(2002) (2003) (2004) (2005) — Well, well. What have we here? I was meant to write this up a week or two ago, and we’ve reached the end of the month so I need to do one to meet my quota. Saving the most informative til last.
Just to remind everyone, the last thing we saw at the end of Turning Point 2005 was a chair in the middle of the ring accompanied by a baseball bat and other Sting merchandise as his entrance music played. This was a sign he was going to debut in the company really soon.
The 4LiveKru split up at the event, with B.G James and Kip James (Road Dogg/Billy Gunn) reuniting as a tag team under ‘The James Gang’ name. Ron Killings went off on his own, while Konnan formed The Latin American Xchange (LAX) with Homicide and Apolo. A booking committee continued to lead creative in 2006, which consisted of personnel such as Scott D’Amore, Mike Tenay, Jeremy Borash, Dutch Mantel and others.
Highlights from Final Resolution 2006:
At the following event, Sting made his TNA Impact debut. He cut a promo about “not being able to say goodbye“ five years ago on the last WCW show. This was a heartfelt and passionate promo which I highly recommend.
Again the feud between LAX and The James Gang intensified as Hernandez joined LAX to counter Bob Armstrong. As the PPV was themed for the X-Division, an Ultimate X match was chosen as the stipulation for Joe/Styles/Daniels:
On April 10th, Samoa Joe defeated Christopher Daniels for the X-Division title on TNA Impact!
The feud between Sting and Jeff Jarrett continued on in to Sacrifice. After Daniels returned from a concussion injury, he became more of a fan favourite, and TNA solidified it at Sacrifice when Daniels saved AJ Styles from America’s Most Wanted. Daniels & Styles paired up to face the NWA Tag Team Champions.
The finish was known for the “Orlando Screwjob”, where Zbyszko and Earl Hebner helped Jarrett to screw Sting and Christian Cage out of the NWA title. Jim Cornette was introduced as the “Mangement Director”, an on-air authority figure. He told Jarrett he could keep the title as long as he defended it against the winner of the four way at Victory Road. The next night, Senshi pinned Sonjay Dutt in a 3-way Dance, taking the X-Division title from Samoa Joe without his involvement.
Cornette continued on as the authority figure on Impact, but TNA didn’t want too much emphasis on him so they limited his screen time and asked not to waste time. Matt Morgan was his bodyguard for a while, eventually leading him to wrestle regularly. Needless to say, Cornette was a very effective authority figure and never made it about himself. Never let the heels get to him, and didn’t pander to the faces either. He encouraged competition, fairness, and total nonstop wrestling action.
With Jim Cornette in charge, Victory Road saw a different approach with management being fair and clamping down on underhandedness.
The PPV was hyped as Sting returning to the World title scene in what many hoped would be his first reign in several years. LAX was reduced to Hernandez and Homicide by this time, but the chemistry and fan response was so great management pushed them toward the NWA tag team titles.
On the foliowing Impact, LAX defeated AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels for the NWA tag titles in a Border Brawl match.
Most of this card didn’t hold much significance. However, there was one gem. Also it was reported (but not confirmed) that Vince Russo was hired as a creative writer once again three days before the PPV. Because of this, the booking committee was disbanded and replaced with the creative team of Jeff Jarrett, Vince Russo and Dutch Mantel.
Three days before Bound For Glory, the Olympic Gold Medalist shocked the world in a segment with Samoa Joe. TNA often cites the moment as one of its most memorable.
Holds significance as the first major PPV to be held outside Nashville or Orlando. The event drew 3,600 fans to the Compuware Sports Arena in Plymouth Township, Michigan. Interestingly, the PPV theme was Enemy by Fozzy. (Chris Jericho was not in WWE at this time)
The James Gang changed their name to Voodoo Kin Mafia (Initials VKM, mocking Vince McMahon), and declared ‘war’ on WWE by making fun of the reformed D-Generation X, Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Christopher Daniels returned to the X-Division and took the title from AJ Styles and Chris Sabin a couple of weeks before Genesis. Abyss emerged as Sting’s first challenger, and all the hype hinged on the epic first encounter between Kurt Angle and the undefeated Samoa Joe.
Not much to Turning Point 2006. All the champions retained, and the emphasis was firmly on Angle vs. Joe II. Therefore I will end with a video of their second match after a conclusion.
While 2006 didn’t produce as many 4 1/2 to 5 star matches, it certainly brought in many big names who spiced up the main event scene. We saw a downfall in the career of AJ Styles as a main eventer. Instead, he and Daniels teamed up and tore the house down with LAX, proving they didn’t need to be fighting for the world title to steal the show. AJ was still proving his worth at a time the company focused on pushing Jarrett, Sting, and Joe.
It was important to give the former WWE/WCW guys some footing, to not waste their talent, but at the same time make the TNA originals look good later down the road. With creative minds such as Russo, Jarrett, and Cornette running around, I’m surprised the company didn’t implode on itself due to all the changes in the roster and creative. 2006 helped TNA survive as an alternative to the WWE for a few more years thanks to the contributions of Sting and Kurt Angle. Getting these legends was a massive deal for the company and the wrestling world.
2006 also set up the ongoing feud between Samoa Joe and Kurt Angle. I remember reading an Angle interview where he compared Joe to guys like Shawn Michaels and Chris Benoit in the way he can go hold-to-hold and take him to the limit in every match. Funny thing is … WWE felt like Angle wasn’t healthy enough to be the champion for one of their main shows, so they placed him in ECW and planned to have him carry the “C” brand with the ECW title. Angle didn’t like that, he felt like he was worth more … but WWE didn’t want to risk his health so he left.
He noticed the competition and made the jump as he could work a lighter schedule and still perform at the highest level. He could also take a break when he needed to, as Dixie Carter was accepting of wrestlers needing time off for nagging injuries. Despite some criticism of the signing of Angle, he worked at a high level for several years after his signing. He would take the odd break to recover, or shoot a movie, but he would always return fit as ever, and ready to wrestle anyone.
It’s safe to assume WWE was more concerned about Angle’s drinking, and wasn’t prepared to deal with the fallout … while TNA couldn’t say no to having him on the roster. He made some mistakes over the years, but the relationship remained strong and here we see the beginning of a nine-year partnership. When I look back at his career, WWE had something special, he could have been far more than he was, yet they couldn’t give him the time to recover and come back strong. He was worked hard for a long time, and let go … a decision I’m sure Vince regrets. Angle was treat with the utmost respect in TNA. Always a main event player, and he helped to elevate the TNA originals to a brand new level.
Thanks for reading everyone! Been a long one for me, and I was hoping for more detail but I’m sure you got the highlights pretty well and I hope you enjoyed it anyways. Happy Halloween everyone!