TNA iMPACT!
August 19, 2005
Orlando, FL
Universal Studios
(Taped on 8/16/05)

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)

Before the fun begins, we get EXCITING STILL SHOTS of the results from the Sacrifice PPV.

Your hosts are Mike Tenay and Don West.

• Samoa Joe vs. Jerrelle Clark
  

Poor Jerrelle. He gets in a few forearm shots and a running heel kick. Moonsault press by Jerrelle and Joe gingerly walks away from that. VINTAGE JOE. Clark attempts a springboard, but flies down into an STJoe. MUSCLE BUSTER and COQUINA CLUTCH ends Jerrelle. (2:33) Samoa Joe never left his feet. Awesome squash. Afterwards, Christopher Daniels attacks Joe. AJ Styles runs out not so much to save Joe because he really couldn’t care less about the guy, but just to get his hands on Daniels for costing him the Super X cup and a shot at the X-Division title, which now Joe gets for beating AJ at Sacrifice. He cleans house and everybody is angry. This is all really good stuff. *

Backstage, interviewer Shane Douglas is eavesdropping on a tense meeting between Jeff Jarrett and TNA DOA Larry Zbyszko. Jarrett is PISSED that the TNA committee has awarded Rhino with a NWA world title shot over him. Larry Z says if Jarrett can get Rhino to step aside and let him have the shot, then that’s fine. Otherwise, we get Raven v. Rhino at Unbreakable. Jarrett will give it the old college try. Next thing we know, Rhino shows up and gets in Jarrett’s face about what he’s trying to pull. Jarrett offers to give Rhino the first title shot after he beats Raven. Rhino won’t fall for that business and says he’ll give *Jarrett* the first title shot after *he* beats Raven.

• Chris Sabin & Shocker vs. Simon Diamond & Mikey Batts – Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament (First Round)
  

Chris Candido passed away suddenly from pneumonia back in April 2005. As is usually done for well-respected wrestlers in the business, TNA decided to start up an eight-team tag tournament in his honor. To show what a teacher Candido was for the next generation, each team is paired up with an older wrestler and a younger wrestler. However, the pairings make as much sense as a Dusty Rhodes-booked Battlebowl tournament. All we need are some heel/face teams! Sabin and Batts start off by rolling around through wristlocks and armdrags. Shocker tags in and shows a bit of team work. While Sabin gets down on all fours, Shocker launches off his back and splashes Batts in the corner. Diamond runs in and takes a drop toehold into Batts’ nutts. Double Dropkick sends Diamond to the floor. Sabin tries a springboard of sorts on Diamond, but gets tripped up and eats the apron. Batts pescados out while Diamond holds Sabin, but Sabin moves and Diamond gets wiped out as we go to commercial. AND WE’RE BACK! Shocker is destroying Batts with all kinds of elbow drops. Tag to Sabin, he takes a headscissors out to the floor to get stomped by Diamond. Back inside, Sabin is *your* face in peril. Series of suplexes punishes Sabin. He hits Diamond with a springboard back elbow and makes the HOT TAG TO SHOCKER! Diamond breaks up a pin after Shocker leveled Batts with a sitout powerbomb and pays for it with a right hand. Batts sneaks a rollup on Shocker though for 1-2-NO! “Blind” tag to Sabin and he puts Batts down with the CRADLE SHOCK for the 1-2-3. (8:32 shown) Good enough for government work. Sabin has just been firing on all cylinders for me all year here. **¼

In a cringe worthy moment backstage with Shane Douglas, Monty Brown tries imitating the Rock’s imitation of Billy Gunn to poke fun at his failures of getting BG James to join Planet Jarrett. Since he’s all about Darwin’s theory of evolution, Monty says he doesn’t care anymore and he will go through Planet Jarrett and Raven to win the NWA world title quicker than you can say the POUNCE-AH, period.

• Rhino vs. Sonny Siaki (w/Apolo)
  

Siaki is a HOUSE OF FIRE early on against the number one contender to the NWA world title. Rhino stops a corner charge and reverse powerbombs Siaki onto the buckle for two. Siaki escapes a chinlock and drops Rhino with a cutter. It has little effect though. Siaki floats over Rhino off a whip into the corner and rolls back, but stands up into the GORE. (2:39) Rhino looked real good here while at the same time, not completely destroying Siaki. Another good squash. After the bell, he gets on the mic and threatens Raven. He came to TNA for the world title and no one will stop him. Instead of waiting, Rhino wants Raven now. Well, out comes Raven for a big security guard scuffle. Great visual as Rhino breaks loose from security guards holding him back and GORES Raven who was being held by some other security guards who get scattered all over the place. *

• BG James & Cassidy Riley vs. Sonjay Dutt & Ron Killings – Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament (First Round)
  

What sucks about this match is that we get to hear the 3LK music TWICE. Still obsessed with the Raven character, Cassidy Riley starts out with DA TROOF. Wristlocks and shoulderblocks ensue. Riley makes a quick tag to BG James so we can see 3LK EXPLODE! That doesn’t happen as they just dance together instead. When Sonjay and Riley come in and protest, 3LK wipe them out. Back to Riley, Truth hits him with the Flying Jalapeno. Tag to Sonjay, Riley nails him with the corner clothesline-bulldog combo and tags James. He boots down a springboard and goes for the PUMPHANDLE SLAM. Meanwhile, Riley hits Killings with a FISHERMAN DDT. When BG checks on Killings and Riley tries to push him back, Riley receives the PUMPHANDLE SLAM to set him up for the 450 SPLASH from Sonjay for the 1-2-3. (4:13) BG James continues to plant those seeds for when he does eventually turn on 3LK. It’ll happen. Mark my words! *½

Elsewhere, James Mitchell is distraught with the fact that Bobby Roode meets the NWA world champion Raven next week instead of Abyss. Until Larry Z makes this match happen, the blood of Abyss’s victims will be on his hands. If Abyss does not get his way, the end result is obvious — DOOMSDAY. Awesome.

• NWA World Tag Team Champions The Naturals (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. Team Canada
  

Pretty much the B-Team of Team Canada = Eric Young and A-1. Coach D’Amore is conspicuous by his absence. It’s BONZO GONZO to start. EY takes a forearm shot and lands HARD on the apron. Back inside, the Naturals concentrate on Young’s arm. A-1 causes problems for Douglas though as the tide of the match turns in favor of Team Canada as we go to commercial. When we return, Douglas is *your* face in peril. He gets the hope spots on EY while A-1 punishes him with power moves. Young misses a flying legdrop and Douglas makes the HOT TAG TO STEVENS! He is rocking and rolling all over Young. Alabama Slam out of the corner gets two. The Naturals clothesline A-1 to the floor and delivers the NATURAL DISASTER to EY for 1-2-NO! Wait a minute, Bobby Roode pulls out Stevens and runs him into the ringpost for the DQ. (11:32 shown) Petey Williams is in the ring now too attacking Douglas for a 4-on-2 beatdown. Eventually, America’s Most Wanted make the save. The Naturals decide they didn’t need AMW’s help and another brawl ensues while Team Canada stands back and laughs as we go off the air. Nothing amazing, but solid enough. I don’t even mind the DQ finish since it served a purpose to divide the two babyface teams up for the time being. **¼

NEXT WEEK: NWA world champ Raven v. Bobby Roode and the two remaining first round CCMTT matches.

TNA presents Unbreakable
LIVE on PPV
September 11, 2005
Orlando, FL

MAIN EVENT: NWA World Heavyweight Champion Raven vs. Rhino
TNA X-Division Champion Christopher Daniels vs. Samoa Joe