TNA: Sacrifice
August 14, 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)

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Don West.

• Chris Sabin, Shark Boy & Sonjay Dutt vs. The Diamonds in the Rough
  

I know this show is six years old, but how much you want to bet that DITR loses and ends up arguing at the end? DW thinks being in the DITR will reignite Elix Skipper’s career. Of course you would, Mr. West. Shark Boy is *YOUR* face in peril for this one. Meanwhile, Tenay and DW are hyping the rest of the show. They make one interesting mention that if Jeff Hardy does not make an appearance tonight, he will be fired. He was suspended for 90 days when he no-showed the Hard Justice PPV back in May. Shark Boy hits a facebuster on Skipper and hot tags Sonjay, who comes in with springboard moves. Skipper stops a tilt-a-whirl move with a backbreaker to set up some back work. Tag to Young, Sonjay hits a slingshot headscissors to fight back. He tags Sabin who gets a nearfall on Diamond with a hurracanrana. Springboard dropkick gets two. Skipper and Young try to double-team, but Sabin blind tags Sonjay who flies in with a springboard flying bodypress for both of them. He gets caught, but Shark Boy missile dropkicks them all down. Skipper barely delivers the Rope Walk Headscissors on Sonjay. AA Spinebuster by Young on Sonjay gets two. Shark Boy saves and dumps Young out for a pescado. Sabin tags again and when he can’t give Skipper the CRADLE SHOCK, he settles for a fancy rollup for the 1-2-3. (7:24) Total waste of Sabin in my opinion. Simon Diamond lays down the law afterwards to his loser followers. **½

Mike Tenay tells us that TNA iMPACT will be coming to Spike TV on Saturday nights starting October 1! YIPPEE! For those of us who missed the pre-show, TNA DOA Larry Zbyszko announced that if Jeff Jarrett pins Raven tonight, he gets an NWA world title shot. If Raven pins him, then he won’t be allowed another title shot for a whole year.

To the back, Jeff Jarrett interrupts the Naturals and Jimmy Hart interview to say that since TNA is headed to Spike TV, they could be getting the pink slip. Chase Stevens doesn’t care too much for what Jarrett has to say since he hasn’t even talked to the Naturals in nine months. Jimmy just thinks Jeff’s being paranoid anyway.

• Shocker vs. Alex Shelley
  

It’s the rubber match that nobody cares about! Shocker won the Slammiversary match while Shelley took Shocker out of the Super X Cup tournament. Armdrags lead to a stalemate. Shocker applies the stump puller and Shelley takes offense by going to work on Shocker’s leg. Shelley charges with a knee in the corner, but Shocker moves and Shelley goes flying to the floor. Shocker does a great *no-hands* somersault handstand dive over the top and lands on his feet, but Shelley is there to knock him down with an enziguri. That doesn’t stop him though as Shocker drops Shelley on the apron and then follows up with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Shocker continues with a Christian-style springboard dive to the floor. Back inside, Shocker wins a chop fest and hits a corner clothesline and running bulldog combo. He applies a lucha-esque inverted figure four, but Shelley makes the ropes. Shelley comes back with the double knees in the corner and a tornado DDT for two. Out of nowhere, Shocker applies some sort of Koji Clutch down on the mat. Another weird inverted figure four, but Shelley makes the ropes. DW – “Shocker’s working the leg like a magician!” Just as long Shocker doesn’t make it disappear, Shelley should be okay. Shelley avoids a series of German suplexes and grabs a spinning dragon screw leg whip. Spinning toe hold by Shelley is countered into a small package for two. Off a corner whip, Shocker lands out on the apron and turnbuckle smashes Shelley so he can deliver a slingshot elbow drop. Shelley rolls through a sunset flip and dropkick Shocker, but Shocker answers back with the same. Time for La Magistral cradle, but Shelley blocks with his legs wrapped around the bottom rope for the cheap 1-2-3. (8:55) Oh, that Shelley. Apparently this was give Shocker a little added sympathy to put him over, but the TNA crowd just never truly bought into the guy. **¾

Shane Douglas is standing by with Abyss and James Mitchell. Great promo by James Mitchell summing up how he feels about Lance Hoyt, his fans, and what unspeakable cruelty we are about to see from Abyss.

