By Wade Keller, Torch editor

TNA DESTINATION X
MARCH 12, 2006
ORLANDO, FLA. AT UNIVERSAL STUDIOS

PRE-PPV SHOW

-Mike Tenay and Don "D.W." West introduced the show and hyped the PPV.

1 -- "PRINCE OF PUNK" SHANNON MOORE vs. CASSIDY REILLY

WINNER: Moore at 3:15.

STAR RATING: *1/4 -- Good athleticism, nonstop action.

-Backsage, Christopher Daniels talked about how before there was a TNA, he dreamed of having a place to go where he could do what he does best on a national stage, "and that is wrestle." He said tonight's match comes down to who wants it more, and he will come out on top.

2 -- ELIX SKIPPER & DAVID YOUNG (w/Simon Diamond) vs. NORMAN SMILEY & SHARK BOY

Before the match, Diamond cut a promo on A.J. Pierzynski who was in the crowd. He said he is going to go to Arizona to where A.J.'s spring training takes place and prove he is the best two sport athlete. Smiley and Shark Boy were presented as two cult favorites. Smiley gave Normal his very suggestive Big Wiggle during the match.

WINNER: Young & Skipper when Young pinned Smiley.

STAR RATING: 1/2* -- Too short to amount to much.
-A video aired previewing the PPV.

PRE-PPV SHOW

1 -- ALEX SHELLEY vs. JAY LETHAL

Tenay and West touted these two as the youngest two wrestlers in TNA, praising their progress, professionalism, and maturity. After some early good exchanges, Lethal took sustained control, including a dive out of the ring. Lethal scored some near falls starting at 700. Shelley came back with a quick Sliced Bread #2 finisher for the win out of nowhere.

WINNER: Shelley at 9:58.

STAR RATING: **3/4 -- Nice state of the art wrestling. Above-average opener.

-Tenay and West talked about other PPV matches. They keep referring to Sting as "Steve Borden," accentuating that Sting the wrestler retired, but the real man will be showing up later. It sounds clunky, though, since he's never been known as that before and TNA didn't pay big money for Steve Borden's name recognition.

-Jeremy Borash interviewed Team Canada backstage. D'Amore mocked The Naturals crying about losing their last match to Team Canada. He said Team Canada faces bigger obstacles than the Naturals do because they're a small group of Canadians having to face hundreds of millions of biased Americans. He said their team is synonymous with X Division excellence and Petey Williams will prove it later.

2 -- LANCE HOYT vs. "THE MAVERICK" MATT BENTLEY (w/Traci)

Hoyt took early control. West said Bentley says he wants to be recognized as a former X Champion and not be lost in the shuffle. Bentley took control around 3:30 and held him down with an overhead facelock. The crowd chanted "Hoyt, Hoyt, Hoyt" as he made his comeback at 5:00. Hoyt clotheslined Bentley in the corner, then hit a pump handle slam for a near fall. Hoyt went for a moonsault off the top rope, but Bentley moved. Bentley went for a superkick, but Hoyt avoided it. They countered each other and both ended up on the mat. They cut into the match and went to Borash in the rafters where Alex Shelley and Eric Young were hanging out. Young said he had a master plan and began throwing flyers from the rafters to the crowd and the into the ring. Traci showed Bentley one of the flyers. He turned to tell her to get off the apron and let him concentrate on the match. Hoyt then surprised Bentley with a big boot and scored a pin.

WINNER: Hoyt at 8:01.

STAR RATING: *1/4 -- Okay.

-They showed the flyer, which said, "Have you seen this man? Use extreme caution!" and a picture of Sting.

-Borash was backstage already to interview Team 3D, Ron Killings, and Rhino. After Killings said a few words, Devon shouted "Testify!" and then BRD said, "You've got to teach me ebonics." Wasn't the term "ebonics" last part of the country's lexicon back when Cyrstal Pepsi came out?

3 -- BOBBY ROODE & ERIC YOUNG (w/Scott D'Amore, A1) vs. THE NATURALS

Team Canada dominated the match. As the ref was distracted, Roode choked Stevens as the ref was distracted by Douglas complained to the ref about the heel cheating. Stevens teased a comeback at 8:00. He knocked Young off the top rope at 10:00. A1 helped Young back into the ring, then he tagged in Roode. Roode stopped Stevens from hot-tagging Douglas. A minute later Douglas did take the hot-tag, and the announcers totally undersold it since the whole match was built around that moment. He hit a DDT for a near fall at 11:00 on Roode. In a strange sequence, Stevens flipped Roode backwards and Douglas dropped an elbow on him. Young knocked Douglas off balance as he lifted Roode for a double-team finisher. Douglas suplexed the other three wrestlers off the second rope just as Young and Roode were about to double suplex Stevens. Douglas covered Roode at 12:00 for a near fall. They set up the Natural Disaster, but D'Amore distracted Douglas and the ref. Young KO'd Douglas with the hockey stick and Roode scored the pin.

