Shining a Spotlight 6.07.12: TNA in 2005

~TNA IN 2005~

It wasn’t perfect, of course. It had some bad stuff like Trytan, Jeff Hammond as a wrestler, bad turns and such. But the company really was going out of their way to deliver some fantastic stuff and the fans of the time responded much better than those today. It was big with TNA moving to Spike and new pushes for guys coming. Overall, it was a year that should be remembered as one where TNA really came into their own and helped form the fanbase they use today.

January

We started the year with Dusty Rhodes as Creative Director, Jeff Jarrett as NWA World Champion, Bobby Roode and Eric Young tag team champions and Petey Williams X Division champ. “Impact” was only an hour long, broadcast on Fox Sports Net. TNA was just coming off their second three-hour PPV, “Turning Point,” an okay show highlighted by the classic XXX/AMW steel cage battle and hopes were high for the upcoming year. We started with the build for “Final Resolution” with Raven bragging to Diamond Dallas Page over how he’d set up Erik Watts to go after DDP. Naturally, Watts was right behind Raven to hear it all (Raven actually saying “he’s right behind me, isn’t he?”) and beat Raven down. We also had the start of what would be one of the most annoying storylines of the next few months as Trinity and Traci competed for the role of Dusty’s “assistant.” Yes, the two actually had to act like being with the overweight and overaged Dusty was a dream job to lust for with Johnny Fairplay of Survivor also wanting the job for who knows what reason. Meanwhile, as usual for when Dusty was in charge, son Dustin was brought in for a push but actually seemed good with it, starting a feud with Kid Kash. Meanwhile, the set-up was made for a three-way match at “Final Resolution” with DDP, Kevin Nash and Monty Brown, the winner to get the main event with Jarrett. Thus we had several weeks of tension between the three men, each wary of forming an alliance in case of a double-cross.

“Final Resolution” on January 16th got the year off to a great start. Rhodes beat Kash in a surprisingly good match although the Raven/Watts battle was bad and the Jeff Hardy/Scott Hall match was ugly, despite Roddy Piper as ref. It did have a big moment, however, as Abyss, who everyone thought was jumping to WWE, suddenly returned to lay Hardy out. The #1 contender’s match was poor as Nash was eliminated going over the top rope and Monty pinned DDP for the title shot. However, the rest of the show more than made up for it with not one, but two five-star matches. First, AMW and Team Canada went at it in a fantastic throwback to classic ‘80’s style tag team matches with Scott D’Amore handcuffed to the ring posts, multiple break-ups and Johnny Devine accidentally hitting Young with a chair to allow AMW to regain the belts to a monster pop. That was topped by what may well be the greatest Ultimate X match ever as Williams, AJ Styles and Chris Sabin went at it in a battle with fantastic spots: Sabin hanging from the cables to hit a rana on Styles, who was on Williams’ shoulders; Sabin getting Williams into a reverse DDT only for Styles to run by him, leap off the ropes and hit them both with a reverse DDT; Styles hanging from the cables, Sabin hitting a drop kick from the top rope and Styles doing a 360 in mid-air before crashing to the canvas; and the finale as Sabin and Williams hung at the X, in a tug-of-war for the belt only for AJ to literally fly across the ring to snatch it out of their hands. The main event was a cool down with Jarrett hitting multiple guitar shots to finally retain.

Despite the fact he was the first man eliminated in that match, Nash was announced as getting the main event against Jarrett at “Against All Odds,” complete with a “press conference” for it. Much better set-up was Christopher Daniels claiming Styles was ducking him, Styles arguing and Dusty getting them to agree that if Daniels could last ten minutes against Styles, he’d get an X Division title shot. That challenge was good, Daniels managing to last the ten to get the shot. Kash and Lance Hoyt got the first shot against AMW by…interrupting them in a promo. Abyss once more attacked Hardy to set up a “Full Metal Mayhem” match while Raven beat down Cassidy Riley, breaking his finger until Dustin ran him off. Meanwhile, the “Kings of Wrestling” team was officially dead, mainly as Hall was on his way out.

February

More build for Styles/Daniels came on Impact with Daniels claiming to have given Styles his career in their 2001 feud and Dusty deciding to make their battle a 30-minute Iron Man match. Abyss and Hardy traded run-in attacks in each other’s matches while Dusty declared that if Jarrett used his guitar in his match with Nash, he’d lose the title. Team Canada went after DDP, with Brown making the save to set up a match and we got the horrible antics of NASCAR racer Jeff Hammond. Hammond had been seen working with 3 Live Krew when Kazarian and Michael Shane insulted the racer (great line: “You know what NASCAR stands for? Non Athletic Sport Catered Around Rednecks.”) to set up a match with Hammond seeming to have no idea what he was doing in this.

This led to “Against All Odds,” another strong PPV. Elix Skipper beat Williams in a good opener but the Shane/Kazarian vs Krew/Hammond match was as bad as expected with Hammond doing a goofy “finisher” of acting like he was driving in a circle before hitting an elbow for the pin. The AMW/Kash & Hoyt match was surprisingly good with the champs retaining after Kash’s attempt to use handcuffs backfired. The Abyss/Hardy match was a mess, ladders to grab envelopes, one which was empty, the other holding a title shot, a stipulation the crowd apparently didn’t get although some spots were nice with Abyss winning. The Iron Man match was as great as expected, both Daniels and Styles pulling out the stops. Daniels scored first blood with AJ managing to tie it up with only six minutes left. Daniels had Styles in a submission hold when time ran out, an angry Daniels demanding sudden death, the crowd and Dusty agreeing. Daniels had him set up but Styles managed to hit the Clash to retain. The main event was the usual slow affair for Nash before things got nuts as suddenly Billy Gunn (now calling himself the Outlaw) ran in to attack Nash only for Sean Waltman (called Syxx-Pac) to run in and attack him. In one of the most innovative ways of circumventing a stipulation ever, Jarrett used a cello (yes, a cello) to hit Nash before a Stroke for the win.

