Ishimori will team up to battle for the GFW/IMPACT Tag-Team Championship belts, now held by the Latin American Xchange (LAX).
El Hijo del Fantasma and Drago, two stars from Lucha Libre AAA in Mexico, also will compete in the 4-way match for the GFW/IMPACT Wrestling Tag-Team Championship. The final participants in the championship match will be Garza Jr., and Laredo Kid, representing Mexico-based The Crash.
Marufuji has competed in multiple promotions during his illustrious career, including New Japan Pro Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Ring of Honor. He is a former three-time GHC Heavyweight Champion, and the only man to win Junior Heavyweight Championships in all three major Japanese promotions.
Ishimori holds the distinction of being the longest-reigning GHC Junior Heavyweight Champion for Pro Wrestling NOAH. He has been wrestling professionally since 2002, is one of the best high-flying wrestlers, and has been a singles and tag-team champion.
“It’s an honor to welcome Marufuji and Ishimori to The Impact Zone. I know the fans will be awestruck with what these two can do inside the six-sided ring,” said Jeff Jarrett, who is the founder of GFW/IMPACT Wrestling and now serves as the company’s Chief Creative Officer.
“Bringing Marufuji and Ishimori to Slammiversary is just the next step in this long-term relationship with unlimited potential between GFW/Impact Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH,” said Scott D’Amore, Vice-President of International Relations for GFW/IMPACT Wrestling. “I’m confident that the two companies will have a wide-ranging talent-exchange, and the ultimate goal is co-branded shows with GFW/Impact Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH.”
Powell’s POV: The four-way tag title match should be really fun. It will be interesting to see if it is hyped tonight on Impact, as there hasn’t been a real storyline for the match thus far. Join me for live coverage of Slammiversary as the show airs on Sunday night.
Hopefully,it will stand out in a good way among the other tag team matches on the card. The one with announcers will more than likely be there for some ‘comedy’,the Full Metal Mayhem mixed tag will be full of brawling and other hardcore type shots,not sure what to expect from the one with Moose and his NFL partner. Maybe this one for the tag titles will have a lot going for it in the way of high flying action?