We haven’t looked at Impact Wrestling and its 2005 TNA year in a while. Let’s check out TNA Unbreakable 2005. This one is main evented with Christopher Daniel’s defending the TNA X-Division title against Samoa Joe and AJ Styles!
Low-Tier
I’ve warmed up to the team of Billy Gunn and Monty Brown. Why didn’t TNA just start with this? Unfortunately, I just couldn’t rock with this match.
I’m sure it wasn’t an intended cool-down match but it served that role well considering the matches it was sandwiched between.
Mid-Tier
The main reason I enjoyed the show opener—3Live Kru vs. The Diamonds in the Rough—was the pace. Also, this sounds like 90s Survivor Series match with the trios’ names.
That said, you could say “Damn it’s short” but this time works because of the pace. It’s Impact paced, it’s at the start of the show, it’s fine.
Austin Aries vs. Roderick Strong was a solid slightly longer match. If this was on Impact with the 10-minute limit it would be a really good match.
It gives you enough so that you’ll either want to see these guys against more competition or against each other again.
Abyss vs. Sabu is one of those rare times where Abyss isn’t in the exotic-tier for a TNA PPV in 2005. The guy is just strong and consistent in these more extreme matches and street fights.
This one a no-DQ bout and while not bad at all, it didn’t exactly hit it out of the park. I hate going back to TNA Impact from this period but this would be the main event.
Bobby Roode taking on Jeff Hardy was another solid match. Roode was on the rise and Hardy was having some of his most eventful matches as a singles wrestler at this time.
The match itself isn’t going to blow you away but it won’t put you to sleep. That’s the window for this bout.
Exotic-Tier
Seriously, I can see why this event got so much praise. We have a motherlode of dope matches in the exotic-tier! Chris Sabin vs. Petey Williams? C’mon, folks.
This matchup was always going to deliver regardless of how much time it was given. These two helped push the X-Division approach further and they delivered a similar bout.
Before the NWA World title bout between Raven and Rhino, we had The Naturals defending the NWA World Tag Team titles against Alex Shelley and Johnny Candido, America’s Most Wanted, and Team Canada.
What a roller coaster this match was! I’m just glad it wasn’t a fatal four-way! The level of worry over this match with its pace would’ve been through the roof.
This was also the first time I’ve really been stoked about A-1 in action on PPV. I remember pulling for AMW when this aired and I was pulling for them here. Just an exciting match.
The NWA World title defense between champion Raven and Rhino was heated, bloody, and just up my alley. This was a near-flawless match outside of it seems to overstay its welcome.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSf6uLPhLi4
There was great action here and a choice match if you really need your brawling fix. The X-Division three-way? Whew! This match had sizzle and steak.
It had this pace that really should’ve been hard to keep. They kept it up to keep the ball rolling and slowed it down. You know, they need that energy to ramp it up again in the final act.
The first Styles vs. Daniels vs. Joe is a true X-Division main event and a true TNA classic. It’s the kind of action you expect from TNA going forward.
TNA Unbreakable 2005 Verdict: Exotic-Tier (8/10)
Usually, you get a maximum of three exotic-tier matches and maybe some strong mid-tier action.
On TNA Unbreakable 2005, the company layered the strong mid-tier stuff and dropped four dope matches. A little aggressive there, TNA but it works.
I really recommend this show for those curious about the roots of TNA or those who want to revisit a hot growth period for the company.
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