The first “Impact” after the PPV had Chris Candido debuting as the new manager for the Naturals. Dustin demanded a Bullrope match against Raven at “Destination X” and Abyss shoved his contender’s envelope in Tracy’s pants to give to Dusty. Notably, Dusty had Jarrett and DDP come out to hype their match and the crowd let out a huge “DROP THE TITLE” chant before a brawl broke out. Then, after weeks of video hype, the massive Trytan showed up just to point at Monty Brown. The next week started a long-running subplot as Outlaw met with BG James, promising to talk later on “business.”

March

The next “Impact” had the debut of Apolo to TNA and within two minutes proved his lack of charisma. Dusty announced what was basically a lumberjack match for “Destination X” with guys Jarrett had hit with guitars around the ring and we got another messy brawl. We also got a bizarre bit of Abyss tearing up the parking lot looking for Hardy, who was perched on a ledge about two feet away watching Abyss through binoculars. I don’t get it either. Things were set up for the confusing X Division match at the PPV: It would start off as a tag match with Styles and Skipper vs Daniels and Ron Killings. When one guy was pinned, it would become a three-way dance. When the second man was eliminated, it would become Ultimate X. Yeah, it was becoming clear that Dusty’s booking was getting just a wee bit out of control.

“Destination X” sadly ended the run of good PPV’s for the company with a too-long gag of Fairplay backstage trying to sign up someone. AMW and 3 Live Krew beat Team Canada in an okay opening. Chris Sabin beat Chase Stevens, Candido and Andy Douglas attacking only for a masked man to run in. The man took off his mask to reveal Shocker, a Mexican star who was best known in the U.S. for a McDonald’s commercial. While the announcers acted like this was a monster deal, the live crowd was silent and the DVD for the show later had obviously dubbed cheers to make it seem bigger. The Bullrope match was rough with Dustin winning and then we reached a new low as Trinity and Traci competed for the role of assistant by each having a tag team go at it. Trinity had Phi Delta Slam, Tracy the Harris Brothers and the fans were the true losers to what may be the worst match of 2005. After all the months of hype, Trytan was exposed as a terrible worker and there wasn’t even a real conclusion, the lights going out, some big masked guy in the ring to get Pounced and Trytan was quickly shown the door. The First Blood stip guaranteed the Nash/Outlaw match would suck and it did, Outlaw busted open first but the ref was down so Jarrett helped him clean up and he hit Nash to bleed him and win. The X Division title match was the highlight, Killings eliminated fast so Styles and Skipper fought with a cool spot of Daniels climbing to the X above to splash them both. Skipper was soon gone and Daniels and Styles had a great encounter with multiple cool spots with AJ finally getting the belt down. However, the ref had been taken out so Daniels hit the Angels’ Wings on the title belt. Then, in a performance that would do Eddie Guerrero proud, Daniels flopped back on the mat, clutching the title and acting like he’d fallen from above, the ref recovering to see it and Daniels was the new champion. The main event was a wild battle with BG James grabbing a guitar to hit Jarrett only to accidentally hit Konan. It built up for Brown to race in and suddenly hit DDP with a Pounce to help Jarrett win, the two embracing afterward to one of the most baffling heel turns ever which Brown never recovered from.

The build to “Lockdown” began immediately with Daniels making his first title defense, boasting of his greatness only for Elix Skipper to run down his former partner. Brown tried to defend his turn as being tired of passed over for title shots, so of course, becoming the lackey of the World champion made perfect sense. The next week had Abyss going after Tracy and Trinity with Styles defending the women. Konan confronted the Outlaw who smugly said that 3LK had a good run but now he was back so it was back “to the way it should be” with he and James together, causing a brawl. Nash was jumped by the Outlaw, the Naturals and Candido with DDP and Syxx-Pac making the save to set up a match at “Lockdown.”

April

The first “Impact” of the month started with Abyss squashing Riley, pulling out thumbtacks and Hardy attacking, only for Raven to jump him and Styles joining in for a brawl. Skipper won a four-way match to earn the title shot against Daniels, who was on commentary, hyping the long partnership between the duo. The next week had the big move as Dusty announced that ever match at “Lockdown” would be inside a steel cage, a move ripped into by fans at the time as totally stupid. Kazarian had dropped out of the company after the Hammond debacle and we got the classic bit of Jarrett’s lawyer saying that if Nash tried to attack anyone, he’d be arrested. Trinity hit on Michael Shane backstage with Traci interfering to set up a program down the road. Meanwhile, BG insisted he was with 3LK but Konan seemed uncertain. The main event was bad as DDP (clearly not caring that much) and Syxx-Pac lost to Brown and the Outlaw. Dustin was attacked by Bobby Roode to set up their “Lockdown” match and in a move that would be eerie a few weeks later, Chris Candido was wheeled to the ring in a wheelchair, claiming to have been injured by Nash. He watched the Naturals face AMW in a non-title match, suddenly rising from his chair to hit Harris with his cast and let his team win. A Styles/Hardy vs Raven/Abyss match served as the go-home for the big show.