• Abyss (w/James Mitchell) vs. Lance Hoyt
  

This appears to be an upper mid card test for the Test look-a-like Lance Hoyt. Just as I make that joke, Hoyt’s changed up his ring attire to look more like Miz 2006 then Test 2000. Hoyt ROCKS N ROLLS all over Abyss to start and the crowd eats it up. To the floor we go as Hoyt delivers a pescado and celebrates with his faithful fans. Abyss cools him off by reversing a whip into the guardrail. Back inside, Abyss corners Hoyt and chops on his chest. Hoyt elbows away the Chokeslam, but runs into an elbow that sets up a splash from the middle rope for two. Abyss runs Hoyt shoulder-first into the ringpost a couple times. Hmm, what’s going on. They seem a little lost. Hoyt fires back with a flying clothesline out of the corner. Abyss flies down into a Chokeslam from Hoyt. That sets up the Flying Moonsault for 1-2-NO! Hoyt charges Abyss, but runs right into the BLACK HOLE SLAM for 1-2-NO! A chair comes into play, but Hoyt boots the chair in the face for two. The ref still doesn’t seem to mind the chair being in the ring. Hoyt sets the chair on Abyss and delivers the COAST TO COAST! Cover, 1-2-NO! The crowd is really flipping out now. Hoyt charges Abyss again and gets caught in the BLACK HOLE SLAM again this time for the 1-2-3. (9:13) Really? These people need to know when to just go home. If a coast to coast with a chair involved doesn’t win you the match, you can pretty much only go down from there for a disappointing finish. Some stuff was fun, other parts were just silly. **½

In the back, Shane Douglas grabs a word from BG James and can’t exactly get the words out just right in a slight botchamania moment. It’s LIVE TV, folks! BG says he doesn’t much care for the fact that the TNA DOA Larry Zbyszko has stuck him in the lion’s den so to speak. DA TROOF comes over and reminds BG that he never lost faith in him. Konnan comes by and tells BG that he does not trust him whatsoever. Why wait for the match? Just stab Konnan in the back now.

• 3Live Kru vs. Monty Brown & Kip James – (Special Referee: BG James)
  

This is a rematch from last month except made a little more interesting with BG James as the special ref. Kip James bills himself from Marietta GA now – the home of the Armstrong family. Big brawl to start on the floor. Inside the ring, Brown and Kip control and splash Konnan in the corner. They miss the splash on Killings who comes back on Monty Brown with the split and the Jumping Side Kick. YOU KNOW HOW HE DO. Kip takes the flying legdrop to the balls and now we’re back on the floor momentarily. Okay, back inside everybody. While ref BG James trades broccoli casserole recipes with Konnan on the apron, Kip delivers a tilt-a-whirl slam on Killings to turn the tide. Brown mocks BG with the Shaky Knee Drop thing. More face-in-peril stuff follows with BG going between sides arguing with the other. Don West judges the cadence of the count to stir the pot. Nasty double-KO spot leads to the HOT TAG TO KONNAN! Rolling Lariat to Kip! K-FACTOR to Brown! Kip gets the shoe thrown at him and when he tries to throw the shoe at Monty, he accidently hits BG James in the back. No big deal. It’s just a shoe. Kip tries to take advantage with the FAMOUSER, but Konnan moves and hits another K-FACTOR. Meanwhile, Brown misses a dive off the apron onto Killings and falls on the guardrail. Konnan brings a chair inside, but BG won’t allow it. Kip gives BG the thumbs up and takes the chair, but BG won’t let Kip use the chair either. Kip shoves BG back, but then BG retaliates with the Shake Rattle and Roll into a chairshot from Konnan for the 1-2-3. (7:31) And with that, 3LK are back together. Umm, good for them? This was kind of a mess. *½

Update on Jeff Hardy: He’s still not in the building.

• TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels vs. Austin Aries
  

This is the TNA debut of Austin Aries. A few name guys from ROH were put into an innernette poll and the winner would get an X-Division title shot against Christopher Daniels. The poll was between the winner Austin Aries, Roderick Strong, Jay Lethal, and Matt Sydal. Great start to this match as Aries looks determined to upset the champ. Aries grabs a front headlock on the mat and finally Daniels counters. Aries manages to handstand out and dropkick Daniels in the head to send him to the floor. Aries meets him on the outside with a tope suicida. Back in, a slingshot corkscrew splash gets two. Daniels makes him pay with a shoulderbreaker and follows up with THREE standing slams. Crazy hard corner whip rocks Aries. Daniels stands on Aries just to prove his dominance. Aries escapes a chinlock, but charges into a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Split-legged moonsault to the back by Daniels gets two. Aries sees the ANGEL’S WINGS coming and rolls away from the move. He then flips out of a suplex and open hand slaps Daniels. That fires him up, but Aries catches him with a drop toehold. Aries wants a discus clothesline. When he can’t get it, he still manages to catch Daniels with a clothesline. Pendulum elbow drop from Aries gets two. Aries hits the IED for 1-2-NO! Daniels fights back with a Flatliner, but misses the BME! Punt to the face by Aries! 450 SPLASH! Cover, 1-2-NO! Daniels grabs the bottom rope for the break. Aries charges into an elbow allowing Daniels to hit a quick STO. He covers with his feet on the ropes and gets caught by the ref. School boy by Aries gets 1-2-NO! Backslide scores another nearfall. BRAINBUSTER, but Daniels slips out of that and takes Aries right into the ANGEL’S WINGS for the 1-2-3. (9:35) Good showing from Aries. No surprise there. This match secured him a place on the TNA roster. Out of the other guys on the poll, Roderick Strong would soon join TNA for about six months time while Jay Lethal would debut in December and remained in TNA until April 2011. Matt Sydal stuck it out in the independents before being signed by WWE in 2007 where he still works to this day. At least money-wise, I would say Sydal most certainly got the best deal. Okay, now I’m just telling you information you already know. ***

