By Wade Keller, Torch editor

TNA SACRIFICE
AUGUST 14, 2005
ORLANDO, FLA. AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

-On the pregame show, Mike Tenay announced the Spike TV clearance. He did a good job building up the announcement, although he talked so long before revealing the new TV deal that the crowd was chanting "Spike TV" before he got around to the revelation to the PPV audience. Jeff Jarrett interrupted and talked again about another Black Wednesday with 20 wrestlers getting laid off from the other group leading to a lot of TNA wrestlers be ousted from their spots. He said he was at the top of the list. He said he wanted a title shot. Larry Zbyszko, who was with Tenay in the ring, told Jarrett he would get a shot if he pinned Rave in the main event. But if he got pinned in the tag match, he'd be blocked from getting another title shot for a full year. Also, Sonny Siaki & Apollo defeated Jerrelle Clark & Mikey Batts at 4:30. During the final push for the PPV with Jeremy Borash and Don West, West put over Austin Aries as "a great Ring of Honor champion."

-Mike Tenay and Don West introduced the show.

1 -- SIMON DIAMOND & DAVID YOUNG & "PRIME TIME" ELIX SKIPPER vs. SONJAY DUTT & SHARK BOY & CHRIS SABIN

Simon opened by saying, "Orlando, Simon has a problem." He talked about how Skipper was forced to break up with Christopher Daniels and since then, Daniels has been revolutionizing the X Division while Skipper has been a lost soul. He said he is going to make him 'the 24 karat star he really is." Tenay touted the reversal of Young's fortunes since aligning with Simon. Tenay updated the situation with Jeff Hardy, saying he had been suspended for missing a PPV earlier this year, but was ordered by TNA management to be at tonight's PPV. He said thus far Hardy had not shown up, and if he didn't show up tonight, he'd be fired. Sabin scored a near fall on Simon at 5:00 after a huracanrana slam. Sonjay tagged in and worked over Young. Simon jumped Sonjay. Skipper tagged in and walked the top rope and head scissored Dutt to the mat. It was a bit sloppy. Young then gave Dutt a Spinebuster and went for the pin. Shark Boy broke the count, then tossed Young to the floor. Shark Boy sling shot himself onto Young on the floor. Sabin tagged in against Skipper. Sabin went for a Cradle Shot. Skipper blocked it. Sabin went for a sunset flip. Skipper blocked it. They went into a series of pin reversals with Sabin scoring the three count on a bridge. Simon harshly lectured Skipper after the match for getting pinned.

WINNERS: Sabin & Dutt & Shark Boy at 7:21.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Solid opener. Some nice spots, some slightly mistimed spots, but overall a nice early dose of energy.

-They went to a replay of Tenay's official announcement that TNA was airing on Spike TV beginning this October.

-Jeff Jarrett interrupted an interview Shane Douglas was conducting with Jimmy Hart and The Naturals. He tried to talk to them about their need to side with him to protect their jobs in the long run. Hart didn't want his men to listen to Jarrett.

2 -- ALEX SHELLEY vs. SHOCKER

Shelley dominated Shocker on the mat for the opening three minutes. They went to ringside where Shocker took over with a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker. Shocker then used a twisting figure-four in the ring to put Shelley in a submission position. Shelley came back with a kneelift and a DDT for a near fall. Shocker used a lucha-style roll-up into an abdominal stretch on the mat. Shelley then won with a roll-up using his legs in the ropes for leverage.

WINNER: Shelley at 8:50.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- A couple awkward moments, but mostly a really interesting match where the two clashing styles blended effectively.

-Douglas interviewed James Mitchell and Abyss backstage. Mitchell referred to Abyss as the greatest big man in wrestling history, and called Andre the Giant a pretender. He said he told Lance Hoyt he was just collateral damage, but he took it personally. He vowed that Abyss would do things to him so unspeakably cruel, even Saddam Hussein would find them excessive. He told him to encourage the fans to cheer for him, but it wouldn't help him.