“Lockdown” was a nice comeback for TNA’s PPV fortunes. It was announced that Nash had a staph infection in his leg and couldn’t compete, TNA wisely showing it for doubters. The opening is sadly notable as Sonny Siaki and Gran Apollo faced Candido (filling in for Kash, who’d left) and Hoyt with Candido suffering a broken leg after a dropkick. The announcers claimed he was just faking it again but later confirmed it was for real. The Naturals took exception to Hoyt letting Candido get injured and beat him down, turning him face. Dustin and Roode fought in a two-out-of-three falls match where, for God knows what reason, the final fall had them in hoods, Dustin winning after Roode accidentally hit D’Amore with a chair, covering him before realizing it was too fat to be Rhodes. An X-Scape match was notable for Trinity doing a moonsault off the top of the cage onto the competitors before Shocker (who still had no heat) won for a future title shot. They overdid Raven/Hardy by having a tables match inside a cage, basically just a spotfest with Hardy leaping off the cage to put Raven through two tables to win. The tag title match was good as AMW beat Williams and Young when Williams, blinded by powder, hit the Canadian Destroyer on his own partner before eating a Death Sentence. After so long as partners, it was no surprise Daniels and Skipper put on a great match together, Skipper teasing another cage walk but eventually Daniels getting the pin. The “Lethal Lockdown” match was just six guys then, DDP, Waltman and BG James against Outlaw, Jarrett and Brown, huge brawl all over with Waltman actually showing good stuff, hitting Monty with the X Factor to win as BG and Outlaw teased reuniting before fighting. The main event was spectacular as Styles kicked it off leaping out of the cage onto Abyss and when thrown toward the railing, slid under the barrier to leap back at the monster. The spots were great with AJ busted open but taking lunatic jumps, finally coming off the top of the cage with a reverse sunset flip, slamming Abyss onto thumbtacks for the win and a terrific capper to the show.

The “Impact” afterward had the announcement of Styles/Jarrett for the belt at “Hard Justice” with Jarrett complaining about “TNA Management” being out to get him when everyone knew he owned the company. The show, however, was more notable for its main event as Candido came out on crutches with the Naturals, taking the mic to cry over the agony of the steel plates in his leg but wanted to be there for “his boys” winning. It was a fun match given plenty of time with AMW in control with Harris hitting a spear on Douglas but Candido interfering to let the Naturals win the titles. The final shot was Candido sitting on the floor, crying in joy as he held the two belts. Tragically, by the time the show aired, Candido had passed away from a blood clot in the leg, making this his final appearance.

May

The first new “Impact” hyped up “Justice” with Raven announcing a “Clockwork Orange” match against Hardy and Jarrett and Styles doing a classic “empty arena” interview. We also got the saga of Chris Sabin and Tracy going at Michael Shane with Trinity, the idea of Tracy turning on her former beau and working with Sabin for revenge and we could all see where this was going, right? The next “Impact” had Daniels in a four-way elimination match against Skipper, Hardy and Eric Young, a fun battle with Hardy eliminating himself going after an interfering Raven and Young rolled up by Daniels. Daniels and Skipper had a good battle for the last two minutes, Skipper ready for the pin but time ran out. Really am glad “Impact” stopped that stupid “ten minute limit” clock they had. The show was more about videos for the PPV with a 10-man gauntlet to decide the 20-man gauntlet for “Justice,” with the first man eliminated being #1, the last being #20. Hoyt and Abyss were the last two guys, Hoyt actually over due to him smartly hanging out with Impact Zone fans, a move you can’t fault too much. Abyss won with a Slam to get himself the last spot in the 20-man one.

This led to “Justice,” a strong return to good PPV’s for the company, which opened with a shot of a chair holding a picture of Chris Candido and a towel along with the tag team title belts as a bell rang ten times. The mixed tag bout had the ending all expected as Tracy kicked Sabin in the crotch as Shane kicked Trinity for the win and the lovebirds revealing it was all a setup. The big news was that Jeff Hardy no-showed with no warning so Syxx-Pac was to take his place in the match. Raven went out of his way to bury Hardy in his pre-match promos and push how he was on his own, still going after “his destiny.” The match itself was basically all weapons allowed with a cage wall set up at one side of the ring for some reason. Raven did a nice blade job as he and Waltman had a pretty good brawl, ending with Raven backdropping Waltman onto the cage wall, breaking it onto the floor for the pin. DDP was supposed to team with BG against Outlaw and Brown but in a backstage interview, showed a text from BG that he was running late due to “travel difficulties.” Killings happened to be wandering by, heard this and offered to fill in. It was becoming clear that the heel turn was robbing Monty of drive, he just wasn’t as energetic as he was starting out and the match was a messy affair with Monty hitting a Pounce on DDP to win. A taped interview had the Naturals speaking emotionally about Candido and all he’d done for them while dropping hints of a new “advisor.” The rematch with AMW had the Naturals coming out to put a chair by ringside and laid a towel on it, the crowd chanting Candido’s name and both teams encouraging it. The Naturals seemed to be energized by all this, the match starting off clean before a wild brawl with Stevens using tights and the ropes to pin Harris. Despite that, the fans were backing the Naturals and what was supposedly planned as a short title reign became longer. Daniels did his best to carry Shocker to a decent match, ending with Daniels hitting the Angel’s Wings off the ropes for the win. The Gauntlet was a fun battle that included Zack Gowen coming out as #2, Team Canada dominating working together and an awesome moment of Sabin grabbing Roode in a headlock, leaping into the air to kick about eight guys in a circle, then hit a DDT on Roode. BG finally made it to the arena to face off with Outlaw but Abyss eliminated both before pinning Killings to win. We then got the main event, a terrific match with Jarrett teasing yet another cheap victory as Ortiz seemed to ignore a Styles pin attempt and Brown interfering. However, when Jarrett went for his guitar, Ortiz took it away and when Jarrett shoved him back, the UFC star laid him out with a punch, allowing AJ to hit the Spiral Tap for the win. So, yeah, a bit annoying Jarrett couldn’t job clean but still something to see his 11-month reign finally end and Styles with the NWA title as the crowd went wild.

