Total Non-Stop Reviews: Best of the X Division Vol. 1

TNA Best of the X Division Volume 1

Recently, I found out that TNA has some of their old “Best of” collections available for free on YouTube. I owned a few of these, including the one I’m reviewing here, but they got lost when I moved a few years back. I can’t think of a better place to start than with the Best of the X Division Vol. 1. If there was one thing that defined TNA in its early years, it was the X Division. Similar to a cruiserweight division due to the high octane matches, the X Division was different because it had no weight limits. Anyone could compete and that opened the door for a variety of personalities and styles. This first set looks at a lot of the early great matches in the division.

Victory Road 2004
20 Man X Gauntlet
Alex Shelley vs. Chris Sabin vs. D-Ray 3000 vs. Frankie Kazarian vs. Hector Garza vs. Jason Cross vs. Jerrelle Clarke vs. Kazunari Nosawa vs. Kazushi Miyamoto vs. L.A. Park vs. Matt Sydal vs. Michael Shane vs. Mikey Batts vs. Psicosis vs. Puma vs. Shark Boy vs. Sonjay Dutt vs. Sonny Siaki vs. Spanky vs. The Amazing Red
Winner got a cup. No, not the kind that protects your junk. Kazarian and Dutt drew the first two numbers. This worked like a Royal Rumble and each minute, a new competitor entered. Puma was in at three. Its twelve years later and dude is still killing it at TJ Perkins. He pretty much killed Dutt with a screwdriver like move. LA Park came in next and got a nice pop since people remembered him from WCW. Clarke and Miyamoto followed to little fanfare. Lame Matt Bentley showed up, pairing up with his partner Kazarian to eliminate Clarke and Puma. Hector Garza was next and the pairing up happened again as he joined forces with his fellow luchador, LA Park. Nosawa and Batts entered next to no reaction. Nosawa looked like a Japanese Shannon Moore circa punk days. My favorite guy in the match, Alex Shelley, came in next. Matt Sydal looked about twelve as he showed up. Commentary said he had no publicity around him, which is funny since he’d become one of the most recognizable people in this match. Siaki and Cross came in shortly after as well as Psicosis. Shelley feigned an injury outside, allowing him to get rid of Sydal. What a sneaky bastard. Remember Stone Cold Shark Boy? He was joined by D-Ray 3000 as they formed the oddest tandem. The Amazing Red came out and got the “former X Division Champion” label. I swear there were like 10 of those in here. Spanky got a pop a year removed from his first WWE stint. Chris Sabin got the final spot and the crowd really came alive for him. The remaining guys all went it and took part in one of early TNA’s trademark tower of doom spots. It came down to Kazarian, Sabin and Garza. They did an insane spot where Sabin German suplexed Kazarian off the top and into Garza. Garza eliminated Sabin with a dropkick. With only two men left, it now became a one on one match. The back and forth between them proved to be pretty good. Garza missed a corkscrew moonsault and Kazarian rolled him up. Garza countered into his own pinning combination for the win.

Winner: Hector Garza in 26:25
I think this was a pretty good way to open the DVD. It showcased a lot of guys and some of the different styles that you see in the X Division. Most of the action was fun. The guys worked hard, busted out some big spots and, while this wouldn’t have been my top choice for the final two, they ended rather well. ***½

Victory Road 2004
TNA X Division Championship
Petey Williams (c) w/ Scott D’Amore vs. AJ Styles
We stayed with the same Pay-Per-View. Seeing AJ Styles at this age is strange now. The crowd was red hot for this and both guys gave them what they wanted early. Just some really fast paced back and forth. The story here was that Petey was champion but AJ defined the X Division to Petey called him out. Styles had the advantage until Scott D’Amore got involved. Petey made mistakes, like going to the well on a move one too many times, and Styles made him pay. There was a fantastic series of finisher counters near the end. Styles ended up rolling up Petey but D’Amore got on the apron and the referee stupidly stopped counting to talk to him. That came off looking idiotic. More D’Amore interference allowed Petey to block a superplex. He then dropped to the mat and instantly went into the Canadian Destroyer, retaining the gold.

Winner and Still TNA X Division Champion: Petey Williams in 9:49
Such a good match. If it wasn’t for the dumb referee spot, this would have crossed into great territory. The action was great for the time given, both guys played their roles well and they told the story they had to. Really fun stuff. ***¾

TNA iMPACT! 1/14/05
Chris Sabin vs. Christopher Daniels
The winner of this match advances to an Ultimate X match for the title at Final Resolution two nights later. Commentary informed us of a fifteen time limit. I liked that since it added to the tension. They even say that in the case of a draw, a judge (Harley Race) would determine a winner. The time limit helped them as they didn’t spend too much time chain wrestling early and moved into the more important spots quickly. Daniels was such a good, solid heel throughout this. He was considered the best guy in the division to never be champion and you got the sense that he really wanted it. Sabin got the babyface fire for his comeback but Daniels still managed to have the upper hand a bit. Sabin countered the Angel’s Wings into a pin, stealing it.

