With Impact Wrestling preparing for its Slammiversary pay-per-view next month, there seems to be a good chance one of its former world champions — recently released WWE superstar EC3 — will be returning at the event for a second stint with the company.
As seen in the video below, the promotion seemed to hint at EC3’s return as Moose successfully defended his TNA World Heavyweight Championship on Tuesday night’s episode of Impact! With EC3’s old ring theme playing in the background, Moose appeared bewildered upon hearing the former champ’s music, which quickly cut out as commentators Josh Mathews and Madison Rayne discussed the unusual occurrence.
After Rayne remarked that Moose “recognizes that music,” Mathews referenced Slammiversary ‘s upcoming air date, possibly teasing a feud between the reigning champion and his onetime rival.
“July 18 can’t get here soon enough.”
Ladies and gentlemen, could TROUBLE be coming once again? #IMPACTonAXSTV @TheMooseNation pic.twitter.com/cz10XByFEe
— IMPACT (@IMPACTWRESTLING) June 17, 2020
As reported by WrestlingNews.co , Impact also offered some clues that could point to EC3’s return one month from now at Slammiversary , as the company released a follow-up commercial to the ad it aired earlier this month. Once again, several wrestlers who were let go by WWE in April due to coronavirus-related budget cuts were featured, but this time, a few additional names, including Lio Rush and Sting, were included in the new commercial. Among the recent WWE releases who were featured, Rusev — who was represented by a Bulgarian flag — was again the only one without previous experience in Impact.
Likewise, Impact’s Twitter caption for the new Slammiversary advertisement also teased that “at least one former World Champion will make his return” to the promotion. Aside from EC3, four other past TNA World Heavyweight Champions — Austin Aries, Bully Ray, Chris Sabin, and Ken Anderson — were all featured in the second commercial.
Prior to these new developments, EC3 appeared to be dropping some hints of his own regarding a possible appearance at this year’s Slammiversary . As previously reported by The Inquisitr , he took to Twitter shortly after Impact released its original ad for the pay-per-view, presenting his own version of the clip where he played the role of the hooded man who was drinking whiskey and watching television, while the reporter talked about the released WWE talents.
Although EC3 is bound by a 90-day noncompete clause like most other main roster superstars upon their departure from WWE, he was specifically let go by the company on April 15. This would make him eligible to sign with Impact Wrestling just a few days before Slammiversary takes place.