The fall-out began a smart thing of showing how various factors in TNA seemed to be coming apart. Before Styles could celebrate his win, Jarrett, Abyss and Brown beat him up, then Dusty announced the four would be part of the King of the Mountain match at Slammiversary. A “wild card” entrant would be announced later and as Zybsko was on commentary, Raven came out, demanding to be that wild card. When Zybsko refused, Raven beat him with a chair, dragged him into the ring and hit him with a couple of nasty DDT’s, declaring “if I can’t be the savior of this company, I’ll be its destruction!” Dusty declared Raven was suspended but he snapped “you can’t suspend me, I quit!” AMW faced Team Canada in a match with the nice angle that AMW were frustrated at losing the belts and making mistakes that cost them the win. As Daniels went to the ring to face Cassidy Riley, Shane grabbed his hood, demanding a title shot. After the win by Daniels, Shane ran into the ring again, Sabin attacking but accidentally striking Daniels. The main event had Abyss beating Sabin and when Jarrett came out to congratulate him, Abyss hit him with a Black Hole Slam, showing he had no allies.

The next Impact would be the last one on FSN as the show would spend the summer doing episodes online. The opening of AMW vs 3LK had both teams showing miscommunication, AMW losing but seeds sown for tension. Styles and Dusty had a meeting backstage with Dusty clearly losing control of things. Team Canada set themselves up on a comeback by attacking Hoyt and the Naturals. Sean Waltman (now going by his real name) was set up as the Wild Card, he and AJ beating Jarrett and Brown in a good tag match. This would end up being the go-home show for the PPV as TNA moved to the Internet, a shame as they actually had a good show to promote for a change.

June

We jumped to “Slammiversary” where the action started right with the pre-show. Zybsko announced that Dusty had stepped down as Director of Authority (Rhodes pretty much fired in real life) and was wonderfully snarky about it, talking of how “you can believe the old adage of resigning before you’re fired” and “let’s all have a moment of silent laughter.” Jarrett came out to complain yet again about the KOM conditions and then Raven came through the crowd to bitch about not being in the match either. The two fought, Jarrett running out, heckled by a “fan” dressed as Jeff Hardy and suddenly “snapped” grabbing the guy over the railing, hitting him with his guitar and kicking at him before dragged off by security. The announcers made this a huge deal, linking it to the infamous NBA brawl of a few months earlier. The pre-show ended with Jarrett in handcuffs with cops as an irate Zybsko yelled to Raven that it was his lucky day as he was taking Jarrett’s place in the KOM.

For the show itself, Killings beat the Outlaw with James and Konan coming out, Outlaw handing a chair to BG and turning his back but James refusing to take the shot. Konan did, leading to a figure with BG and Konan arguing before Konan walked out. The Naturals defended the tag titles against Williams and Young with the Naturals okay but after so long as heels, hard to take them as faces. The match itself was good though with D’Amore distracting the ref so A1 could hit Douglas with a hockey stick. Williams set up the Canadian Destroyer but suddenly, Jimmy Hart ran out, tossing his megaphone to Stevens, who hit Williams, allowing Douglas to roll him up for the pin. The champs left with Hart, who was now revealed as their “advisor.” A big moment was the debut of Samoa Joe to TNA as he crushed Sonjay Dutt in a few minutes. Hoyt defeated Roode in a surprisingly good match and afterward, D’Amore took off his shirt for a moonsault only to land on the canvas. Hoyt then hit D’Amore with a choke slam and a moonsault of his own, the manager stretchered away to a huge pop from the fans. AMW got back on the winning track beating a troubled 3LK. The X Division three-way was also good with Daniels getting Trinity into an Angel’s Wings to force Sabin to eliminate Shane with a Cradle Shock. Once he did, Daniels hit the Wings on Trinity anyway. God, this guy was amazing as a heel. The last seven minutes of Sabin/Daniels was great with back and forth before Daniels got another Wings to retain. The KOM was, as it often was, a bit of a mess to keep track of with its complicated rules and multiple pins. We had good stuff like Styles and Waltman seeming to agree to work together in the penalty box only for Waltman to turn on AJ only for Abyss to push them both off the ladder and crashing through tables. Abyss went for the belt only for Brown to Pounce him through a table and then Brown was DDT’ed by Raven. Raven and Abyss fought by the ladder, Raven getting a few steps higher to kick Abyss off, put the belt on the hook and finally achieve his destiny as NWA champion. A huge moment with the fans popping big as Raven celebrated through the crowd.

The first online “Impact” began with Brown and Outlaw laying out Konan and Killings, who had just gotten done talking about how BG was absent so much. Jarrett was naturally not happy about what happened, screaming backstage at Zbysko, who rightly pointed out it was Jarrett’s own fault and that Abyss would get the first shot against Raven. Abyss was in the back when the long-absent James Mitchell showed up and offered his services to help Abyss get past the red tape for the title. The show ended with Raven doing a promo only for Mitchell to come out and quote the Klingon proverb of “revenge is a dish best served cold and dinner is served!” Abyss attacked Raven, hitting a Black Hole before choking him with a chain. This set up the absolutely brilliant dynamic of Mitchell as Abyss’ mouthpiece, one of the most perfect pairings imaginable.

July

The build for “No Surrender” began with Styles wanting payback on Waltman for costing him the belt. Team Canada were naturally pissed about D’Amore, ganging up on Hoyt but the Naturals ran out to make the save. Abyss killed Apolo and Sonny with Raven coming out to chase him off with a chain and challenge Abyss to a Dog Collar match at the PPV. Daniels did a promo on how he’d beaten all comers, there were no more challenges left for him but Williams interrupted, arguing that Daniels hadn’t beaten him and goaded him into a title shot at “Surrender.” Styles defeated Alex Shelley in a good main event, he and Waltman arguing with Jerry Lynn coming out to break it up. After announced as facing Sabin at the PPV, Samoa Joe choked Sabin out after the next week’s opening match. Styles announced that he and Waltman had both agreed to Lynn as the referee for their bout as they both respected him. Jarrett interrupted a match with a guitar shot to complain about being passed over again. Williams faced Amazing Red with Daniels on commentary calling Williams “the most one-dimensional wrestler in TNA” and without the Canadian Destroyer, he had nothing. As if hearing Daniels, Williams hit a running Destroyer on Red, then a Sharpshooter to win. Abyss and Raven fought once more with Abyss hanging Raven over the ropes with the chain. The next week had Joe and Daniels teaming to face Williams and Young, Joe busting his nose so the two could work him over with Daniels insisting on taking on most of the match himself. Sabin ran out to distract Joe and Daniels was hit by the Destroyer for Petey to win and push their upcoming match. Cassidy Riley began his transition to a Raven disciple (despite the fact Raven broke his finger months earlier), dressing as his new hero.