3 -- ABYSS (w/Jim Mitchell) vs. LANCE HOYT

Hoyt mocked Abyss's cross arm gesture and then clotheslined him over the top rope. They worked at a rapid pace for the opening minutes. Abyss hit Hoyt with a splash off the second rope at 4:00. Abyss came back at 5:30. He caught Abyss in mid-air with a chokeslam. He then went to the top rope and hit a moonsault on Abyss for a near fall. They bill Hoyt at 6-9 and marvelled at his ability to do a moonsault at that height. Abyss then surprised Hoyt with a Black Hole Slam out of nowhere at 6:45. It only got a two count. The announcers were shocked. Abyss acted shocked. Mitchell gave a chair to Abyss. The ref yanked it from him. Abyss then shoved the ref. Hoyt kicked the chair into Abyss and scored a near fall at 7:15. Hoyt used the chair, setting it against Hoyt. Then he springboarded off the top rope all the way across the ring with a dropkick into Abyss's chest. The crowd went crazy for the move. Abyss kicked out, though. Abytss reverswed Hoyt into the ropes and hit a Black Hole Slam for the win.

WINNER: Abyss at 9:09.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- A bit frenetic or rushed since they had a lot to fit into less than ten minutes, but the hot moves and false finishes certainly popped the crowd and kept things interesting from start to finish.

-Douglas interviewed B.G. James backstage about being special referee for the next tag match. He asked him "where his head is at." James said he doesn't know who to trust. He wrapped his fist with tape because of it. Ron Killings tried to talk about trust with James. Konnan barged into the picture and said he'd had enough of James's hemming and hawing. Killings told James that with Spike coming up soon, they need to get their act together. A recap aired of the situation with James, Konnan, Killings, and Kip James.

4 -- RON KILLINGS & KONNAN vs. KIP JAMES & MONTY BROWN

B.G. James was the special referee. Kip was announced as being from Marietta, Ga. Tenay called that a suck-up move to bond with B.G. since he and his family grew up there. Killings hit an early legdrop off the top rope to Kip's spread legs. Kip went to ringside to recover, but Konnan attacked him quickly. Killings and Brown also brawled at ringside. At 2:30 the match returned to the ring with Killings taking a sustained beating. Killings hot-tagged Konnan at 6:00. He threw his shoe at Kip and then threw it at Brown, but hit B.J. instead. Konnan and B.J. argued, then Konnan tag Kip a face-jam. At ringside, Brown leaped off the apron and tried to hit Killings, but landed on the railing instead. Back inside the ring, Kip grabbed a chair. B.G. took it from him. Kip shoved B.G., and then B.G. punched Kip a few times. Seconds later, he counted Kip's shoulders down for three. Konnan, Killings, and B.G. celebrated together. Tenay said that answered all of their questions.

WINNER: Konnan & Killings at 7:45.

STAR RATING: **1/4 -- Average tag match. Okay for the most part, but a notch below the quality of action on the rest of the card. They at least forwarded the B.G. James-Kip James-3 Live Kru storyline. The shoe throwing move is a new one.

5 -- CHRISTOPHER DANIELS vs. AUSTIN ARIES -- X Title match

Daniels entered the ring and addressed Jarrett's fear-tactic of saying wrestlers in TNA may be replaced. He said there is no one in the world who can replace him. He then complained that TNA is bringing someone in from the outside - Austin Aries, one of the top independent stars in the world today. He said Aries "may be Mr. Ring of Honor, but this is TNA." He said tonight may be his big shot to shine on an international PPV, but tonight is just a tune up match for him. The thing that doesn't work about how this is being presented is that they're deliberately appealing to "Internet fans" but they're the ones most likely to realize that Daniels has been a bigger part of ROH historically than Aries, so their common past in ROH should have been addressed. Daniels portrayed it as if Aries had been in ROH and Daniels hadn't. Tenay talked about Aries being trained in Milwaukee, but trained in Minneapolis with Eddie Sharkey, who also trained Sean Waltman and Jerry Lynn. Tenay said he's watched a lot of Aries matches on DVD and videotape. Daniels dominated the early minutes. The crowd chanted for Aries. West and Tenay said that was getting under Daniels’s skin. Aries came back at 6:30 with a corner dropkick and a swinging pendulum elbow. He scored a near fall. He hit a back suplex into a schoolboy for another near fall at 7:30. Daniels took over at 8:00, but missed his moonsault right away. Aries then kicked Daniels in the face and followed with a 450 splash for a near fall. Daniels reached the bottom rope to break the count. Daniels came back and took Aries down hard and put his feet on the ropes for leverage for a two count. Aries and Daniels exchanged more near falls. Daniels hit the Angel's Wings for the win.