WINNERS: Roode & Young at 13:05.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- Good tag match. Can the bookers come up with a different finish for a Team Canada match other than D'Amore distracting the ref while the hockey stick is used as a weapon?

-Borash interviewed Monty Brown. He called Christian the Flavor of the Minute, and called himself the Flavor of the Millennium. He said the butterflies in Christian's stomach would feel the Pounce. Just as he was about to shout Pounce, though, Larry Zbyszko in a baseball cap and ridiculous Hawaiian shirt offered Brown the best of luck. Brown shoved his hand away. He said he doesn't care about him or the ref Earl Hebner, he cares about levelling the playing field with the "Pouuunnncee-cu! Period!"

4 -- HOMICIDE & KONNAN & MACHETTE vs. "BULLET" BOB ARMSTRONG & B.G. JAMES & KIP JAMES

West said he hopes he's in half Bob Armstrong's shape when he's 66. Tenay made fun of him for not being in as good a shape as Bob at his current age. West corrected himself and said he hopes he's still alive then. B.G. James said it's not time for catch phrases, it's time for revenge. He said LAX pissed off the "tribal elder" so "it's on, punk bitches." Tenay pointed out that Armstrong is wearing wrestling boots that are 30 years old, older than half of the TNA roster. LAX triple teamed B.G. in the early minutes. At 4:00 B.G. tagged in Kip. He cleared the ring. B.G. and Kip brawled with Machette and Homicide at ringside. Meanwhile, Bob got his hands on Konnan, which they had been building up as the goal of the babyface team. He took Konnan to ringside and pounded on him on the announcers' table as West cheered him on. Back in the ring, Homicide was going to use a chair. Bob grabbed it from him. B.G. and Bob threw Homicide out of the ring. Machette ended up triple-teamed by the babyfaces. Kip finished him off with a pump handle slam for the win.

WINNER: Armstrong & B.G. & Kip at 6:40.

STAR RATING: 3/4* -- Not much to it.

-Backstage, Shelly and Young were backstage looking for Sting. Borash accompanied them. Young did a somersault for no reason, which was pretty funny. They found his jacket and bat in the men's room. Young called for Sting to come out of the stall. The toilet flushed and out came A.J. Styles. Young hilariously asked Styles if Sting was there with him. Styles said disgustedly no. He told Shelley that what he's been doing with that camera is going to get him hurt. Young and Shelley agreed they were close to finding Sting. Young has been pretty funny lately on both Impact and the PPV.

5 -- PUMA vs. SONJAY DUTT vs. CHRIS SABIN vs. PETEY WILLIAMS

Tenay and West hyped TNA's commitment to bringing in international stars. They hyped the World X Cup coming up in April and May which would showcase more international stars. After some early four-way action, it settled into Puma vs. Petey for a couple minutes. Sonjay then tagged himself in against Puma. Sabin tagged in, hung Dutt upside down in a corner, and gave him a running dropkick to the face. Dutt came back with a surf board. Tenay said Puma idolizes Tiger Mask's style from the 1980s. Williams and Sabin battled for an extended period - extended for this match, meaning more than a minute. They fought at ringside where Williams gave Sabin a huracanrana. Puma flip dove onto both over the top rope. Sonjay ran toward the ropes for a dive, but Puma caught him with a surprise clothesline. Sabin then entered the ring and whipped Puma into the ropes. Puma hooked the ropes sideways "like Spiderman" in Tenay's words. Sabin then dove over onto Williams at ringside. Dutt dropkicked Puma from behind, knocking him to the floor. Dutt hit a flip moonsault onto all three at ringside. The crowd chanted "TNA, TNA." At 11:15 Sabin went for cradle shock, but Puma blocked it and kicked Sabin. All four ended up down on the mat a few seconds later. "Whatta match!" said West, adding that if anyone tuned in for X Division action, they've already got their money's worth. Puma gave Williams a brainbuster. Sabin then nailed Puma with a snap suplex. Sonjay hit a headscissors off the ropes on Sabin followed by a neckbreaker. They continued with rapid-fire spots leading to Williams putting Puma in a Sharpshooter. Puma reached for the ropes. Sonjay dropkicked Williams to break the hold. Williams set up Dutt for a Canadian Destroyer, but Dutt landed on Williams, then Sabin made the save. Sabin hit Dutt with a spinning powerbomb. Sabin caught Puma with a kick to the gut. Puma came back with a power underhook suplex. Dutt broke up the pin attempt. They went into a series of big finisher spots. Sabin gave Puma the Cradle Shock for the pin. The crowd gave the wrestlers a standing ovation. Tenay said, "You want to know what separates TNA from every other wrestling promotion? You just witnessed it."