“No Surrender” once more had an interesting pre-show as Jarrett got Mike Tenay to the ring, talking of how WWE had cut about 15 people at once and they were going to come into TNA and take his spot away. Fun as Jarrett can be as a heel, did hate his constant complaints of “TNA out to get rid of me” when everyone knew he owned the company. He then demanded to know where Rhino was, Tenay having no idea. AMW beat Shelly and Shane in a good opener before Team Canada was shown vowing revenge on Hoyt and the Naturals and Williams saying he was getting the X Division title back. They tried to sing “O, Canada” but Jarrett interrupted, trying to get support for his charges against “management.” Konan and Truth said they’d lost faith in BG and then Outlaw declared that since the James family had been so great to him, he was now going to call himself “Kip James” (a move pushed by WWE’s legal team). Their match was notable for several refs getting tossed aside like rag dolls before Brown hit a Pounce on Killings to win. Joe beat Sabin in a great match before Team Canada beat the Naturals and Hoyt by making it look like Jimmy Hart had used a hockey stick to get rid of him, then hitting a lariat for the win. Styles and Waltman paid off the build with a great match, Waltman really showing his stuff and Styles hitting the Clash to win it. Daniels and Williams had an interesting heel vs heel match with Joe watching from the stage with the nice ending of Williams grabbing some brass knuckles only for Daniels to get his own knuckles to hit him first, then a BME to retain. Raven vs Abyss was a great ECW-styled brawl with multiple weapons used, Raven showing his speed against Abyss’ strength, chairs, tables and tacks all used with Raven DDT’ing Abyss on a pile to win. Jarrett came into the ring with a guitar but then Rhino came in from the other side to hit a Gore and showed that he and Jarrett were working together all along, beating the NWA champion down as the show ended.

The “Impact” afterward began a dynamic of Abyss and Mitchell pissed off about the “Surrender” ending and so Mitchell unleashed his “weapon of mass destruction” to interrupt matches until he got another shot, laying out Hoyt and Shark Boy. The Super X Cup also began with Daniels doing commentary as the winner would get not only the Cup but a shot against him. Waltman was at odds with Lynn over his officiating for “Surrender” and Raven did a promo about how he was the champ with Jarrett and Rhino interrupting to hit a Gore and a figure four. The next “Impact” had refs meeting with Zybsko, refusing to officiate the Brown/Kip vs Killing/Konan match at “Sacrifice.” Zybsko met with BG who claimed to be the victim in all this and decided BG would be the special ref. The X Cup was stealing these broadcasts with great matches, AJ and Joe on an obvious collusion course. Mikey Batts was facing Cassidy Riley when once more Jarrett and Rhino came in to lay them out. Raven stepped onto the stage to admit that he stood alone but in this case, “when you have no friends, maybe an enemy will do.” The lights in the arena went out and when they came back on, Sabu was in the ring, hitting Jarrett and Rhino with a chair and splashing Rhino as the crowd went nuts at the idea of arch-foes Raven and Sabu teaming together.

August

A fun interview on the next “Impact” had Riley claiming to be Raven’s friend, Shane Douglas snapping that Raven didn’t like anyone but Riley not believing it. The Naturals defended the tag titles against Roode and Young and got some payback with Douglas throwing Hart’s megaphone to Roode behind the ref’s back and as the ref turned, pulled an Eddie Guerrero by acting like Roode had hit him, getting Team Canada disqualified. They ganged up on the champs only for AMW to run in for the save, a nice moment of them handing the belts back to the Naturals but refusing to let go at first. Abyss beat Apolo only for Hoyt to attack Abyss as payback. Raven and Sabu teamed together to defeat the new Diamonds in the Rough (a team that went nowhere) and brawling with Jarrett and Rhino. The go-home “Impact” had Styles beating Williams to get into the finals of the Super X Cup against Joe. Hoyt was talking about facing Abyss and got attacked by Abyss with a chair. AMW beat the Diamonds, Team Canada running in to attack and the Naturals returning the save. AMW made it clear they wanted the titles back but were tired of Team Canada always interfering so would put aside differences with the Naturals to take TC out. Once again, the show ended with a brawl between Raven, Sabu, Rhino and Jarrett with Rhino Goring Sabu through a table in the corner.

Once again, the pre-show for the PPV was notable as Tenay and West announced with Zbysko that “Impact” was coming to the Spike network in October. Jarrett came out to complain and Zybsko finally had enough and snapped that if Jarrett pinned Raven, he’d get a shot but if Raven pinned Jarrett, Jarrett would have to wait a full year before his next shot. This set up a bit of Jarrett going backstage to talk to guys about organizing against new talent coming in. The Abyss/Hoyt match was more notable for Mitchell’s great pre-match promo (“Abyss is going to do things to you so unspeakably cruel that even Sadaam Hussain would consider them excessive!”) with Abyss winning. The 3 Live Krew tension finally came to a head in the tag match as Kip shoved BG so BG laid him out with punches, Konan hit him with a chair and BG made the three-count and reunited with his partners. Glad they finally put that one to bed. A great bit of foreshadowing had Jarrett talking to AMW about new teams coming in, hinting at both the entrance of Team 3D and AMW’s future turn. Lynn and Waltman had a good match, ending with Lynn getting a pin, Waltman shaking his hand only to lay Lynn out, breaking his arm over the railing. The eight-man tag was a wild brawl, Team Canada taking advantage of the Naturals/AMW problems to get the win, the champs and AMW having to be pulled apart afterward. Daniels and Joe stole the show with a fantastic match, each giving their all and showing the great chemistry they had. It was marred with a ref bump and Daniels trying to hit AJ with the belt, allowing Joe to get the win but still a great showcase that pushed Joe further. The main event was a bloody brawl with weapons used all over, interference from Riley, Abyss running out to chokeslam Sabu through a table, Jeff Hardy making an unexpected return to hit Jarrett with a chair and swanton bomb him and Rhino goring Raven through a table for the pin. It was a nice touch with Jarrett staring in disbelief at how Rhino got the pin instead of him.

