TNA – The Best of the X-Division Vol. 1 DVD Review

TNA – The Best of the X Division Vol. 1

Review by Jacob Ziegler

Introduction

First off, just so everyone knows, I am selling some of my masters I no longer need, so if anyone is interested in some stuff, shoot me an e-mail.

I’m not sure why this isn’t a Vol. 2, because they did release a Best of the X Division back in the early days of their DVD releases, which I reviewed here.

Jeremy Borash welcomes us to this DVD, which is quite the change from Mike Tenay and Don West. He says nothing in particular and we start it right off.

MATCH #1: 20 Man X Gauntlet, TNA Victory Road 11.7.04

This is TNA gauntlet rules, meaning that two guys start, another guy comes out every 90 seconds. Elimination is over the top rope until it is down to two men, and then a referee comes in and it’s a regular one-on-one match. Frankie Kazarian is #1, Sonjay Dutt is #2. They tease some near eliminations until Puma comes in at #3. Puma is the first guy in this match that I’ve met and/or refereed for. L.A. Park is #4, and I’ve met him and seen him without his mask. He brings in his chair and cleans house. Jerrelle Clark is #5. He snaps off a hurricanrana right away. Miyamoto is #6. Clark hits his 630, and Kazarian makes him pay for it. Michael Shane is #7. TNA actually edited their DVDs to call him Matt Bentley, but I will call him Michael Shane until his name change actually happened in chronology. Shane and Kazarian work together to eliminate Puma, Jerrelle Clark, and Miyamoto. #8 is Hector Garza, who was once in WWF for a minute. Nosawa comes in at #9. Mikey Batts is #10. He’s Billy Kidman’s cousin I hear. I will say this – they did a fantastic job dubbing “Matt Bentley” in place of “Michael Shane.” Alex Shelley is out at #11, and I’ve refereed for him a bunch of times, even when his ring name was “David Decker.” Sonjay and L.A. Park are eliminated. Matt Sydal is #12, and I’ve refereed for him several times too. Sonny Siaki is #13, the only non-cruiserweight in the match. He eliminates Nosawa right away. Batts is gone. Jason Cross is #14. Shelley, who had been pretending to be hurt outside the ring, eliminates Matt Sydal. Shark Boy is #15. Psicosis is #16. Traci is looking hot at ringside. I’ve met her, and she hugged me. It was great. D-Ray 3000 is #17. Amazing Red is out at #18. He’s a former X Champion, as are many of the guys out there. Cross eliminates Shelley. Spanky, another guy I’ve met, is #19. He and Shane go at it right away. Chris Sabin is #20, a privilege he earned by winning a mini gauntlet match prior to this on Impact. I’ve met him too, but not refereed for yet. Spanky and Sabin eliminate Siaki. The remaining competitors execute a Tower of Doom maneuver. Cross is gone. Psicosis is gone. Kazarian eliminates Red. Spanky is gone. Garza eliminates Sabin, so we’re down to Kazarian and Hector Garza in a one-on-one match. They do some stuff, and Garza hits a beautiful moonsault but it only gets two. Garza misses the Tornillo, and Kazarian goes for a Magistral Cradle, but Garza reverses that to get the win at 26:25. Kazarian was awesome here, going the whole match and then putting Garza over at the end. That was really fun X-Division stuff and a good choice to open the show.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #2: TNA X-Division Title Match – Petey Williams vs. AJ Styles, TNA Victory Road 11.7.04

