TNA No Surrender
July 17, 2005
Orlando, FL
Universal Studios

The current NWA & TNA Champs were as follows:
NWA World Champion: Raven (6/19/2005)
NWA World Tag Team Champions: The Naturals (4/29/2005)
TNA X-Division Champion: Christopher Daniels (3/13/2005)

The intro to the show gets played backwards in some spots. Help! The devil is talking to me!

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Don West.

• America’s Most Wanted vs. Matt Bentley & Alex Shelley (w/Traci)
  

Here is another Michael Shane edit where they went back and redid the commentary from the original broadcast. The story going into this match was to find out who has the better superkick: James Storm or Matt Bentley. Bentley spends most of the match avoiding the guy. Shelley can’t get anything going with Storm, so they both tag out. Harris eventually grabs a wristlock on Bentley and tags Storm. Since Bentley wants NONE of Storm, he runs over and tags Shelley. Inverted atomic drop and Russian legsweep double team on Shelley gets two. Harris hits a stalling suplex on Bentley and then tags Storm as Bentley bails. The fight continues on the floor as Storm backs Shelley up the rampway and then tosses him off down onto a barricade. He meets Shelley on the floor with a big dive. Back at ringside, Traci grabs Harris by the hair, which causes Harris to turn his back on Bentley. Harris backdrops out of a piledriver attempt on the ramp and then handcuffs Traci to the bottom turnbuckle connector. Back inside, Storm gets a tag and Shelley is nowhere to be found. After he ROCK N ROLLS all over Bentley, Shelley flies in only to be caught in the gut on the way down. DDT on Shelley gets two. Next, the EYE OF THE STORM takes out Shelley. AMW delivers a Hart Attack on Bentley for 1-2-NO! Time for the DEATH SENTENCE, but Shelley breaks it up. Bentley stops Storm from skinning the cat with a dropkick and hits Harris with one of Traci’s gigantic tacky shoes! Don West calls this interference innovative. Cover, 1-2-NO! Since it didn’t get the pin, Traci tosses him her other shoe. As he goes for the kill, Harris blocks and drops Bentley with the Full Nelson Slam. Shelley flips back inside over Harris right into a SUPERKICK from Storm for 1-2-3. (11:48) Right after the bell, Bentley decks Storm with his own Superkick and heads for the locker room. You ever feel like you are fully aware you are watching a fake wrestling match? This was one of those times. **¼

Before the show, Jeff Jarrett asked Mike Tenay if ex-WWE star Rhino was in the building. Yes he is. Jarrett appears to be less than happy about it.

Meanwhile in the back, Shane Douglas interviews Team Canada. Scott D’Amore is off the show thanks to a flying elbow drop from Lance Hoyt. Jeff Jarrett interrupts ‘O Canada’ and spreads the rumor of a possible “Black Wednesday” in TNA. In case you don’t remember and I know it’s hard to these days – Black Wednesday happened in early July 2005 where WWE let seventeen wrestlers go in one day. How many of those wrestlers ended up in TNA as a direct result of Black Wednesday? Actually less than you might think: only three. The Dudley Boyz and Jackie Gayda. They wouldn’t immediately appear on TV, but all three would be making an iMPACT (dur hur) in TNA by the end of 2005.

• Shark Boy vs. Elix Skipper vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Mikey Batts – Super X Cup Qualifier
  