Winner: Chris Sabin in 9:11
A solid TV outing here. Both guys worked hard and had the crowd invested. Daniels looked to be in control, but made one small mistake and it cost him. I liked most of this. ***¼

Final Resolution 2005
TNA X Division Championship Ultimate X Match
Petey Williams (c) w/ Scott D’Amore vs. AJ Styles vs. Chris Sabin
Ultimate X is one of the most innovative things TNA has ever come up with. This was a fitting match for a company with this name because the action was absolutely non-stop. Styles and Sabin worked together to get their hands on the heel before turning their attention to one another. D’Amore got kicked out, which took away Petey’s big advantage. Mike Tenay wanted him deported. Kudos to AJ, who bumped like a madman for the entire duration. The camerawork in this match was a problem as they missed an AJ dive outside and a sick spot where Petey did a rana from the wires up top onto Sabin who was on AJ’s shoulders. There were honestly too many spots to list and give them their just due. There was one where they messed up. Styles and Petey were fighting by the belt and Sabin pulled Styles down before realizing that he left Petey there. Petey had to awkwardly hang there until he was hit. Sabin one upped Petey’s wire rana with one on AJ. AJ stole the show with a sweet moonsault reverse DDT before nearly dying on the infamous spot from this match. You know the one. Sabin dropkicked him off the wires and he folded, landing on the back of his neck. He also took serious arm damage, which he sold well and it cost him an opening to grab the gold. In the end, Petey and Sabin both pulled the belt down and hung from the wires, tugging at it to see who would win. Styles spring boarded in and snatched the belt from them to become the new champion.

Winner and New TNA X Division Champion: AJ Styles in 19:55
Holy crap. That was breathtaking. There were tons of jaw dropping moments from bell to bell. From the nonstop high spots to AJ’s selling of the arm to the really cool finish, there was so much to love about this. I feel like there is no better match to show someone that encapsulates what made TNA so cool in the early days. ****½

Against All Odds 2005
TNA X Division Championship Ironman Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Christopher Daniels
This Ironman match is of the thirty minute variety. Normally, you’d expect a slow pace to start as the guys would want to pace themselves. That wasn’t the case here as Styles busted out a big dropkick and rana to the outside within the first few minutes. Everything was crisp until Styles went for a dive outside and slipped. They awkwardly stood around before AJ tried again and did a weak dive. Again, they went through minutes of really good stuff before Daniels kind of slipped on a moonsault of his own. They played the match in a way that let you know both guys were evenly matched. It had a more personal feel than some other Ironman matches since Daniels was jealous of AJ’s success. Daniels picked up the first fall, a big confidence boost, after getting his knees up on a 450 splash and hitting Angel’s Wings. That confidence showed instantly as he taunted the fans about time running out on Styles. Out of desperation, Styles started to rally with about ten minutes remaining. He came incredibly close to tying it by using Daniels’ own Angel’s Wings with about seven minutes left. From out of nowhere, Styles pulled out a rollup to tie things up. This pissed off Daniels who threw Styles outside and threw him into threw him into the post, busting AJ open. Daniels was just vicious in the final few minutes. However, Styles wouldn’t die. In an exhilarating final minute, Daniels locked in the Koji Clutch and AJ was close to passing out but time expired. He demanded sudden death, knowing he had AJ beat. Like in the match with Sabin, Daniels made one mistake. He tried a top rope rana but AJ shoved him off in the middle of the move. He followed with his own rana, rolling through for the Styles Clash to retain.

Winner and still TNA X Division Champion: AJ Styles in 31:37
Wow. This might be the best one on one match in X Division history. Ironman matches can be tricky, but this was incredible. Nearly everything they did was well executed, they didn’t overdo the falls, the final few minutes were filled with drama and again, Daniels came close but so far to winning. Styles was an excellent babyface here and the visuals of him fighting for his life with the bloodied face were top notch. Amazing work. ****½

Destination X 2005
TNA X Division Championship Ultimate X Match
AJ Styles (c) vs. Christopher Daniels vs. Elix Skipper vs. Ron Killings
Well this was certainly a different field than I was used to. There were some odd rules here. It started as a tag team match where Skipper and Daniels took on Killings and Styles. Whoever got beaten would be eliminated and then it would become a Triple Threat match and whoever survived that would compete in an Ultimate X match. Sounds like the kind of match you’d get in the later years of TNA. The tag match portion was decent. Daniels kept saving Skipper purely because he wanted the upper hand in the Triple Threat match. He got it when Skipper hit Killings with Sudden Death and eliminated him. Daniels highlighted that portion with a moonsault off of the wires onto both men. The partnership between Skipper and Daniels came to an end and allowed the match to open up a bit. AJ tried a shooting star press while hanging from the wires, which was absurd and barely worked. Skipper hit AJ with Sudden Death only to get rolled up by Daniels and sent packing. Daniels got what he wanted and that was a hurt AJ. Like in the Ironman match, we were treated to a desperate and vicious challenger. After several close calls, there was a ref bump. Styles pulled the belt down but Daniels laid him out with the Angel’s Wings and grabbed the title. The referee saw him with the gold and awarded it to him.

