Impact Signs Independent Wrestling Star
Impact Wrestling has signed indie star Masha Slamovich.
Slamovich made her Impact return at Saturday's Knockouts Knockdown event, coming up short against Knockouts Champion Deonna Purrazzo, but now she has signed with the company.
As seen below, Impact has just released post-show footage of Impact Hall of Famer & Producer Gail Kim approaching Slamovich after the match with Purrazzo to offer her a deal to join the Knockouts division. Slamovich accepted the offer and received a standing ovation from the crowd, and a "you deserve it!" chant. The video then shows Slamovich returning to the backstage area where her colleagues chanted her name.
"Thank you, I'm just so thankful for everything, for this journey. I've been doing this for a long time and I'm so glad to have the opportunities. Gail was the first woman that gave me an opportunity two years ago here," Slamovich said as Kim approached her backstage.
Kim added, "And look how far you've come. I'm so proud of you, I'm so proud of you. I can't wait to see what the future holds. This is your moment, enjoy it!"
Slamovich continued, "Thank you, that's all I have to say. Thank you so much, and I'm just going to work harder from here on out, or forever."
Slamovich then received an ovation from others backstage to end the video.
Slamovich tweeted on the video segment released today and wrote, "One of the wildest moments of my career. Thank you @gailkimITSME [red heart emoji] Excited to see what the @IMPACTWRESTLING chapter holds!"
Kim tweeted back, "This moment was EVERYTHING. The moments why I love professional wrestling and is so special. Congratulations @mashaslamovich [clapping hands emoji x 3] can't wait to see you in the KO division"
Slamovich originally made her Impact debut back in June 2019, losing to current Knockouts Tag Team Champion Havok. She then lost to Jordynne Grace at the next day of tapings. Since then she has worked for CZW, Beyond Wrestling, GCW, and other promotions. She made her NWA debut at the recent all-women's EmPowerrr pay-per-view in the . She made her AEW debut with a loss to Penelope Ford on the August 17 edition of AEW Dark, and then took a loss to Hikaru Shida on the September 20 edition of Elevation.
The 23 year old "Russian Dynamite" from Moscow began wrestling 5 years ago and started out in Japan. She was trained by several wrestlers, including WWE Hall of Famer Johnny Rodz and The Amazing Red, among others.
Stay tuned for more. Below is the video of Kim and Slamovich at Knockouts Knockdown, along with Slamovich's tweet:
EXCLUSIVE: In an emotional moment, @gailkimITSME offered @mashaslamovich an IMPACT contract after her INCREDIBLE performance against @DeonnaPurrazzo at #KnockoutsKnockdown. pic.twitter.com/IaQWeFkwde
— TNA Wrestling (@ThisIsTNA) October 13, 2021
One of the wildest moments of my career.
Thank you @gailkimITSME ❤Excited to see what the @IMPACTWRESTLING chapter holds! https://t.co/TjaJvOzp38
— Masha Slamovich マーシャ・スラモビッチ (@mashaslamovich) October 13, 2021
This moment was EVERYTHING. The moments why I love professional wrestling and is so special. Congratulations @mashaslamovich 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 can't wait to see you in the KO division https://t.co/G4dMJPEcyi
— Gail Kim-Irvine (@gailkimITSME) October 13, 2021