The first post-PVV “Impact” had Joe beating Jerrelle Clark, Daniels running to attack him, AJ attacking them both and all three fighting. Jarrett was upset over not having the title shot, claiming he had to be champ for the Spike debut (insert “art imitating life” crack here). An announcement was made for the Chris Candido Cup tournament which would pit various tag teams of a veteran and a younger guy against each other, a nice tribute to the man. Rhino called out Raven for a fight, Goring him through a table again. The Naturals beat Team Canada, AMW coming for a save but the two teams argued and had to be pulled apart. The next “Impact” had Zybsko announcing a four-way match at “Unbreakable” where the Naturals would defend against AMW, Team Canada and the winners of the Candido Cup. He also decided to make the X Division title match a three-way of Daniels, Styles and Joe. Once more, Raven and Rhino brawled with Abyss joining in and Sabu attacking Abyss to set up a match of their own.

September

The “Impacts” leading up to the PPV were so-so, Alex Shelley and Waltman cutting through competition to win the Candido Cup as Joe kept on killing guys. This led to “Unbreakable” with Austin Aries showing his stuff beating Roderick Strong and a funny Team Canada interview as Eric Young showed signs of his future character freaking out over the odds against them. Sabin beat Williams only for Shane (now calling himself Matt Bentley) super-kicking them both and declaring he was coming back for an Ultimate X match at “Bound for Glory.” Abyss and Sabu had a pretty good brawl with Abyss nailing a Black Hole on thumbtacks for the win. Before the tag match, it was announced that Waltman had no-showed, Shelley coming out on his own. Candido’s family was watching and as Shelley took a pounding, Chris’ brother Johnny leapt over the railing to be his partner. It was a cool moment but sadly, they’d be eliminated first. AMW were taken out after a hockey stick shot and the Naturals retained pinning Young. Hardy beat Roode in a surprisingly good comeback match then Raven and Rhino had a decent brawl but some obviously called spots during it. Jarrett tried to interfere but Hardy ran him off and Raven hit an Evenflow for the pin. Thankfully, TNA was smart enough to put the X Division match as the main event and we thus were treated to what I still maintain is the single greatest match in TNA history. For twenty minutes, Daniels, Styles and Joe put on an exhibition of stunning spots and perfect flow, wowing fans without rest and stuff that blew your mind (like Joe hurling Daniels at Styles in the corner, Daniels monkey-flipping Styles, who then hits a rana on Joe, all in one smooth motion). It was beautiful to watch with AJ finally backflipping a Wings attempt into a bridge to win his fifth X Division championship and end Daniels’ record six-month reign, sending fans home happy.

TNA prepped for the upcoming move to Spike, ending “Impact” online. The big news was on September 15th as Jarrett regained the NWA title from Raven in a match in Canada after AMW turned heel to help Jarrett win. Many were more than a bit annoyed at how Jarrett had to be the champ for the Spike launch, a political move that made HHH look less petty. Regardless, hopes were high for the debut on Spike as TNA began to make moves for a “fresh start” for the company’s new profile.

October

Fittingly, the first Spike Era match was AJ Styles (working with a cold) defeating Roderick Strong. TNA smartly put in hype videos of big stars and the X Division to introduce them to newcomers. Raven was shown smashing up stuff backstage while Sabu took out Rhino and Hardy, all three men announced for a “Monster’s Ball” match at BFG with Brown. Jarrett brought AMW out to thank them for their help, Harris and Storm taking to heeldom pretty well and also brought back Scott D’Amore, whose Border Wars promotion set the match up in the first place. 3LK came out to run them down and got beaten by the heels. Team 3D then made their debut, running off AMW as Kevin Nash then returned to jackknife Jarrett through a table. The next week had 3LK vs TC with Kip James coming to help the Krew out. Tito Ortiz was announced for the title match of Jarrett and Nash at “BFG” with both men fighting. Daniels boasted over how he could beat the entire X Division in 15 minutes, AJ coming out to set up a challenge for the next week. The main event of Team 3D vs AMW was just an excuse for a massive beat-down of Team 3D with guitar shots and beer bottle blasts, Gail Kim debuting as the new aid for AMW. The next week showcased the now-classic “funeral” for Team 3D, one of the single best vignettes TNA has ever done that still stands up today. The main event had Daniels defeating Shark Boy, then Dutt, then AJ revealed himself as the third man, AJ having him on the ropes and Daniels deciding to just escape as the 15 minutes ran down. The following week had AMW ending the six-month reign of the Naturals with help from a beer bottle. Meanwhile, Brown talked of wanting back in the title picture but Jarrett sniffed that Brown refused his help last summer so would have to earn his spot again. The main event had Styles, Hardy and Hoyt losing to Jarrett, Abyss and Brown and a huge brawl between everyone.