AJ is going for his fourth X-Division Title. He’s got his hood down over his eyes, and I have no idea how he can see. Petey comes down with the X Title in his hands, and I think that all champions should wear the belt around their waist, hence the name belt. AJ is aggressive early on, going for a number of flash pins. Petey is holding his own with the former two-time World Champion. The dueling chants start up, which is odd for how much of a heel Petey is. AJ goes for the springboard/moonsault/DDT but ends up kicking Petey in the head instead. AJ hits a sweet German Suplex while hanging upside down in the corner. Pele kick knocks Petey down. He recovers through, and begins to reel AJ in. Petey has been champion for almost three months, and this is his third title defense. In the weekly pay-per-view era, they defended it like every week. They take turns reversing each other’s finishers, until AJ gets an Alabama slam into the corner. AJ gets a jackknife rollup for two, until D’Amore distracts Charles. This was a HORRIBLE spot, as Rudy was right down by the shoulders but jumped up to stop a guy on the complete opposite side of the ring. Some distraction leads to Petey getting a belt shot for two. AJ sets Petey up on the top rope, and D’Amore grabs AJ’s leg. Petey drops AJ on his face and jumps off the second rope with the Canadian Destroyer to get the win at 9:48. That had a lot of good stuff in it, but the D’Amore interference was too much, and the match was much too short. AJ attacks D’Amore, but Team Canada saves.
Rating: ***¼

MATCH #3: Chris Sabin vs. Christopher Daniels, TNA Impact 1.14.05

The winner of this match gets a spot in the Ultimate X match that is happening at the Final Resolution pay-per-view that’s two days away from this match. It’s a tense lockup to start as Tenay and West talk about their special 15-minute time-limit as opposed to the usual 10. That’s a good way to put some heat on the match. They do some chain wrestling and Sabin takes the first big bump, a nasty dive to the floor. Then we take a commercial break. Back in the ring and Daniels maintains control, going to work on the neck. Sabin tries for the comeback but Daniels hits a Death Valley Driver for two. Sabin hits a spinning enziguiri but Daniels is still able to regain control. Daniels goes for the Best Moonsault Ever but Sabin rolls out of the way and hits a tornado DDT for a near-fall. Sabin goes for the Cradle Shock which Daniels reverses into the Last Rites which is blocked and then Daniels goes for the Angel’s Wings which gets reversed into a cradle for the win at 9:12 (12:50 if you include the commercial) and Sabin goes on to the PPV.
Rating: ***½

Jeremy Borash is back for a brief introduction to the next match.

MATCH #4: Ultimate X Match for the TNA X-Division Title – Petey Williams vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin, TNA Final Resolution 1.16.05

Petey is the longest reigning champion ever. AJ is AJ, which bodes well for him. The offense is of course bountiful in the early going. Scott D’Amore has had his handcuffs removed and tries to interfere, so the referee kicks him out. The action in this one is much too fast to call, and much to fun to just watch, so my play-by-play will be even more sparse than usual. The crowd chants “this is awesome,” which it is. AJ takes the sickest, most dangerous bump ever. You have to see it to believe it. AJ has his arm worked on during the match, so when he tries to grab the belt at one point he falls down because he can’t hold on anymore. Sabin and Petey go up and fight over the belt, while AJ is lying in wait. While the other two are fighting over the belt, AJ springboards in and capture the belt to regain the title for a fourth time 19:55. That match was even more kinds of awesome than the last match, and is easily the best Ultimate X match ever.
Rating: ****½

MATCH #5: 30-Minute Iron Man Match for the TNA X-Division Title – AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels, TNA Against All Odds 2.13.05

I’ve seen this match a few times, and rest assured it rules. Tenay says that this is the firs time the two have met in TNA, but I distinctly remember them wrestling to a 10-minute draw on Impact a few weeks before this, which is how Daniels earned this title shot. Therefore Tenay’s claim is erroneous, on both counts. AJ goes for some quick falls right away. AJ works on the arm for a while, until Daniels takes over and goes to work on the midsection. After a bunch of stuff, Daniels hits the Angel’s Wings to score the first pinfall at 14:07. This is going pretty good at the halfway mark. I’m not doing much play-by-play here, if you haven’t noticed. It’s not really my thing. Daniels continues to dominate until AJ gets a flash pin at 23:58 to tie it up at one fall apiece. AJ gets busted open outside the ring as we are inside of five minutes to go. Daniels dominates the bloody AJ Styles. We’re under one minute now and AJ is firing up. Daniels catches AJ with the Flatliner and locks on the Koji Clutch with about 40 seconds to go. AJ doesn’t give up though, and we are at an impasse after thirty minutes. Daniels isn’t satisfied with that though, and he wants sudden death. AJ hits the Styles Clash in 1:37 of the overtime period, for a grand total of 31:37. That was a fantastic match with lots of great stuff in it. I’m not such a fan of the overtime finish though (like, why book a 30 minute match and then have it go longer than 30?), but it was still quite good.
Rating: ****¼

Jeremy Borash is back to put over Styles and Daniels as the definition of the X-Division. He introduces the next match, which will be shown on disc two.

