We’re still going through 2005 Impact Wrestling with TNA Hard Justice 2005. Does it keep up Impact Wrestling’s momentum or is May 2005 a stumbling block?
Low-Tier
The opening with Team Canada’s Eric Young and Petey Williams taking on the team of Apolo and Sonny Siaki was a solid Impact match but a meh PPV bout.
Actually, the same could be said for the mixed tag match with the team of Chris Sabin and Traci facing Michael Shane and Trinity. I just feel it should’ve had less time.
I’m a fan of Monty Brown, DDP, and TNA-era R-Truth but the tag match featuring Billy Gunn was very basic. It was decent as a lead-in to the match following it.
I might be rough on this one and the mixed tag. These matches work to cool the crowd down but when they’re linked to a storyline and not an exhibition? You expect more.
Mid-Tier
Daniels showed up at TNA Hard Justice 2005 to defend his TNA X-Division Title against then AAA star Shocker.
Well, he was scheduled to defend the belt. I shouldn’t say he just “showed up” as if he held the belt and sometimes no-showed like Jeff Hardy did for the Raven match.
Anyway, this was a good match. My impression then was “Oh cool, Christopher Daniels…oh, it’s Shocker. That’s fine.”
It’s not a knock on Shocker but I was really pushing for Hector Garza’s push before the Tornillo God was booted from the U.S because he had steroids.
The Gauntlet for the Gold wasn’t bad. I’m usually extremely rough on battle royal-type matches but this one was so busy that it kept my attention.
When I saw it during the original airing, I was a little burned out from the back-to-back title matches but this got me back into the PPV. It’s a match that still does the job.
Bonus points for the two wrestlers I was pulling for the first time being the finalists.
NWA World Champion Jeff Jarrett had a decent enough main event bout against A.J Styles. The Phenomenal One would score his third world title in this contest.
Honestly, this should’ve been better than it was. Jarrett fumbled the ball here. He was the veteran with ridiculous levels of match psychology.
Hell, if you’ve read our 1995 Into the Vault reviews, he was “Mr. In Your House 1995” basically. That said, Jarrett didn’t drop the ball. It’s an enjoyable enough match.
Exotic-Tier
The Clockwork Orange House of Fun tends is usually fun whatever of the version. Raven vs. Sean Waltman was no exception.
Actually, Waltman’s TNA run saw him go hardcore more than once. When he mixed it up with the likes of Raven, Abyss, or Monty Brown he was never out of his element.
The NWA Tag Team Title match between champions The Naturals and America’s Most Wanted was a lot of fun. When they face off against smaller teams, AMW delivers.
It was almost as if they knew to kick it into high gear and give fans an energetic, up-tempo match. This was the title match to watch. Great pace and the right amount of time.
TNA Hard Justice 2005 Verdict: Mid-Tier (5/10)
This show fell right in the middle. It could either be perfectly acceptable or a mixed bag but TNA Hard Justice 2005 was definitely not a must-see PPV.
Raven-Waltman really delivered the goods as far as being an exciting bout. Meanwhile, the rest of the matches were either solid, good but not exciting, or mediocre.
I was more let down by Styles-Jarrett because all signs pointed to this being an exotic-tier match-up but it fell short. Tito wasn’t a bad guest referee, just unnecessary.
https://youtu.be/_bfxxb2jBm0
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