For the most part, every TNA pay-per-view, at least of the monthly variety, had something on it to make the event interesting. But the first Destination X wasn't so lucky, as a very weak card lent way to a dull night of action, punctuated by some trademark LOLTNA nonsense. I really don't get why this wasn't focused more heavily on the X Division, which had more than enough depth to carry a show and was clearly the inspiration for the name of the event. TNA would eventually get around to focusing Destination X around the X Division, but unfortunately that was way too late to save the 2005 edition.
- Destination X 2005 comes to you from the Impact Zone, with Don West and Mike Tenay in the booth. Apparently, someone behind the scenes realized the same thing I did, as reportedly there were plans to center this show around the X Division with a one night tournament reminiscent of the Super J Cup in Japan. That sounds awesome, but must've been vetoed because Jeff Jarrett wasn't in it.
- The show opens with an eight man tag, as BG James and Konnan of the 3 Live Kru team with America's Most Wanted to face Team Canada. Johnny Devine recently tore his MCL and ACL and would be sidelined for the next four months, so his vacant spot is filled by ex-bodybuilder Alex Jerrell, known as A-1. This match had the potential to be quite good, featuring a ton of guys who have put on entertaining matches recently, but was only given under 9 minutes for some reason. I guess Jarrett and DDP really needed to go 20 plus in the main event. That amount of ring time just isn't enough to get the best out eight different guys, but the action we did get was pretty good. I just wish there had been a lot more.
- Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens haven't featured much on these reviews, but are recently getting a push, forming an alliance with Jarrett and picking up Chris Candido as a manager. Stevens is in singles action here against Chris Sabin, and the two put on a solid match. Stevens isn't particularly flashy, but provides a good base for Sabin's up-tempo offense. Stevens attempts to score the win with a handful of tights, but Sabin manages to reverse into a roll-up for the three count. After the match, all three heels beatdown Sabin until Shocker, a somewhat sizeable star in CMLL, joins TNA to make the save. I don't know much about Shocker but I'll see more of him in reviews to come to form my own opinion.
- Raven and Dustin Rhodes finish their feud in our next match, a Texas Bullrope match. Both men beat the hell out of each other, no real creative hardcore spots to be found here, just a lot of stiff weapon shots. It doesn't really reach the level of physicality necessary to make a match like this work, and ends abruptly when Dustin hits Raven with a drop toe hold onto a chair and pins him.
- The longest running storyline in TNA coming into this show was between Traci Brooks and Trinity, strangely enough, as both women compete to become Dusty Rhodes' personal assistant. A lot of the segments between the trio feel like they're bordering on being low budget porn, and really make Dusty look awful, a lecherous old man complete drunk with power. Both women were charged with finding a team for a match to decide the winner, as Trinity aligns herself with Phi Delta Slam, while Traci brings in the Disciples of Destruction, Ron and Don Harris. This match is well worthy of this terrible storyline, as all four big men just sort of bump into each other while the crowd sit of their hands. I would compare this to watching puppies learn how to walk, but with four grown a** men instead. There is a perverse enjoyment you can get from watching this match, just to see how bad wrestling can truly be, but I would skip it if you're not interested in having to burn your eyes out.
- We're only going up from here folks, as it's time for the debut of Trytan. Who is Trytan, you ask? Let me introduce you to indie worker Ryan Wilson, who did have a stint in OVW under a developmental deal, and does at least have a very impressive build, standing 6'10" and weighing 300 plus pounds. TNA have been going all out on hyping up his debut, with multiple video packages, including one last month at Against All Odds, immediately pitting him against one of the top faces in the company in Monty Brown. The gimmick is a blatant Terminator rip-off, as TNA were likely only able to escape a cease and deist suit because he's just so sh**. This match is awful, not quite as bad as the previous tag match but that's a bar you should never even be attempting to clear. Wilson has absolutely no idea of what his character is intended to be, and just becomes a Kane/Undertaker rip-off, no-selling moves and hitting a chokeslam. Then for some reason, the lights go out, and Trytan is replaced by a masked Mideon, because why not. Mideon is then pinned by Brown, which the referee counts, what the f*** is happening. Trytan and Brown share a stare down before Wilson departs through the mist, as both men are showered with "you can't wrestle" chants from the TNA faithful. What on Earth is this company doing.