WINNER: Sabin at 14:55.

STAR RATING: ****1/4 -- Excellent spotfest. Lasted long enough to feel special. Crisp, awesome athleticism throughout. I don't give four-stars often to spotfests, but this was a cut above the vast majority.

-Borash interviewed Jeff Jarrett, "Father" James Mitchell, Abyss, America's Most Waned, Gail Kim, and Jackie Gayda backstage. Mitchell said they'd turn the Impact Zone into a slaughter house. "Prepare for Doomsday!" he said. Williams barged in as Jarrett began talking. He said they hadn't found Sting yet. Jarrett looked at the camera and said, "Sting, we're finished looking for you. Now it's time for you to find Jeff Jarrett." He said if he wants him, he has a big bullseye on his back, "so come get me."

6 -- RON KILLINGS & TEAM 3D & RHINO vs. JEFF JARRETT & AMW & ABYSS (w/James Mitchell)

The babyface team charged the ring to jump-start the match. An eight-way brawl broke out, with fights everywhere. A minute in, Rhino set up a Gore on Abyss off the rafters, but Abyss blocked it. The Dudleys brawled with AMW on the rampway and in the crowd. Killings and Jarrett brawled on the announcers' table. At 4:00 Rhino brought James Storm into the ring for the first sign of a standard eight-man tag format. Devon tagged in right away. Chris Harris hit Devon with Mitchell’s cane. Abyss beat up Devon briefly, then Jarrett officially tagged in. Rhino hot-tagged in at 7:00 and hit a spinebuster on Storm. Rhino charged AMW in the corner with a shoulder tackle. Jarrett broke up the pin attempt on Storm. Rhino powerslammed Jarrett at 8:00. Rhino set up a Gore. Gail Kim stepped in front of Jarrett. Kim slapped Rhino. As Rhino set Kim up for a move, Abyss kicked him in the face. He punched away at Rhino. Meanwhile, Jackie and Kim got into it at ringside. Abyss and Rhino exchanged chops in the ring. Abyss tempted BRD into the ring, but as the ref ordered him out, Abyss didn't cheat. What was the point of luring BRD into the ring? Jarrett tagged in and hit Rhino with a dropkick. They went into several minutes of Rhino being isolated by the heels. At 15:00 chaos broke out. Killings, who was a non factor in this match since it entered the ring, scored a two count on Storm. Eight-way action broke out again. Jarrett swung his guitar at Killings. Killings ducked. Rhino gave Jarrett a Gore. Abyss then slammed Rhino, Killings clotheslined Abyss over the top rope. BRD then caught Jarrett alone in the ring. He bodyslammed Jarrett, then set up the top rope headbutt from Devon. Kim jumped on BRD. BRD flipped her to the mat. Jackie held Kim's legs apart as Killings hit a diving headbutt. Devon gave the diving headbutt at the same time to Jarrett. BRD called for tables. Abyss hit him from behind. Abyss then set up Jackie for a chokeslam. Devon made the save. Team 3D gave the 3D to Abyss. Harris returned to the ring, hitting Devon with a double-sledge hammer. Storm surprised BRD with a kick. AMW hit Devon with their Death Sentence finisher. Killings charged into the ring. AMW tried to handcuff Killings to the ringpost, but Killings instead locked Harris to the post. Then he went for a pin on Storm, but Jarrett intervened. Killings and Jarrett went at it. Jarrett backdropped Killings and set up The Stroke. Killings blocked it. Harris tripped Killings off the ropes. Jarrett hit The Stroke and scored the pin.

WINNER: Jarrett & AMW & Abyss at 20:12.

STAR RATING: ***1/4 -- Really good eight-man tag. The finish took the air out of the room because, with Killings's renewed push lately, the last thing he needed was a virtual clean job to Jarrett. The little trip by Storm at ringside is hardly enough of an excuse to soften the blow to Kilings's credibility for being the jobber in the match. At the same time, with Jarrett inevitably feuding with Sting down the line, it makes sense to make him the dominant heel in that crowd.

-As Tenay and West began talking, Jarrett got in their faces and demanded to know where Sting was. Jarrett called out Sting and when Sting didn't answer, he said it proved Sting was scared and retired for good. West and Tenay said it proved no such thing.