One fall to a finish and the winner gets a spot in the 2005 Super X Cup. Sonjay hits a satellite headscissors on Skipper to start. Mikey blind tags Skipper after he plants Sonjay with a spinebuster. Armdrags and headscissors everywhere! Batts tags out to Shark Boy. Sonjay misses a springboard legdrop, but Batts comes in and stops Shark Boy from following up. Looks like Sonjay is going for the HINDU PRESS, but Mikey interferes while Skipper hits the slingshot clothesline on Shark Boy. He fights back with a reverse neckbreaker for two. Skipper shoves off Shark Boy’s ten-count corner punch, but ducks a crossbody block with the MATRIX DODGE~! Just as quickly as possible, Sonjay tags Shark Boy and springboard double stomps Skipper while he’s stuck in the matrix. Double Jump Quebrada from Skipper takes down Sonjay. Tag to Batts, Skipper tries the rope walk headscissors and just barely manages to reach Mikey. After Shark Boy and Sonjay dive out onto the floor, they head back inside. Sunset flip powerbomb from Shark Boy to Skipper, spinebuster from the middle rope by Sonjay to Batts. HINDU PRESS, but Batts runs up to the top and flips Sonjay down on top of Shark Boy. Skipper hits SUDDEN DEATH on Batts. DEAD SEA DROP from Shark Boy takes Skipper all the way out to the floor. That leaves Sonjay to dropkick Shark Boy off the top turnbuckle and then to deliver the HINDU PRESS to Batts for the 1-2-3. (8:17) So Sonjay gets into the Super X tournament, but loses in the first round to Samoa Joe, who ends up winning the whole thing. One of those sloppy and exposing the business type of matches that you have to turn your brain off to enjoy. One thing you can say is that it was never boring. **

Shane Douglas questions whether 3Live Kru stands with BG James or are they against him. Konnan doesn’t seem to care about him anymore, but DA TROOF tells him to have a little faith in BG. Forget about BG, they need to go and do the darn thing.

• Sonny Siaki & Apolo vs. The Diamonds in the Rough
  

Simon Diamond introduces perennial TNA jobber David Young as the newest member of the Diamonds in the Rough. Siaki and Apolo absolutely own David Young to start with power moves. It takes Simon Diamond pulling the top rope down on Siaki to give Young an advantage. Young delivers an Asai Moonsault on Siaki. Meanwhile, Apolo clotheslines Diamond and as he rolls out, Apolo somersault planchas on Diamonds in the Rough. Back in, Diamond clotheslines Siaki from the apron and takes over. Tag to Young, DITR miss a corner charge and Siaki HOT TAGS APOLO! Siaki cuts up Diamond with the Diamond Cutter. IRONY~! Young hits him with the AA Spinebuster, but Siaki isn’t legal. After he argues with the ref, Young turns back around into the TKO from Apolo for the 1-2-3. (5:45) Another loss in the record books for Young. *½

The first ever Bound for Glory PPV on October 23 gets some hype. Tenay simply calls the show TNA’s Super Bowl which is appropriate, but then Don West takes it to the next level calling it TNA’s Super Bowl, TNA’s World Series, and TNA’s Final Four COMBINED. Before his head explodes, he runs out of sports finales and wraps up the plug.

• Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin
  

Oh boy! No one has even come close to beating Joe yet in his first month in TNA. Sabin chops, but then JOE CHOPS BACK AND HARDER. Sabin kicks, but then JOE KICKS BACK AND HARDER. Joe tries to ground Sabin, but Sabin refuses to stay down. Sabin can’t shoulderblock the big guy down. He ducks a big boot from Joe and dropkicks him back into the corner. After a running forearm, he goes for the CRADLE SHOCK and can’t get him up. Joe slams Sabin down by his head and hits a jumping kick. Running knee in the corner is followed by the Ole Kick. Chop to the neck, then the chest kick, and the jumping knee drop follows. He needs a name for that combo. Joe wrenches the neck for a little bit and then hits a suplex for two. Sabin jabs a little at Joe and once he takes a backdrop to the apron and thumbs in the eye, Joe gets FIRED UP and charges right into a springboard dropkick! Joe retreats to the apron, but Sabin is right there to keep up the violence. He dropkicks Joe off the apron and then dropkicks Joe FROM the apron. Back in, Sabin mule kicks Joe and while he’s doubled over, he double stomps Joe down to the mat. Springboard legdrop gets 1-2-NO! CRADLE SHOCK, but Joe counters to a bridging German suplex for two. Snap powerslam from Joe gets two. Joe runs into a boot in the corner and eats a springboard swinging DDT for 1-2-NO! Sabin flies down into an atomic drop and Joe delivers the powerbomb into the STF. When he reaches for the ropes, Joe adjusts to the Crippler Crossface. When he reaches again for the ropes, Joe adjusts AGAIN to the Rings of Saturn variation. Sabin still manages to get his foot on the bottom rope for the break. Excellent segment there! Time for the MUSCLE BUSTER, but Sabin counters to a RUNNING LIGERBOMB for 1-2-NO! Joe knees out of the CRADLE SHOCK, but Sabin drills him with an enziguri! Sabin heads up top, but Joe kicks his feet out from under him to crotch Sabin. MUSCLE BUSTER! Now the COQUINA CLUTCH! There’s nothing more Sabin can do. His arm drops three times to give Joe the win. (14:06) No matter how many times you watch this match, you find yourself rooting for the underdog Sabin as he put Joe over HUGE here making him look like the total monster that he can be. Tons of heat, great comebacks, everything meant something, and there’s just so much drama over surrounding whether or not Sabin can actually pull off this win. This is what TNA can do when they get it right. ****½