DISC TWO

MATCH #6: Ultimate X Challenge for the TNA X-Division Championship – AJ Styles vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Elix Skipper vs. Ron Killings, TNA Destination X 3.13.05

This is a three-tiered match. It starts off as a tag team match, with Styles teaming up with Skipper against Daniels and Killings. The loser of that fall is eliminated, and we go to a three-way match. Once again, the loser of the fall is gone. The last fall will be a traditional Ultimate X match, with the remaining two men. Don West helpfully points out that Skipper and Daniels could not team together because of the cage match that they lost to AMW back in December. That’s the kind of detail the WWE would ignore. DW has always wanted to see Truth wrestle Skipper, because they’re black and all. AJ wants Daniels, but Daniels wisely avoids him. AJ and Daniels fight outside the ring, so Skipper takes the opportunity to hit the Sudden Impact on Truth to eliminate him at 8:06. Daniels hits a cool moonsault from the top of the cables onto both men. Daniels and Skipper work together long enough for Daniels to turn on Skipper and take advantage. Skipper eventually recovers, and AJ hits a shooting star press using the cables hung above the ring. That guy is crazy. Skipper hits the Sudden Death on AJ, but Daniels catches him with a quick rollup to get the pin and eliminate Skipper at 17:10. We’re down to AJ and Daniels, one on one. Daniels goes for the belt right away. The referee gets bumped and AJ goes up and grabs the title. But since the referee can’t see it, Daniels gives AJ the Angel’s Wings and grabs the belt, and the referee awards him the match at 25:19 to win the X-Division Championship. That’s a good finish, and I think it’s fair because Daniels knocked AJ out long enough to pin him. That was also a unique match with the three gimmicks.
Rating: ***¾

MATCH #7: Xscape Match – Michael Shane vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Chris Sabin vs. Shocker, TNA Lockdown 4.24.05

TNA has changed Michael Shane’s name to Matt Bentley on this DVD release, but since he was known as Michael Shane at the time that is how I will refer to him. This is another match with some goofy rules, as it’s pinfall or submission for the first two eliminations, but it’s escape only when they’re down to the last two guys. Dutt is replacing Kid Kash, who left TNA earlier in the week. Sabin and Dutt start off and show how athletic they are. Shane and Shocker then take their turn, and they’re about half a step slower than Sabin and Dutt. I believe the winner of this match gets an X-Division Title shot at next month’s pay-per-view. Sabin and Shane do a nice sequence that ends with both men down, and Sabin makes the big tag to Shocker. They do one of those contrived four-way submission holds. Dutt nails Shocker with the Hindu Press, but Shane breaks it up like an idiot. Shane hits Dutt with a super kick and Shocker follows up with a twisting elbow drop to get the pin and eliminate Sonjay Dutt at 10:56. Trinity starts climbing the cage, and this brings Traci Brooks down, but she gets kicked off the cage. Trinity hits a moonsault from the top of the cage, which the cameraman almost missed by being distracted by Traci’s breasts. Traci and Trinity then fight in the ring, allowing Sabin to pin Shane with the Cradle Shock at 14:03. Sabin and Shocker both climb to the outside and fall off the cage, with Shocker just barely falling before Sabin to get the win at 15:35. That was fun, but I’m really not into Shocker and would have loved to see Christopher Daniels versus Sabin on the next pay-per-view, Hard Justice.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #8: AJ Styles vs. Sean Waltman, TNA No Surrender, 7.17.05