To the back with Shane Douglas standing by with America’s Most Wanted. Jeff Jarrett (AGAIN?!) interrupts their interview spreading more paranoia about people getting pink slips.

• Sean Waltman vs. Jerry Lynn
  

This is Lynn’s first match back in TNA since the Juvi Driver that injured his shoulder in February 2004. DARN YOU JUVENTUD! After a decade where bigger was better, Tenay puts over the Lynn-Waltman GWF matches as the precursor to the rise of the cruiserweight division in the mid-90s. Good feeling out process to start. Waltman asked Lynn if he was feeling froggy on iMPACT. With the look of those crotch chops, I would say he is. About four minutes in, Waltman connects with a spin kick to take control. Lynn headscissors Waltman to the floor and follows him out with a top-rope dive. After a brief scuffle, Waltman drives Lynn shoulder-first into the ringpost. Waltman makes him expend some energy by knocking him off the apron a few times. Back inside, they trade slaps. Lynn tries a whip and that hurts the shoulder. Waltman gets a quick leg trap rollup for two. Shark Boy, Sonjay Dutt, and Chris Sabin watch on from the tunnel. Shoulderbreaker by Waltman. Cover, 1-2-NO! Corner Kick Combo by Waltman sets up the Bronco Buster, but there’s nobody home. Tilt-a-whirl headscissors by Lynn, but Waltman sidesteps a charge and dumps him out. Waltman delivers a somersault plancha. On the apron, Lynn counters a suplex to take Waltman to the floor. Back inside the ring, Lynn hits a front missile dropkick. HERE COMES JERRY! Lou Thesz Press complete with punches! Waltman tries a headscissors, but Lynn blocks with a sitout powerbomb for 1-2-NO! CRADLE PILEDRIVER, but Lynn can’t lift him up. Waltman gives Lynn a low blow and hits the X-FACTOR for 1-2-NO! Lynn got his foot on the bottom rope. Flying bodypress by Waltman, but Lynn rolls through for 1-2-NO! Lynn hits a swinging DDT for another nearfall. Lynn wants a Tombstone Piledriver, but Waltman counters and delivers for 1-2-NO! Waltman goes for a slam, but Lynn shoots up onto his shoulders and drops down into a victory roll for the 1-2-3! (15:22) They shake hands and hug afterwards, but then Waltman drops him with an armbreaker DDT to do more damage to the shoulder. SUH-NAP! He then gives Lynn’s arm a chairshot while it’s up against the guardrail. Nothing crazy, but it made kind of a loud noise. Here come the Sabin-Shark Boy-Dutt team, but it’s WAY too late. The match reminded me of Jerry Lynn’s ROH world title run in 2009. This treating Jerry Lynn as the old timer who wants to make one more main event run worked better (arguably) in ROH since he literally was the oldest talent they had, but Jerry Lynn is not that old compared to others inside TNA, which is why they had to play up the shoulder injury aspect so much more strongly than his age. ***½

In the back, Shane Douglas talks to Team Canada as they warm up for their match. They have no Scott D’Amore, but they do have a hockey stick. Pictures of Coach D’Amore hanging in their lockers is pretty hilarious though.