“Bound for Glory” opened with the non-shocking announcement that Nash was bowing out due to heart troubles. The pre-show had Raven appearing to demand the shot instead, the fans eager for it but instead Rhino attacked Raven, who was dragged out by security. The opening had promise as Joe faced Jushin Liger but was only given 7 minutes and thus didn’t live up to its promise as Joe won. 3LK beat Team Canada with Kip James running in, teasing hitting Konan with a chair but instead hit A1 and 3LK uniting to fight the Canadians off. The Ultimate X match suffered badly as the cable broke early on and they basically had to brawl outside while guys repaired it. Thus, the flow of the match suffered, not as many cool spots and a bit of the X falling on its own. They replaced it as Sabin and Bentley fought by the X, which fell into Williams’ hand, a lame finish the crowd hated. AMW retained against the Naturals after Douglas was handcuffed to the Ultimate X structure, leaving Stevens to get crushed for the win. The Monster’s Ball was a fun battle with the idea of the four men “locked in a dark room” for 24 hours before hand (despite the fact Rhino was on the pre-show) and they acted like the lights of the arena bothered them, a nice touch. We got good fight although a bit tired seeing the four in a gimmick match again, Jeff hitting a Swanton off the stage onto Abyss, the announcers acting like it was a much further fall than it truly was and Abyss powerbombed onto tacks. In the end, Rhino hit a piledriver off the middle rope on Jeff through a table to win. We got the Iron Man rematch between Styles and Daniels, both men once again putting on a classic while smartly avoiding the same flow as their previous match. We got more animosity as they brawled, Daniels working on AJ’s neck, back and forth totally with neither man getting a fall as the clock went down. Finally, with tension mounting and just five seconds left, Styles managed to hit a Clash to retain and finish a great battle. Then, to fill Nash’s absence, a 10-man Gauntlet was held with good stuff like Joe and Abyss squaring off, the teasing of a New Age Outlaws reunion and Abyss tossing both Joe and AJ out before being pinned by Rhino. Exhausted already from the Monster’s Ball, Rhino lay in the ring as Ortiz came out, then Jarrett pulling the coffin from the Team 3D funeral. Jarrett just shoved Rhino around, leaping off the ropes for blows but Rhino caught him in one leap and kicked him in the jewels. Gail Kim tried to leap in but Ortiz caught her and threw her out, Jarrett hitting a guitar on Rhino. As Ortiz punched AMW off the apron, Rhino kicked out, ducked another guitar blow and hit a Gore on Jarrett for a surprise pinfall. His celebration was cut short as Team Canada and AMW ganged up on him and 3LK, throwing Rhino into the coffin. As they gloated, Team 3D suddenly ran out to pummel the heels and run them off, hitting a 3D on Young and tossing him in the coffin, Rhino standing on it and holding the NWA title belt as the crowd cheered. For a fill-in plan, that was pretty good, the veteran Rhino getting his moment of glory.

“Impact” opened with Sabu attacking Abyss with an arm wrapped in barbed wire to set up their upcoming rematch. It was announced that a special two-hour “Impact” would be shown in a few days with a new Ultimate X and Jarrett’s rematch with Rhino. 3LK demanded a rematch with Team Canada and Zybsko decided to make Kip the special referee. 3LK lost to AMW in the main event, Team 3D coming to the ring to vow revenge, fighting Team Canada alongside 3LK with AMW, Jarrett and Rhino all coming for a massive brawl.

November

The two-hour “Impact” began with Hardy, Sabu and Hoyt defeating the Diamonds in the Rough with Abyss laying out Sabu afterward. A nice promo had Rhino frankly discussing his rough past (the infamous hotel vase throwing) and proud to be champion. We got a cool tag match of Styles, Aries and Dutt vs Joe, Daniels and Shelley, tension teased with Joe and Daniels amid amazing spots and flow with Styles hitting a Clash on Shelley for the win. Team 3D beat Roode and Young with Young bumping like crazy as Team 3D got the win. The Ultimate X rematch moved much better this time around and the guys were smart to not just repeat the moves of the previous match with Williams once again winning. The main event was an overbooked affair with liberal interference from Gail and AMW, the ref getting bumped and AMW putting Rhino through a table with the Death Sentence to allow Jarrett to regain the title. So, yes, once more, Jarrett was the champ with poor Rhino lasting less than a week with the title.

The next “Impact” had the classic bit of Brown, Abyss and Hardy coming out one-by-one to demand a title shot, then fighting each other. Williams beat Styles in a “Finisher Challenge” after D’Amore distracted the ref from a Clash so Williams got the Destroyer for the win. AMW and Jarrett teamed up to face Hardy, Sabin and Hoyt, not too bad a match but short with the heels winning.

“Genesis” was a melancholy affair as it November 13th, the same day Eddie Guerrero died. Thus, the PPV opened with a 10-bell salute to Eddie with guys mentioning him in promos. Raven was in the ring with Zybsko offering a release form, Raven tearing it up and Zybsko gloating he loved Raven losing the belt, then put him against PJ Polaco (the former Justin Credible) in a short battle. The 3LK/Team Canada battle was now with hockey sticks hanging around the ring for an okay brawl with BG knocking Roode off the top, Konan breaking another on A1’s back and Kip calling it fair with a three count for his new teammates. A funny interview had Mitchell talking about how Abyss was afraid of barbed wire, then proceeded to say “barbed wire” about ten times, not noticing Abyss freaking out behind him. After teasing a major new talent, TNA had Christian Cage make his debut. His speech is ironic to watch today with his bitching about WWE holding him back and tired of 20-minute promos and stupid skits and other stuff that TNA is more than guilty of today. D’Amore came out to offer a Team Canada shirt and told Christian to think about it. The Elimination X match came down to Joe and Daniels winning as Daniels hit the Angels’ Wings on Bentley despite Joe wanting the pin. The two argued and Joe just beat Daniels into a pulp with chair shots, a Muscle Buster on the chair and more, capping it off by using his towel to rub off the blood pouring out of Daniels. Now that’s a monster heel. We got another Abyss/Sabu battle with Abyss winning again and fans were getting a bit tired of the constant ECW-style brawls between them. Styles did a promo before his match yelling about Joe breaking the X Division’s “code of honor” and while he didn’t like Daniels, he respected him and vowed payback. He and Williams then had another great match ending with Styles hitting a Clash off the second rope to win and glaring at Joe, who was on the ramp watching. The main event was an okay brawl of a six man with Team 3D hitting the 3D on Storm to get the win. Afterward, a beat-down of the faces began with Christian teasing joining them but then hit the Unprettier on D’Amore, Jarrett put through a table and Christian showing off a TNA shirt.