Winner and New TNA X Division Champion: Christopher Daniels in 25:19
Strangely booked match. The idea of three tiers was interesting, but it felt like it dragged on at points. The middle portion as probably the best part. I liked Daniels vs. AJ as always, however that finish sucked ass. I’d consider this a good match, though I was disappointed. ***

Lockdown 2005
Xscape Match
Chris Sabin vs. Michael Shane w/ Trinity vs. Shocker vs. Sonjay Dutt
Like the previous match, this was tiered. The first two eliminations are pinfall or submission and then you have to escape the cage to win. Surprisingly, this also had tags in the early stages. The first portion here saw everyone showcase their athletic ability. Guys were flying around all over the place and the cage was incorporated well. Shocker eliminated Dutt with an elbow after about ten minutes. Then, Trinity came in and stole the show from the guys involved. She did a goddamn moonsault off the top of the cage, which is really high, taking out all three men. Traci Brooks came out to get some of Trinity but Shane tossed her out of the cage before getting pinned, leaving it up to Sabin and Shocker. The winner would earn a shot at the X Division Title the following month. There wasn’t much of a match between the last two guys. They tried to exit and exchanged some shots before Shocker hit the floor first.

Winner: Shocker in 15:36
Something about this never fully clicked to make it special. Outside of Trinity’s insane spot, none of it was rather memorable. Shocker came off as decent at best. Like the last match in the set, this was good, but nowhere near great. ***¼

No Surrender 2005
AJ Styles vs. Sean Waltman
Jerry Lynn was the special referee for this thing. Early on, they went through a feeling out process and tried to see which guy was going to have the advantage. After Waltman delivered some hard elbows to break a submission, the match got more physical. Waltman drove AJ crotch first into the post to turn things in his favor. How did AJ turn it back around? By doing the same thing to Waltman in a cool bit of fair play. They built to a very good back and forth before the finish. Styles nailed the Styles Clash but Waltman became the first guy on this DVD to kick out of it. That was surprising. Styles missed the Spiral Tap before kicking out of the X-Factor. Waltman got irritated with Lynn and grabbed a steel chair. Lynn stopped him from using it. Styles tried a rollup but Waltman grabbed the ropes. Lynn kicked his hands off, allowing AJ to roll into a second Styles Clash for the win.

Winner: AJ Styles in 14:34
Better than I expected. A lot of later X-Pac stuff lacked but he looked rejuvenated here. I’m glad that Jerry Lynn didn’t play too big of a role and distract from the match. I do think that kicking Waltman’s hands at the end was a bit much though. Still, a really good match and Waltman’s best performance in years. ***½

No Surrender 2005
Chris Sabin vs. Samoa Joe
Samoa Joe was still fairly new to TNA and was undefeated up to this point with Sabin being his highest profile opponent. Sabin weathered an early storm from Joe and even got a chance to hit Cradle Shock. He couldn’t get Joe up, leading to him taking a beating. All sorts of props to Sabin for taking this beating. Joe just continued to kick his ass. Finally, Sabin started the comeback and struck with a great dropkick outside. Don West sold this as the best offense that Joe has taken so far in TNA. He failed at Cradle Shock again, so Joe kicked his ass again. Sabin was courageous as he refused to tap out while Joe switched from one submission to the other several times. Sabin mustered up the strength for a running powerbomb that got the crowd biting on a near fall. Sabin finally got Joe up for the Cradle Shock but Joe slipped free. The Muscle Buster/Coquina Clutch combo finished Sabin shortly after.

Winner: Samoa Joe in 14:04
Great way to end the DVD. Samoa Joe was a fresh face and this was one of the best possible ways to go for his first high profile match. Joe looked like a total monster and the crowd reacted to all of his offense perfectly. Sabin played the resilient babyface so well. This just clicked. ****

9.0

The final score: review Amazing

The 411

One of the best collections that TNA ever put out. Considering this covered less than a year and didn’t feature one match under three stars, it tells you what the X Division was doing at the time. They were delivering in a way that the main event guys couldn’t. Check this out as the rise of a division that had potential to change a lot in wrestling. AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Chris Sabin starred here, while we got a taste of what Samoa Joe would become. Everything on this is good and some is truly great.