• Team Canada vs. America’s Most Wanted and the Naturals (w/Jimmy Hart)
  

AMW and the Naturals can’t settle their dispute over the NWA world tag belts until they get Team Canada out of the way, so they have decided to join forces. Douglas and EY start the match. A-1 tries to sneak in a knee, but Douglas sees it coming and lets Young knock him off the apron. Tag to Stevens, the champs deliver the face slam on the knee for two. Petey tags in, but flies into a shot to the gut. EYE OF THE STORM on Petey, but Roode comes in and clips Storm from behind. Now Team Canada works over the knee while Tenay announces that Mr. JL has been sent to the hospital. Don’t miss iMPACT this week to hear more about Jerry Lynn! Enough of that though. Storm clotheslines the crap out of Petey and makes the needed tag to Harris. He CLEANS HOUSE on Team Canada and hits a stalling suplex on Eric Young for two. Tag to Stevens, he and Harris deliver a double backdrop to EY. Young comes back with a low blow and brings Stevens over to the wrong side of town. This goes on for a couple minutes. Stevens catches EY up top and enziguri kicks him down to the mat for a SICK bump. A-1 and Petey help Young back inside. Andy Douglas gets the hot tag. He takes everybody out and tags Stevens for the NATURAL DISASTER on EY! Before Douglas can turn around, Roode drills him with the NORTHERN LARIAT. Petey takes out Stevens with a swinging DDT. CATATONIC on Petey! Roode charges Harris for the NORTHERN LARIAT, but Storm intercepts with a SUPERKICK. Cover, 1-2-NO! Now everybody congregates to the floor as Harris dives on the whole bunch. The only two that weren’t in the bunch are Stevens and Roode. A three-man TOWER OF DOOM occurs as Harris enters the ring. Hey, there seems to be at least one on every show. A-1 trips up the Hart Attack on Petey and pulls Harris out. Petey tries to swing the hockey stick at Storm, but that fails and he takes a hiptoss from inside the ring down to the floor! Now Roode whips Stevens into Storm and rolls him up with a handful of tights for the 1-2-3. (11:10) It doesn’t seem that hard to book eight-man tags, but they seemed to overextend themselves here – especially during the last couple minutes. Certainly entertaining, but nothing spectacular. With that finish, we’ll be seeing some AMW-Naturals matches in the near future. **½

Shane Douglas attempts to get an interview with the yet-to-speak-on-camera Samoa Joe. When he doesn’t respond, Shane becomes super pissed and demands respect from this newcomer. Joe tells Shane that he just showed him some respect by not slapping him around. As Joe walks off, Shane is now SEETHING in anger.

• AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe – Super X Cup Finals
  

As tradition throughout the so-called Christopher Daniels Invitational tournament, Christopher Daniels himself joins us for commentary. They feel each other out early trading kicks. AJ suckers Joe into a sweep and then SLAMS the guy. Joe stops a discus clothesline with a short jab and then boots AJ through the ropes for a Misawa suicida that sends AJ into the announce table! AJ avoids a crash by leaping over the guardrail. He pounds Joe back and springs off the guardrail to hit Joe with a flying elbow. Awesome! Back in, Styles manages a snap suplex and applies the Muta Lock. Joe breaks free and shoulderblocks AJ down, but Styles comes back with the kip-up headscissors. Joe tries to bait Styles to try the dropkick, but AJ stays one step ahead and lands on his feet. More awesome! AJ wants to take Joe to the floor and charges him, but Joe catches Styles for STJOE! Joe knees Styles in the corner and delivers the Ole Kick. Haha, why not. Great sell job by AJ too. AJ starts up again, but Joe sweeps the leg. Do you have a problem with that? No, sensei. Here comes Joe with the snapmare leading to the neck chop, the chest kick, and then the jumping knee drop. You know the drill. AJ fights out of a chinlock and tries the kip-up headscissors again, but Joe shoves him off and delivers the powerbomb. As AJ kicks out, he uses AJ’s own momentum to apply the deep leverage on the Boston crab. When AJ starts to crawl for the ropes, Joe changes to the STF. Styles still manages to get a foot on the bottom rope. Styles comes back with the dropkick and the Quebrada DDT for 1-2-NO! They meet on the top turnbuckle where AJ forearms him down for a springboard senton bomb for 1-2-NO! Joe tries to sweep the legs again, but Styles jumps over the legsweep and connects with the Pele Kick! Joe is stunned! AJ tries the STYLES CLASH, but Joe kicks him away and applies the Texas Tumbleweed (rolling cradle) for two. As AJ gets up, he tries a dizzy Pele Kick and fails. Joe takes advantage as AJ wanders around into a HUGE lariat! Cover, 1-2-NO! Now Joe makes AJ mad with some kicks to the face. Forearms and knees from AJ! Joe won’t have anymore of that though as he fires back with hard slaps. He tries a spinning backfist, but he turns back around into an enziguri. Both men down! They come up at the count of nine. Joe explodes and tries the MUSCLE BUSTER, but AJ slips out and dropkicks Joe into the corner. With Joe staggered, AJ hoists Joe up for the Rack Bomb! Oh, but the ref gets nailed. That brings Christopher Daniels away from the announce table. He sneaks into the ring and drops Styles with the STO. Just as he looks like he’s going to let Joe reap the benefit of his interference, Daniels looks like he’s going to deck Joe from behind with his X-Division belt. Joe sees what he was trying to do out of the corner of his eye. As Joe stalks Daniels towards the corner, AJ charges Daniels and clotheslines him out of the ring. Now Joe palm strikes AJ up on top turnbuckle and delivers the MUSCLE BUSTER. The COQUINA CLUTCH follows. Styles tries to last as long as possible, but he can’t make the ropes and just has to tap out. (15:09) Samoa Joe is *your* 2005 Super X Cup winner. Another classic in a year of MANY classic matches from TNA as 2005 stands out above all the others. ****½