- Let's wash our hands of this wretched past half-hour with something actually good, how does Jeff Hardy attempting to cripple himself sound? Hardy and Abyss face off in a Falls Count Anywhere match, which almost immediately heads backstage. Jeff, always ready to do something extremely stupid, dives off a wall truss through Abyss and two tables in a crazy spot. Jeff was only able to get stand on the structure with one foot, making the dive potentially very risky as should he have slipped, there was nothing but exposed concrete underneath him. Fortunately, it was executed perfectly and looked much better than his flipping Swanton from Against All Odds. They head back to the ring, where Jeff feels the need to try and flatten his spine with one of his classic spots, jumping over a ladder to hit a leg drop. After some fun with a chair, Jeff gets the win by driving Abyss face first into the ladder with the Twist of Fate, before a tack bump afterward so the monster can get his heat back. This was a fun, crazy match, not the best of either man's career but a much-needed palate cleanser after the lack two matches.
- Sticking to the gimmick matches, a First Blood affair is next, as Kevin Nash takes on The Outlaw, Billy Gunn. Let me start by deriding The Outlaw as a ring name, that's just terrible, way too generic and very ill-fitting for Billy. This match isn't great, you didn't need me to tell you that, but could've been a lot better if it had been booked properly, a running theme for the TNA main event scene. Nash and The Outlaw tell a solid enough story when they're the focus, as Gunn is a very devious heel, attacking Nash's infamously weak quads and attempting to expose a turnbuckle to bust him open. Then Jeff Jarrett and his entourage run in, causing absolute chaos. Nash is able to bust Gunn open by dropping him on the exposed metal, but a crooked doctor wipes the blood off The Outlaw's face, allowing him to get the win after Jarrett brains Nash with the NWA title to draw color. This was a very stupid finish that made The Outlaw look extremely weak, as he needed so much help to beat Nash, despite supposedly being a serious threat himself.
- At Against All Odds, Mike Tenay promised us an Ultimate X match on this show, which was technically delivered on but not the way I was hoping. Instead, it's a weird alternate version of the gimmick, contested in three parts as a tag team match and a 3 way dance, before finally getting back to usual as the final two men have to scale the steel structure and unhook the title from the top wires. It's never been attempted again, and for good reason, as we'll find out. The competitors here are champion AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels, Ron Killings and Elix Skipper. We start with Styles and Skipper teaming up to face Killings and Daniels, and while the action is good, it's clear that everyone is just taking this portion very easy. Killings goes down to Sudden Death from Skipper, leaving the two former tag partners to face Styles. They pretty much immediately fall out, before everyone takes turns getting some high spots in. Daniels scores with the highlight of the match, a backflip off the wires into a moonsault on Styles and Skipper that finally gets the crowd to pop, only two and a half hours into a three hour show. Skipper is eliminated with a roll-up, weak, as it's down to AJ and Daniels, a rematch from Against All Odds. They fight tooth and nail to unhook the belt, taking multiple bumps off the wires, with one of their falls taking down the official. AJ secures his championship, but with the ref down, Daniels hits him with the Angel's Wings, before laying down with the belt on top of him, tricking the official into thinking he came down with it. It's a finish that makes the official look really dumb, though it does set up for a very obvious and much anticipated rematch that wouldn't happen, at least on pay-per-view. Still, this was pretty good when you ignore the strange rules.
- Main event time, as Jeff Jarrett defends the NWA title against Diamond Dallas Page in a Ringside Revenge match, where all of Jeff's adversaries and allies are stationed around ringside. I hate to keep repeating myself, but this match is just ruined by it's booking. Jeff and DDP are able to put on a solid match by themselves, one that's heavily scripted to make both men look as good as possible. The big highlight was a slick running sit-out powerbomb by Page that popped the crowd, a definite accomplishment on this night. But TNA just can't let two talented veterans have a match, so it's time for the run-ins and kickouts. Jarrett's boys brawl with the 3 Live Kru, which allows The Outlaw to hit the Famasser on Page, who kicks out at two. The Stroke also gets a kickout, before Sean Waltman shows up to even the odds. Monty Brown, who has been denied a title shot against Jarrett, decides to turn heel for some reason, hitting DDP with the Pounce, allowing Jeff to retain. I could understand the ending if Jarrett gave Brown his title shot as a reward, that could add an interesting extra dimension to Monty's character, but to my knowledge, he never did, so this just sucked. Man, TNA just remains the most frustrating company I've ever seen.
3/10
This wasn't the worst show I've ever seen, as most of it is okay and the Falls Count Anywhere and Ultimate X matches had their highlights, but it's biggest problem is just how low the lowlights truly are. The Phi Delta Slam-DOD match should never be seen by human eyes, Trytan is one of the most boring monster characters ever created and the Monty Brown heel turn makes no sense and completely squandered the momentum of one of the company's potential breakout stars. I want to like TNA so much more than I do, but they just make it so hard sometimes.
Next time on Henry's Pay-Per-View Reviews: Lockdown 2005. See you soon.
- Henry
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