WINNER: Daniels at 9:35.

STAR RATING: ***1/4 -- It felt like they worked the first six minutes and the final three minutes but left out the middle six minutes of a great 15 minute match. As it was, it was very good.

-Douglas interviewed America's Most Wanted. Jarrett interrupted and told them major changes would be coming before their debut on Spike TV. He said he knows for a fact they're on a "to be fired" list. He asked if they had ever heard of Austin Aries. "We haven't, but TNA management has," he said. "We're all gonna be fired. Don't trust anybody from TNA." James Storm said he doesn't trust anybody including his family, "so I sure as hell don't trust you." Jarrett said there are some big tag team names that TNA is talking with. Jarrett said he doesn't have any proof, but he doesn't have any proof.

6 -- "6 PAC" SEAN WALTMAN vs. JERRY LYNN

Tenay made reference to Waltman's original wrestling name, Lightning Kid. They shook hands to start. Tenay put over how Lynn and Waltman put lighter wrestlers back on the map in the U.S. scene on ESPN and helped create the Cruiserweight Division in WCW. They paced themselves well in the opening minutes, taking their time to get things rolling with back and forth exchanges. Lynn head scissored Waltman out of the ring, then dove off the top rope onto Waltman with a bodyblock. He followed with a chop, then rolled in and out of the ring to establish a new count. That gave Waltman time to recover and send Lynn shoulder-first into the ringpost. Waltman entered the ring and bowed. He got some boos. When Lynn attempted to reenter the ring, he slidekicked Lynn to the floor. They got into a chopfest at 7:00 inside the ring. Waltman took Lynn down with his legs for a nice roll up for a near fall. Waltman went into a chinlock and then a suftboard. Shark Boy and Sabin walked onto the stage to watch. Lynn elbowed out of it. Waltman, though, gave Lynn a shoulder-breaker for a two count. At 9:00 Lynn avoided a Bronco Buster, which Tenay called the "ultimate move of disrespect." Lynn, favoring his shoulder, gave Waltman a headscissors. Waltman side-stepped a charging Lynn and sent him to the floor. Lynn clutched his shoulder. Waltman flipped onto Lynn at ringside. Dutt joined Sabin and Shark Boy. Lynn blocked Waltman's suplex attempt and instead suplexed Waltman off the apron to the floor; Waltman landed with a thud. Back in the ring, Lynn hit a springboard dropkick on Waltman. The crowd chanted "Jerry, Jerry." At 11:45, Lynn clotheslined Waltman and followed with a Thesz Press and a barrage of punches. As the match really picked up its pace, Lynn showed fire. Waltman made a comeback attempt, but Lynn caught him mid-air and powerbombed him to the mat for a near fall at 12:15. Lynn set up the cradle piledriver. Waltman used a low-blow to block it and hit the X Factor for a near fall. Lynn draped his foot over the bottom rope to stop the apparent pin. West said, "This is everything we thought it could be." Waltman climbed to the top rope, but Lynn rolled through on the bodyblock attempt for a near fall. Lynn hit a tornado DDT at 14:00 for a very near fall. Lynn set up his piledriver, but Waltman reversed it and tombstoned Lynn for a near fall at 14:30. Lynn reversed Waltman and executed a victory roll for the three count. Waltman offered a handshake afterward. They hugged and just as Tenay talked about the heartfelt emotion on display, Waltman broke up the hug by dropping Lynn with a shoulder-breaker. "Talk about spoiling a moment!" shouted Tenay. Waltman rammed Lynn's arm with a chair as it was draped over the railing. Dutt, Sabin, and Shark Boy ran to Lynn's aid. Waltman took off to the announcers' desk. Tenay told Waltman that mutual respect obviously means nothing to him. Waltman did the crotch chop and walked away.

WINNER: Lynn at 15:31.

STAR RATING: ***3/4 -- They did a great job setting up the history between these two, making the turn at the end mean more. Very smartly executed match, which told a story without the frenetic pace of so many TNA spotfests - yet it still had enough good highspots to not feel old fashioned or conservative.