In the back or wherever Raven and Sabu hang out on a staircase with a bunch of candles everywhere, Raven says that he isn’t intimidated by Jeff Jarrett in the least bit. And why should he? Look at Raven and look at Jeff Jarrett.

• Jeff Jarrett & Rhino vs. Raven & Sabu
  

No time for big match introductions. Cassidy Riley is somewhere close by. Lots of “ECW” chants going on to start. Hmm, which of these four people don’t belong? It doesn’t take long for this match to break down out to the floor. Sabu and Rhino on one side of the arena, Jarrett and Raven on the other. Raven finds a pizza cutter somewhere and slices Jarrett’s forehead. No big deal. Meanwhile, Sabu and Rhino head back into the ring where Sabu leaps off a chair and headscissors Rhino out of the corner. He tries the Triple Jump Moonsault, but Rhino grabs him by the foot and Sabu faceplants himself on the chair. Chairshot to the face on Sabu gets two. A bloody JJ takes over and delivers a superplex to Sabu. Back to Rhino, he covers Sabu for two. Sabu fights off another superplex this time from Rhino and cannonball splashes him. Tag to Raven, he’s got discus clotheslines and knee lifts for everybody! Bulldog and clothesline combo on Rhino and JJ. RAVEN EFFECT on Rhino. He covers Rhino, but Jarrett pulls out the ref. JJ low blows Raven and pulls out his GEETAR. As he pulls back, Raven’s doppelganger Cassidy Riley steals the GEETAR. Jarrett hits the STROKE on Raven anyways for 1-2-NO! Rhino starts biting Raven’s forehead until he either bleeds or blades. I’m not exactly sure! It’s pretty sick either way. Back to Jarrett, Raven reverses the FIGURE FOUR. When he avoids JJ’s attempt at the drop toehold onto the chair, Raven tosses the chair in Jarrett’s face. HOT TAG TO SABU! He tosses chairs at Rhino and Jarrett. Air Sabu on them both! Triple Jump Leg Drop to Rhino gets two. Rhino bails, but Sabu meets him with a plancha. Meanwhile, Jarrett delivers the drop toehold on the chair on Raven for 1-2-NO! Out of nowhere, RAVEN EFFECT on Jarrett gets 1-2-NO! In comes Rhino for the GORE on Raven! Now Sabu makes the save. Rhino goes to GORE Sabu, but he moves and the ref gets wiped out. ARABIAN FACEBUSTER on Rhino! Sabu pushes Rhino out of the ring onto a table, but Abyss runs in and stops Sabu’s somersault plancha. Abyss comes in the ring and drops Sabu from inside the ring down through the table. BUT LOOK! Inside the ring, Jeff Hardy finally showed up and takes out Abyss. Twist of Fate and the SWANTON BOMB to Jarrett! As Hardy leaves, Raven covers Jarrett. Another ref counts 1-2-NO! Rhino makes the save and puts a table in the corner. Raven elbows away the STROKE and tries for the RAVEN EFFECT, but here comes Rhino as he GORES Raven off into the table. Rhino covers Raven for the 1-2-3! (16:16) As the ref raises Rhino’s hand in victory, Jarrett looks completely betrayed knowing that Rhino will now be getting his NWA world title shot. Crazy brawl and that’s just how it should have been. ***¼

Final Thoughts: These TNA PPVs continue to improve as they aren’t just having great matches, but great matches that matter in the grand scheme of things. Joe v. Sabin from last month was great, but largely forgettable since it didn’t have any storyline attached to it. In this PPV’s case, the Daniels v. Joe v. AJ feud over the X-Division title has exploded and will continue to rule everything else going on in wrestling at the time. It can appear a little disjointed with a weaker first half than the second half, but there’s nothing terrible here. Definitely a thumbs up for TNA Sacrifice 2005.