Shane Douglas is backstage with Jerry Lynn, who will be the special referee for this upcoming match. He has history with both men, who also have a bit of history with each other. Tenay still using the term “Orient” in his geography is pretty irritating. AJ dominates the early goings of the match, as Waltman tries to stall. Waltman tries to bail but AJ hits a beautiful dive to the outside, but Waltman goes after the eyes and rams AJ into the ring post. Waltman hits a really nice dive to the outside of the ring and AJ is bleeding from the nose. AJ regains control by hurling Waltman into the ring post. They so some back and forth action in the ring and AJ hits a double underhook Styles Clash but Waltman actually kicks out. Waltman recovers and hits the X-Factor but it only gets two. Waltman tries to introduce a steel chair but Lynn removes it. This distraction allows AJ to go for the Styles Clash, which is reversed, but Lynn kicks Waltman’s hands off the ropes and AJ rolls him into the Styles Clash for the win at 14:34. I don’t like the referee kicking hands off the ropes spot, but that match was really good otherwise.
Rating: ***½

MATCH #9: Samoa Joe vs. Chris Sabin, TNA No Surrender, 7.17.05

Tenay calls Joe 6’8″, which is just preposterous. They establish a cool dynamic early on, with Joe being the aggressor and Sabin wisely trying to outmaneuver him with speed and agility. Joe takes control and goes after the neck and chest area, which will serve his finishing move, The Choke, very well. Sabin fights back with some dropkicks and knocks Joe to the outside of the ring. Sabin is all fired up. He goes for the Cradle Shock but Joe reverses it into a German suplex for two. A big powerslam gets two. Sabin comes back and hits a tornado DDT for two. Joe hits the powerbomb into the STF submission. He switches it to a crossface but Sabin refuses to quit. Sabin keeps going for the ropes so Joe switches it to a Rings of Saturn, but Sabin eventually does reach the ropes and Joe is not happy about that. Joe goes for the Muscle Buster but Sabin gets a big powerbomb for two. He goes for the Cradle Shock but Joe gets out of it but Sabin hits the spinning enziguiri. Sabin goes up top but Joe kicks him off the ropes and delivers the Muscle Buster followed by the choke for the win at 14:04. That was a terrific hard-hitting match and Joe looked like a monster while Sabin looked like he could almost topple him, which is the perfect dynamic. I’d love to see this again.
Rating: ****

Jeremy Borash closes out the disc with… ah, who cares.

BONUS

The main bonus feature on this disc is a sit-down interview with Jerry Lynn, who talks about a lot of different things. I’m not going to recap it here, but I’ve refereed for Jerry and he’s a great guy and this is a cool interview, so there. He mentions the town where he wrestled his first match was New Ulm, Minnesota, which is the town I spent the first 10 years of my life in. He puts over Chris Sabin and AJ Styles, and dumps all over Juventud Guerrera, deservedly so.

BONUS MATCH #1: Six-Way #1 Contender’s Match – Kid Kash vs. Amazing Red vs. Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. AJ Styles, TNA Impact 10.1.04

TNA’s website inexplicably has Matt Bentley listed in place of Alex Shelley in their results section. Everyone goes after everyone, and we take a commercial break early on. Kazarian and Alex Shelley form a team of sorts and go to work on Red. Red comes back and hits the Infrared and everyone jumps in to try and break it up. They do some stuff and AJ gets the pin on Shelley with the Styles Clash at 5:56. was just a bunch of guys hitting moves with no flow. But with six minutes what do you expect?
Rating: **

BONUS MATCH #2: Triple X vs. Sonjay Dutt & Amazing Red, TNA Impact 12.3.04

Red and Sonjay start off hot, as perhaps Triple X is preoccupied with their steel cage match coming up against America’s Most Wanted on the upcoming pay-per-view Turning Point. Daniels takes control on Red for a minute or so until he makes the hot tag to Sonjay. Red goes for the Infrared but Skipper hits a spin kick allowing Daniels to roll him up for three at 4:21. That was short but fine while it lasted.
Rating: *½

The 411: This is probably the best DVD TNA has ever put out, with the most consistent match quality all the way through. Of the nine matches on the feature portion of the disc, none rank below ***¼, and three clock in at **** or higher. I’m not sure why those last two bonus matches were picked, but I like having more matches so I’m not complaining. This gets the highest recommendation. Buy it now!

Final Score:  9.0   [  Amazing ]