-Douglas interviewed Team Canada backstage who said they were confident against AMW and the Naturals since those two teams hadn't worked together before. They sang "Oh Canada" at the end of the promo.

7 -- AMERICA'S MOST WANTED & THE NATURALS (w/Jimmy Hart) vs. TEAM CANADA (Pete Williams & Eric Young & Bobby Roode & A1)

James Storm sold for the opening few minutes, then hot-tagged Chris Harris. He cleaned house on Team Canada. At 8:00 virtually everyone entered the ring. Some mistimed chaos resulted and a few guys stood around looking lost, playing into the idea that the two teams couldn't work together. Harris leaped off the top rope onto everyone at ringside at 9:30. Back in the ring, Chase Stevens and Roode faced off one-on-one. Harris powerbombed Roode and Stevens off the top rope. More chaos. Williams brought in a hockey stick, but missed a swing at Storm. Storm hip tossed Petey to the floor. Then Roode rolled up Stevens with a yank of the tights and scored the pin. Tenay played up that the Naturals and AMW were never on the same page. AMW and the Naturals argued afterward.

WINNERS: Team Canada at 11:11.

STAR RATING: *1/2

-Douglas attempted to interview Samoa Joe backstage. Joe refused to comment, saying nothing. Douglas got upset and said he wasn't going to let him disrespect him. Joe then stood up and got in Douglas's face. He told him he just showed him respect by not bitch-slapping his Franchise Ass.

-A highlight package aired of the X Cup Tournament.

8 -- SAMOA JOE vs. A.J. STYLES

Christopher Daniels, the current X Champ, joined Tenay and West on commentary. Tenay billed Joe at 6-0, not 6-8 like he mistakenly did last month. After some great opening exchanges, Joe took control at 5:00 with a face wash with his boot laces and then a charging boot. The crowd chanted "Joe, Joe, Joe." Styles attempted a comeback at 6:15, but Joe flipped and took Styles's legs out from under him. Great move that was undersold by Tenay and West, who were engaged in an exchange with Daniels. West said Joe and Styles have only wrestled twice one-on-one before. Daniels said he was in attendance at both of those matches. He said they fought for over 25 minutes on both occasions. Joe went into a chinlock which looked like it hurt because Styles's head was tilted way back. "When Samoa Joe applies a basic move like that chinlock, it's not like any other wrestlers chinlock," said Tenay. Joe powerbombed Styles for a two count, then rolled right over into a submission in a sweet sequence. He then rolled over into an STF. At 9:30 Styles came back with an inverted DDT for a near fall. The crowd chanted, "A.J.'s Awesome." Styles hit a springboard senton for a two count at 8:45. Styles hit the Pele kick and set up a Styles Clash, but Joe escaped. Joe then did the rolling cradle or Texas Tumbleweed for a two count. Styles was so dizzy, he went for an enzuigiri, but Joe was ten feet away. Joe then took Styles's head off with a clothesline; Styles took a bump that only Styles can take. Joe scored a two count. The crowd chanted, "TNA, TNA." Joe punted Styles in the chest nonchalantly. Styles fired back with a series of punches. Joe returned fire with open hand slaps. Styles fired back with an enzuigiri. Both men were down. The crowd was standing and applauding. Styles got up at the count of nine. Joe got up right after him and set up the Musclebuster. Styles escaped and dropkicked Joe from behind, then lifted him into a torture rack. He then twisted and slammed Joe to the mat at 13:30, but the ref took a boot to the face. Daniels ran into the ring and gave Styles an STO. Joe got up and stared down Daniels. When he turned his back, Daniels picked up his X Title wand was going to hit Joe. Joe noticed and Daniels backed down. Styles then got up and clotheslined Daniels into the ropes. Joe then gave Styles the Musclebuster followed by the rear naked choke. Styles tapped out. Tenay said Joe remains unbeaten.

WINNER: Joe at 15:15 to win the 2005 Super X Cup tournament.