The post-PPV “Impact” had Joe continuing his brutal ways, refusing to release a choke on Clark after their match and Styles said he wanted Joe at “Turning Point.” An AMW/Team 3D encounter led to the plans for a Tables match at Turning Point. Christian talked about wanting a shot, which brought out Brown complaining about being overlooked and beat Christian down. 3LK finally became 4LK with Kip added to it the next week. Styles and Sabin had a good match with emphasis on the code of honor of the X Division and good win by AJ. The main event had Jarrett beating Kip with Jackie Haydea making her debut to argue with Jarrett and another brawl to end the show.

December

In what was touted as a major move, Bobby Heenan arrived at the start of the next “Impact.” Of course, his role would be limited due to his bad voice and the fact he soon soured on the product. Jarrett and Christian had a good encounter with Christian speaking for fans about how he fell asleep listening to Jarrett’s promo. Jackie slapped Jeff again to start a storyline that ultimately went absolutely nowhere. Bullet Bob Armstrong talked of how proud he was of 4LK and would be at their back at “Turning Point.” Raven had to face all three Diamonds in the Rough in a “House of Fun” match which he of course won. The night ended with Joe attacking AJ, beating him in the back and hissing “I don’t respect your code.” The go-home show for “Point” was notable for TNA deciding to bring out Dale Torborg and AJ Pierzynski, members of the Chicago White Sox, who had just won the World Series. AJ was given his own TNA belt, the Diamonds coming in to complain and then beaten down. No wonder Heenan took a hike soon after.

“Turning Point” had another Abyss/Sabu barbed wire battle, Sabu managing to get the win after legdropping Abyss through two tables. Once more, Zybsko offered Raven a release and when he refused, had to fight Kanyon in a bad match. The 4LK/Team Canada battle was ugly with Konan “shockingly” hitting Kip with a chair to let the Canadians win. He hit BG too and left with Truth confused. Then Sabin, Dutt and Torborg faced the Diamonds, a match salvaged by Heenan’s commentary, urging AJ to turn on the faces because they were stupid. Man, I miss this guy on the mic. Christian took his first steps to the main event by beating Brown in a good battle and Team 3D beat AMW in a non-title tables match. The X Division title bout paid off the promise as AJ and Joe went at it, Joe dominating for most, AJ making a few miracle spots here and there, hitting the Clash but Joe kicking out of it which threw AJ, finally pulled into a choke to be forced to pass out so the undefeated Joe was the new champion. He tried to go after AJ afterward but a bandaged Daniels ran out to make the save. The main event was an anti-climax as Jarrett got interference from TC to retain the belt against Rhino. Then, after talking of “a major acquisition” all show, the lights in the arena went out to show a Scorpion symbol and a baseball bat hanging from the ceiling.

The “Impact” afterward opened with a truly awesome bit of Jarrett bitching about Sting coming in, walking off but facing off with Joe, who just silently glared at the title belt and Jarrett backed up. Man, if only TNA had realized the money there. Konan says that he never wanted Kip in 3LK and Killings said he was tired of being in the middle and walked off, ending the team. Backstage, Mitchell said Abyss was done with Sabu (about time) and wanted back in the title scene, D’Amore coming up to offer a deal. The show ended with Planet Jarrett, including Abyss and Mitchell, in the ring, Brown saying he didn’t like or trust Jeff but was tired of guys jumping over him for a title shot and would help just as Sting’s music played again. The final TNA show of the year had the fun opening of Christian dressed like Jarrett with a mini-guitar and sunglasses, asking if this is what a champion was supposed to look. Daniels said he was coming back early to get his title back “and that is the gospel.” We then began the run of Eric Young terrified of his own pyro which would lead to his character taking off with fans. Bullett Bob promised to help the James Gang with Konan, Killings refusing to talk to him. The show ended with Christian beating Harris only to get beaten down and the final image of TNA in 2005 was Planet Jarrett standing tall over a major face.

Summation

There was some bad stuff for TNA in 2005. The fizzle of Trytan and Shocker. Mike Tenay and Don west going hyperactive all the time, acting like they’d never seen a chair shot and making every show look bigger than it was. The Brown heel turn that completely ruined the heat of one of the company’s better talents. And, of course, Jeff Jarrett making HHH look the model of humility by insisting practically every PPV and show be al about him, even when he didn’t have the belt.

But the good outweighed the bad big-time. The X Division was the standout with amazing battles, the Styles/Daniels feud fantastic, the Super X great and TNA brilliantly making Joe into an unstoppable monster who took the belt. The summer was filled with great shows with Raven and Abyss feuding, the tag scene really on fire and they handled the intros of guys like Rhino with ease. Plus, the production values took off this year, their package videos miles above what WWE was doing, making even stuff like the 3 Live Krew saga look interesting and memorable. Plus, numerous matches over the year that pushed into the five star range, mostly thanks to the X Division as guys went out of their way to make TNA stand out. It’s a rush of creativity the company has never fully equaled but shows how well they built themselves up. TNA in 2005 really was a great wrestling product and shows why this company shouldn’t be discounted by fans.

Sorry for the long length of this but thought it best for the overall view of things. For this week, the spotlight is off.