• Team Canada vs. Lance Hoyt and the Naturals (w/Jimmy Hart)
  

Starting back at Slammiversary, Jimmy Hart replaced Chris Candido after he passed away as the manager of the Naturals. And why is Lance Hoyt here? Because he put Scott D’Amore in the hospital with a flying elbow drop. The Naturals and Hoyt clean house to start. They do it again and head out to the floor. Back in, Stevens covers Young for two. Facebuster- neckbreaker-legdrop combo from the Naturals gets two. In comes A-1, he gets his arm worked over. That goes on until Stevens gets stuck on the wrong side of town. Roode brings in the hockey stick Canadian flag pole behind the ref’s back. Jimmy Hart gets up on the apron to protest when Roode tosses him the hockey stick and pretends like he got WHACKED. This ref refuses to have ANY foul play and sends Jimmy Hart to the back. Meanwhile in the ring, Chase Stevens is *YOUR* face in peril. Some good stuff here as Team Canada really knows how to work the tag formula. About five minutes of that, there’s a HOT TAG TO HOYT! Man, the Orlando crowd loved that guy. After he destroys Team Canada, he spinebusters Young for a flying elbow by Douglas for 1-2-NO! NATURAL DISASTER on Young, but Roode breaks it up with Jimmy Hart’s megaphone that he left at ringside. Young covers Douglas for the 1-2-3. (14:41) OH THAT’S JUST TURRIBLE! I like it. Southern tag formula still gets me after all these years. ***

In the back with Shane Douglas, Kip James and Monty Brown stirring up everything among 3LK. Kip mentions how Bullet Bob Armstrong another one of his sons. Monty brings up old NAO catchphrases while interjecting his own. A paranoid Jeff Jarrett comes over for a quick team meeting with the rest of Planet Jarrett. He wants to make sure he has their back when and if Rhino shows up tonight. Sure, boss. Kip is there for him, but Monty Brown seems to care more about an NWA world title shot.

• 3Live Kru vs. Monty Brown & Kip James – Street Fight
  

Kip James (Billy Gunn) is stirring the pot trying to reform the New Age Outlaws in TNA and 3Live Kru ain’t down with him trying to take back BG James to break up the Kru. There’s been lots of ‘will he join or won’t he join’ moments happening lately, so the question tonight is will BG James confront the Kru tonight or will the charade continue? Only Konnan and Killings are here, but calling them 2 Live Crew would be some sort of copyright infringement. Killings dumps Brown and wipes him out with a somersault plancha. Meanwhile, James rolls out after a Rolling Clothesline from Konnan. James blades after getting his head bounced off the announce table. Seems a little much, but okay. Konnan finds a cookie sheet and Kip pulls the ref in for the blow. Brown tries to save and takes the legdrop to the balls from Killings for his troubles. We got a new ref now. They try the same on Kip, but Monty shoves Killings down off the top. COOKIE SHEET TO KONNAN! Cover, 1-2-NO! Monty goes for the Alpha Bomb on Killings, but he counters with a headscissors. SCISSORS KICK to Monty, but Kip pulls the ref out and throws him into the guardrail. This is more violent for the refs than it is for the WRESTLERS. Konnan takes a DDT on a chair. Okay, that’s not bad. POUNCE on Killings and we see BG James standing at the tunnel. Brown covers Killings as another ref appears for the 1-2-3. (5:27) This was all over the place and not in a good way. If you take out the cookie sheets, this street fight wasn’t much different than a normal TNA match. Afterwards, Kip tries to coax BG James down to ringside by acting like its 1998. He calls BG his brother and hands him a chair to finish off 3LK. Will he WHACK Killings? No he won’t. He throws down the chair and walks out while the crowd chants “New Age Outlaws”. ¾*