STAR RATING: ****1/4 -- That was a four star match that was begging to be given an extra ten minutes to be a match of the year candidate. I assume they had it scheduled for longer, but the show overall was running long. Just a phenomenal display of state of the art 2005 pro wrestling. Innovative, intense, believable, with great crowd heat. There were at least a dozen cool moves you won't see on Raw or Smackdown, but all used in the context of a smartly worked match. The interference from Daniels was okay given the need to set up future matches with him against either of them.

-A Raven promo aired where he said being terrified "makes me wet." Then they went into a recap of the angles leading up to this main event tag match. Good luck following that last match. Regarding finding a partner in Sabu, Raven said, "Sometimes when you have no friends, an enemy will do."

9 -- RAVEN & SABU vs. RHYNO & JEFF JARRETT

At 3:00, after some in-ring brawling, Raven used a pizza cutter against Jarrett's face. Jarrett came up bleeding. Raven bashed Jarrett with a trash can lid and then the trash can itself. Meanwhile, Sabu and Rhyno were brawling elsewhere at ringside. Rhino and Sabu returned to the ring. Rhino nailed Sabu with a stiff chairshot and scored a two count. Jarrett finally returned to the ring apron at 5:30 and Rhino tagged him in. Jarrett pounded away at Sabu. Jarrett hit a superplex, then tagged Rhino back in. Rhyno headbutted Sabu and then kicked him in the corner. Sabu flipped onto Rhino at 6:45 and then went to tag Raven. Rhino held his leg. Sabu kicked Rhino in the head, then crawled toward Raven. He finally made the hot tag at 7:15. Raven hit Rhino with a discus clothesline, then Jarrett entered the ring and Raven took him down. Raven kneelifted both Rhino and Jarrett, then bulldogged Jarrett as he tackled Rhino in a cool spot. Raven scored a nearfall on Jarrett. Jarrett rolled out of the ring, leaving Rhino vs. Raven. Raven gave Rhino a DDT for a two count. Jarrett yanked the ref out of the ring. Sabu hit Jarrett from behind. Jarrett, though, hit Raven with a low blow, then brought his guitar into the ring. Cassidy Reilly, Raven's follower, yanked the guitar away. Jarrett gave Raven The Stroke at 9:00 for a two count. The match felt really rushed, as if they were short on time and trying to fit in everything they had planned. Rhino tagged in and gnawed at Raven's forehead with his teeth. Jarrett tagged in and applied the figure-four at 10:30. Raven reversed the figure-four, so Jarrett released the hold. Jarrett went for a drop toe hold onto a chair, but Raven sidestepped the attempt, grabbed the chair, and threw it at Jarrett. Sabu tagged in and threw the chair at Rhino's head, then threw it at Jarrett's head. He then leaped off the chair and knocked Jarrett to the floor. Sabu then set up the chair next to Rhino and used it to launch himself onto the top rope, then springboard with a legdrop onto Rhino. The fans chanted "Sabu, Sabu." Sabu leaped off the chair and springboarded off the top rope onto Rhino at ringside. Back in the ring, Jarrett used the drop toe hold to send Raven face-first into a chair set up in the ring. Raven came back with a surprise Raven Effect DDT for a two count; Rhino broke up the pin. Rhino then hit Raven with the Gore for a near fall; Sabu broke up the count. Rhino went for a Gore on Sabu, but he side-stepped it and the ref went down. Sabu went to the top rope and hit Rhino with the Arabian Facebuster, a legdrop off the top rope with a chair underneath his leg. The ref was down. Sabu shoved Rhino into a table. When he dove at Rhino, Abyss leaped onto the ring apron and grabbed Sabu by the throat. He threw him through a table at ringside. Jeff Hardy made the save. He gave Jeff Jarrett a Twist of Fate and a Swanton Splash. The ref came in to count as Raven had his arm draped over Jarrett for a two count. They brought a table into the ring. Raven set up a DDT on Jarrett into a table in the corner, but Rhino gave him a Gore first and scored the three count. Sabu attempted to break up the pin, but was a second too late. Jarrett wasn’t happy that Rhino scored the pin. Tenay wondered what Zbyszko would do.

WINNERS: Rhino & Jarrett at 16:23.

STAR RATING: ***1/4 -- Good chaotic bag-o-tricks match with a return of Jeff Hardy being a high-energy injection late in the match. Nice tease earlier in the night that Hardy hadn't shown up and could be fired.

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