-A preview aired for the Ultimate X match.

7 -- SAMOA JOE vs. A.J. STYLES vs. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS - Ultimate X

The Ultimate X match features to cables crossed about 15 feet above the ring with the belt fastened around where the cables cross. To win, the wrestler has to climb to the cables, work their way to the middle, unfasten the belt, and drop to the mat with the belt. Styles made the first attempt at grabbing the belt early in the match. Joe backdropped Styles onto Daniels at ringside at 3:15. Then Joe dove over the top rope onto both of them. They continued with nonstop three-way action. At 10:00 Joe and Daniels were fighting on the ropes and Styles hit Daniels with an enzuigiri. Joe hit Styles with a headbutt. Daniels and Styles gave Joe a double-team Muscle Buster. Tenay said that was "nine months of payback." Styles hit Daniels with a Pele kick and then got close to grabbing the belt. Joe nailed Styles with a chairshot, dropping him to the mat. Daniels kicked the chair into Joe. Daniels then crawled over and grabbed the belt and dropped to the mat for the win. West pointed out that Joe's one-on-one streak is still alive, but Daniels is the new X Champ. Joe tossed steps as if he was Jeff Hardy after missing a planned spot. Styles and Daniels shook hands in mid-ring.

WINNER: Daniels at 13:30 to capture the X Division Title.

STAR RATING: ***1/2 -- Some really good spots, but not the drama or roller coaster ride of many previous matches with these three in various combinations. They didn't play enough into Joe's disadvantage in this style match.

-Borash interviewed Christian backstage. Usual solid routine from him. A preview view then aired for the match.

8 -- CHRISTIAN vs. MONTY BROWN

It seemed like forever between the end of the X match and the start of this. Brown overpowered Christian early. They went to ringside at 2:30. Brown threw Christian into the front row. They brawled among the fans. Christian fought back and knocked Brown back to ringside. Brown took control with methodical offense, including chops and punches. Christian showed some life at 8:00, but Brown brushed off his comeback attempt. Christian reversed a tornado DDT attempt by Christian by just tossing him to the mat at 10:30. Christian chopped at Brown, but Brown shook it off. Christian then surprised Brown with a DDT. Brown charged Christian, but Christian hit him with a knee and a flying forearm, then a clothesline. Brown no-sold the attack and bashed Christian with forearms. Christian fired back with a clothesline for a two count. Not much crowd heat in this one as it was several levels beneath several other matches earlier in the night. Christian hit Brown with some kneelifts and a bulldog in a nice novel sequence. Christian went to the top rope and went for a frog splash. Brown moved. Brown rolled Christian into a submission hold, but the application of it was a little clunky. Brown crotched Christian over the top rope. He tried to slam Christian off the top rope, but Christian held tight and shoved Brown to the mat. He followed with an elbow drop and scored a near fall at 15:00. He set up an Unprettier, but Brown reversed it into an Alpha Bomb for a near fall at 15:45. Brown went for an overhead slam, but Christian escaped. Brown followed with a new variation on the FU for a two count. Christian surprised Brown with an Unprettier for a clean win at 17:07.

WINNER: Christian at 17:07 to retain the NWA World Hvt. Title.

STAR RATING: **1/2 -- The last seven minutes saved the match as the first ten were pretty brutal at worst, or at best monotonous, unathletic, and unimaginative.

-Jarrett walked down the ramp again. He demanded a rematch against Christian "right now" since Sting wasn't around. Christian asked if he beats him, does he promise to retire. He said it's pretty cowardly that he comes out right after he beat Monty's ass. When Jarrett interrupted, Christian jumped in and said nobody wants to hear him talk. He said he can kick his ass one more time. A fresh Jarrett was joined by Brown in double-teaming Christian. Christian hit a flying clothesline on both heels. Abyss then jumped in and hit Christian from behind with several forearms. Rhino made the save. Team Canada and Alex Shelley joined in the attack on Christian and Rhino. Abyss gave Christian the Doomsday. The crowd chanted "We Want Sting." Harris handcuffed Christian to the ropes. The heels took turns whipping Christian. Eventually, Steve Borden made the save and cleared the ring. No make-up, receding hairline, long sleeve shirt, long pants. Sting put Jarrett in the Sharpshooter. Scott Steiner then attacked Borden from behind. "That's who he had on speed dial!" shouted Tenay. The heels joined Steiner in beating on Borden and Christian. Steiner put the Borden in the Steiner Recliner. Then Jarrett KO'd him with his guitar. Tenay said Destination X will be remembered as the night that Steiner and Jarrett destroyed Steve Borden.

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