We’re heading Into the Vault for Impact Wrestling’s TNA Final Resolution 2005. It was simpler times for Impact when they ran all of their shows out of one place and they ran a handful of storylines. Actually, they ran several but most were these competitive feuds which are pretty low management. Let’s crack this show open and see what it’s about.
Low-Tier
I dig 6-man matches but Impact’s 6-man bouts have always been a mixed bag. When you add 3 Live Kru it’s like “How did a TNA Impact match make it onto PPV.” This was the case with the 6-man on TNA Final Resolution. “But it had Daniels, Kazarian, and Michael Shane!” Yes, I know that but this would’ve rocked way harder if it was an X Division 6-man.
Oof…2005 Raven against Erik Watts. Raven was still a good brawler at this time. His Impact matches had a pretty formulaic approach to a match when it wasn’t chaos involving Abyss, Brown, or someone he’s mixed it up with before and the chemistry is already there. The approach isn’t bad just dictionary-definition routine.
This one was no different and Erik Watts was still…Erik Watts just with more experience. Oh, it also ran a little long for who was involved. Jeff Hardy vs. Scott Hall was the length that Raven vs. Watts should’ve been. This match needed a little more time considering who’s involved. You’d honestly forget this match if you didn’t look at the match listing.
Mid-Tier
Elix Skipper against Sonjay Dutt was fast and exciting. It had the right amount of time since it wasn’t really tied to anything important at the time. It was just a match for the card but could’ve been more. These two put on a good match but they probably could’ve been better utilized if they were in the opening 6-man instead of 3 Live Kru. Hell, they could’ve been paired with Ron Killings and it would’ve been pretty damn good.
Dustin vs. Kid Kash was a match that had the right amount of time and a great, brisk pace that worked perfectly. As I said before, Dustin has a style that works for roughly any opponent. He can keep a match together regardless of the pace. Kid Kash is much more seasoned since his national debut with ECW. Together, they delivered one of the most concrete bouts on the card.
The three-way match between Brown, DDP, and Kevin Nash wasn’t bad at all. It had a lot of build-up to determine who would face Jeff Jarrett for the NWA World title. It wasn’t the most exciting match but it was pretty safe to nudge Monty Brown towards his title challenge.
Our main event between NWA World champion Jeff Jarrett and challenger Monty Brown. It had moments when it rocked and others where it was decent enough. Jarrett is someone who establishes a pace or work around others with ease. Brown was a high impact, explosive talent.
This should’ve rocked harder but it was pretty good and should’ve been Brown’s title reign. That never materialized but as we get more into 2005 Impact Wrestling, he remained in the mix.
Exotic-Tier
The NWA World Tag Team title match between champions Bobby Roode and Eric Young of Team Canada and America’s Most Wanted. If Team Canada had faced either AMW or Triple X this would’ve been a solid-at-minimum bout. Team Canada had established itself as one of the premier teams in Impact Wrestling very early.
Impact locked these two teams up for its first PPV of 2005 and got magic. This bout had a ton of excitement and a solid pace. Now, the flawless match of the night was the three-way Ultimate X match with a young AJ Styles, Chris Sabin, and TNA X Division champ Petey Williams. Team Canada really came into this PPV to show up and show out!
This match had spots, excitement, drama, it was fast-paced and dangerous. All the things I look for in a captivating match, the Ultimate X match had it. Sabin looked like he could win at any time, Styles really put his body on the line, and Petey Williams gave the best performance I’d seen from him throughout his in-ring career in Impact.
These two title matches should’ve made up the semi-main event and the main event respectively. Bump that World title match to somewhere before the Tag Title match.
TNA Final Resolution 2005 Verdict: 8/10
I have to say, TNA Final Resolution 2005 was an exciting show starting from the second match. There were matches that were meh or could’ve been on Impact but for the most part, the show rocked. The best matches were extremely good, the matches that fell short were actually good but couldn’t touch those three. It was just a really good show with quality commentary from Mike Tenay and Don West.
That’s another thing, there was so much going on in most of the matches Tenay and West were at the top of their game. Also, the crowd was warm most the show, got hot for AMW vs. Team Canada, and went nuclear for the Ultimate X!
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