• AJ Styles vs. Sean Waltman – (Special Referee: Jerry Lynn)
  

TNA FACTZ: On June 26 2002, AJ Styles defeated Jerry Lynn to become the first X-Division champion. When the NWA world tag belts became exclusive to TNA in July 2002, AJ Styles and Jerry Lynn were the first ones to hold the gold and held the belts for ten weeks. Three months later when Jerry Lynn was X-Division champion, he was stripped of the belt due to injury. On that same night, Sean Waltman won the X-Division title by showing up really late to an invitational ladder match. Two weeks later, AJ Styles pinned Sean Waltman to win his second X-Division title. Then two weeks after *that*, Jerry Lynn returned and beat AJ Styles to regain the X-Division title. That’s not including Jerry Lynn and Sean Waltman’s historic encounters back in the old GWF days. So yeah, LOADS of kayfabe history between these three.

Onto the match. Waltman is all headlocks to start. They trade some flips, but AJ UPS THE POWER GAME with a series of slams to send Waltman bailing to the floor. Back inside, Styles delivers a backbreaker and a vertical suplex. Jumping knee drop gets two. Muta Lock, but Waltman elbows out. Waltman bails again after a dropkick in his face. Enough stalling, AJ busts out a BEAUTIFUL somersault plancha. That seemed to be just what Waltman wanted though as he crotches Styles into the ringpost. Back in, Waltman grounds AJ for a while. He wants the Bronco Buster, but AJ catches him in mid-air and tries the STYLES CLASH. Waltman kicks him away though and hits the Bronco Buster anyways. Spin Kick from Waltman sends AJ to the floor. Waltman follows him out with a CANNONBALLLL off the top that busts AJ’s nose. Waltman charges AJ up against the ringpost and gets launched crotch-first onto the ringpost for the receipt. Back in again, this time AJ delivers the springboard forearm. Quebrada DDT gets two. Styles wants the vertical suplex into a neckbreaker, but Waltman breaks up the neckbreaker with a low blow. Waltman flies down into a dropkick and then eats the STYLES CLASH for 1-2-NO! SPIRAL TAP misses, but the X-FACTOR does not! Cover, 1-2-NO! Since Waltman has to one-up his own finisher, he goes and finds a chair looking to PILLMANIZE AJ’s knee. Jerry Lynn screws up his plans though and gets rid of the chair. STYLES CLASH! It’s over. (14:35) It’s a great back and forth and arguably Sean Waltman’s best match in ten years. ****

Backstage, Jeff Jarrett confronts the TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko. He wants his title back! As for Rhino, Jarrett tells Larry Z to let him know that the welcoming committee is looking for him. By welcoming committee, he means his guitar.

• TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels vs. Petey Williams (w/A-1)
  

Daniels called Petey a one-dimensional wrestler, so Petey is out to prove that he isn’t by regaining the X Division title. Petey blindsides Daniels to start and sends him to the floor for the slingshot headscissors. Back inside, Petey staggers through his suplex-Russian legsweep combo. The ‘O Canada’ ball stomp in the corner follows. A-1 interferes and Williams delivers the slingshot legdrop on the apron. He runs down the apron for another headscissors, but Daniels puts on the brakes and powerbombs Petey onto the side of the ring. Back in, Daniels naturally goes for the back. Eventually, Daniels applies the Koji Clutch only for A-1 to pull Petey over to the ropes for the break. Petey mounts a comeback as we see Samoa Joe watching on from the tunnel. He sets up for the CANADIAN DESTROYER and Daniels bails out. He spots Joe and gets distracted as A-1 tosses Daniels back inside. Juvi DDT from Petey gets two. Daniels slows Williams down with a Death Valley Driver. He calls for the BME, but Petey trips him up and grabs the SHARPSHOOTER. See! He’s not one-dimensional! He knows one of the most common submission holds seen in Canada! Daniels makes the ropes though and hits the STO for two. Petey elbows away the Uranage and tries the CANADIAN DESTROYER, but Daniels backdrops out into the ANGEL’S WINGS. Petey blocks *that* and when Daniels does get him off the mat, he counters with a headscissors. They fight up top, but Daniels slams Petey down. Flying bodypress misses and they come up slugging at each other. Crucifix by Petey gets 1-2-NO! While A-1 distracts the ref, they both pull out chains to wrap around their fists. However, Daniels beats him to the punch (literally) and delivers the BME for the 1-2-3. (16:19) Nothing really wrong with the match itself, but I don’t think the crowd had anybody to cheer for which made the match feel boring at times. ***¼

• NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven vs. Abyss (w/James Mitchell) – Dog Collar Match
  

James Mitchell returned to TNA a few weeks back to play the Paul Bearer role for Abyss. Why is this a dog collar match? Because Abyss carries a chain. That’s really the reason. There’s a little tug of war to start. Abyss wedges a chair in between the turnbuckles, which is nothing new for him. Raven starts throwing in a whole BUNCH of chairs into the ring and then Abyss gets yanked into the chair in the corner. Raven sets up a table and goes to punch Abyss with the chain wrapped around his fist up against the ringpost, but misses. Raven elbows away a CHOKESLAM through the table as they head back inside the ring. Abyss splashes a chair onto Raven. Cover, 1-2-NO! Abyss lays Raven on a bunch more chairs and goes for a senton, but Raven moves and Abyss falls on the chairs. Raven stops Abyss from choking him with the chain by hitting him with the chair. He finds a staple gun and uses that on the mask a couple times. On the floor, Abyss pulls Raven into the ringpost. Abyss and James Mitchell sets up a few tables at ringside. Over by the tunnel, Raven kicks Abyss in the balls to avoid another CHOKESLAM and then superkicks Abyss off the stage through two tables. Even after all that, Abyss yanks Raven off the stage through another table. Abyss wraps the chain around Raven’s mouth while James Mitchell drops some truth on Raven saying that he can’t surrender! Why? Because the PPV is called ‘No Surrender’. DUH! After Abyss sets a table up against the ringpost, Raven runs Abyss through it. Back inside, Raven starts his comeback with the corner clothesline and the bulldog. RAVEN EFFECT gets 1-2-NO! Raven tries to hang Abyss off the apron, but James Mitchell breaks that up using his cane. Abyss takes off the collar and covers Raven for 1-2-NO! Wait. You can’t just take off the collar, can you? Out comes the thumbtacks. Abyss sets Raven up top, but here comes Cassidy Riley to save the man who helped him a few weeks back against Abyss on iMPACT. Yes, there *is* a story there. What we missed seeing in the pre-show is that Cassidy Riley is dressed up like Raven tonight. He goes up top to come down on Abyss, but gets GOOZLED and takes a CHOKESLAM from the middle rope down through a table on the floor to end him. Abyss tries the ten-count corner punch, but Raven powerbombs him down onto the tacks. Cover, 1-2-NO! Abyss avoids another RAVEN EFFECT and delivers the BLACK HOLE SLAM for 1-2-NO! Raven ends up sacrificing himself by giving Abyss the RAVEN EFFECT in the tacks for the 1-2-3. (19:02) Decent hardcore match that consisted of breaking about a half dozen tables. I think Abyss was a good first opponent as if you can overcome Abyss, you can pretty much be taken seriously in TNA since he’s such a big scary dude. ***

Just when you think the show is over, Jeff Jarrett heads out to take back what he feels is his NWA world title. Raven puts up his dukes to take on Jarrett, but RHINO shows up behind Raven poised for the GORE. Jarrett tells Raven to turn around and he does – right into the GORE. SWERVE~! Now Jarrett has the NWA world title belt in his hand as the show comes to a close.

Final Thoughts: Considering their weekly TV was only seen ONLINE, it didn’t seem to stop TNA from being awesome. There’s a few duds here and there, but the great outweighs the bad tremendously well. There’s no way I can give this any less than a HUGE thumbs up for No Surrender 2005.