iMPACT Analysis: TNA Wrestling's 'Destination X' 2006

Now with Destination X 2007 just one day away, I give to you the iMPACT Analysis for last year’s version. The question is whether 2006 can live up to the laufty standards of suck that 2005’s version set.


What is the iMPACT Analysis? I take a look back at the given event and I try to provide context for each match. Looking at what each participant had been doing prior to their match with their given opponent and I also look at how the result of the match iMPACTed the future direction of the wrestlers, the titles and the promotion as a whole. Then at the end I rate the show on a number of criteria.

All of these are rated on a scale from 0-10.

Wrestling Quality: How was the in-ring action on the show?
Backstage Quality: How were the promos, backstage skits and other angles?
Crowd Heat: Was the crowd in to the show?
Announcing: Were they on point, humorous, say something completely stupid?
Booking: Did the storyline direction make sense? Did the right man or team go over in the end?
iMPACT Analysis: How did this show iMPACT the company? Was it memorable, a complete throw-away, somewhere in the middle?
Replay Factor: How much of this would you ever want to view a second time?
Average: Taking the score in each of the above categories and dividing it by the number of categories and that determines the show score.
Is it worth buying the DVD? Asks if this DVD is worth the purchase or not.

Event: Destination X 2006
Event Date: 03/12/2006
Event Venue: Universal Studios, Orlando Florida
Announcers: Mike Tenay and Don West

The Preshow match results and all match times are as always brought to you by ProWrestlingHistory.com.

On the preshow you would’ve seen these 2 5 star matches according to Kurt Angle.
Shannon Moore pinned Cassidy Riley (3:21).

Elix Skipper & David Young beat Shark Boy & Norman Smiley (3:17) when Young pinned Smiley.

After looking at those, I have to wonder why you people always ask me why I bother ordering these shows.

This is TNA, the new face of old faces.

The video that opens the show is Eric Young searching for Sting. This was shot not too long after Eric Young nearly died while having throat surgery.

Tonight, Steve Bordon promises retribution against Jeff Jarrett for sending Alex Shelley to film his home life. You know it is serious because it is Steve Bordon, not Sting that’s doing the promising.

We don’t waste much time heading to the ring for the first match.

Match 1: Jay Lethal Vs. Alex Shelley

At Against All Odds these 2 competed in a 4-way x-division match along with Petey Williams and Matt Bentley in which Lethal was victorious.

Alex Shelley is well in to his Paparazzi gimmick at this point, this is otherwise known as the brief time he rubbed elbows with the main eventers. Jay Lethal is popular with the crowd, and I don’t think they’ve heard his Randy Savage impression yet. Dueling chants breakout but the Lethal fans outrank the Shelley supporters.

Don West notes that these are the 2 youngest competitors in TNA, Shelley is 22 and Lethal is 20. Don West busting out the facts.

As if wrestling isn’t enough, Jeff Jarrett has sent Alex Shelley and Eric Young on a mission. I’ll bet it involves Steve Bordon, Sting or both. The crowd chants “Lethal Weapon, “Lets Go Lethal”, and the ever popular “Shelly sucks”. Shelley has been in control for most of the match and has been keeping this one on the ground.

One match in and the crowd is probably going to get a better grade than they did for 2005’s version of this show.

Tenay mentions the world X-cup and how Jay Lethal is a member of Team USA. Alex Shelley would also qualify for that team.

Now the dueling chants for Lethal and Shelley are a little more even. Lethal is in control now and teases going up top. Shelley cuts him off and hits him with a devastating…slap!
Diving headbutt gets a 2 count for Lethal. After a sequence which ends with a boot to Lethal’s midsection, Shelley hits the sliced bread #2 for the pin.

Winner: Alex Shelley – 10:08
The crowd was in to it, and the X-division hadn’t yet been completely tanked so this was fun.

Thumb Position: Up, it was an enjoyable match.

Impact: None, it was a match that was just there, the win did nothing for Shelley and the loss did nothing to hurt Lethal.

Mike Tenay and Don West talk about Steve Bordon and his quest for vengeance against Jeff Jarrett.

Borash is backstage with Team Canada. Roode talks about his match with The Naturals. D’Amoore asks if the Naturals have to explain getting screwed to 5 Canadians that have to go up against 300 million ignorant Americans. I was unaware that the population of Canada was all of 5.
Apparently, Canada has some superior stuff to the United States. Shelley comes in and grabs Eric Young as they are off on a mission.

Match 2: Lance Hoyt Vs. Maverick Matt

This match was set up by an angle from Xplosion where they were tag partners but Maverick Matt turned on him.

Tenay says nobody saw the Bentley turn coming, and I agree but only because nobody cared.

If you ask me, the fact Abyss was able to get a decent match out of Lance Hoyt should prove that Abyss is not just about the thumbtacks and hardcore matches.

Maverick Matt is a really stupid name. Martyr is a step up. Apparently, the iMPACT Zone has a VIP row because members of the St. Louis Cardinals are sitting in it.

After pondering this for a bit, I think that this feud really got started when Matt Bentley went up to Hoyt backstage and said: “You think you’ve got it bad, your name isn’t nearly as terrible as Maverick Matt”. Lance Hoyt did not approve of this thinking his name was the lamest in the company and it was on.

Tenay reminds us that Bentley is a former X-division champion which makes me wonder who isn’t a former X-division champion? I think I might’ve even one it for a few days back in 2003.

Hoyt uses his power to throw Bentley around, then goes for a moonsault and hits nothing but mat.

We cut to Jeremey Borash up in the rafters and he is with Alex Shelley and Eric Young. Young calls this his best plan ever as he unloads a box and it starts to rain flyers down on the arena.

Don West asks So-Cal Val to get him one of those flyers. If I were to ask So-Cal Val something it would not be that. Matt Bentley looks at one of the Flyers and gets a big boot for his trouble and that gets the pin.

Winner: Lance Hoyt – 7:59
Match was nothing and a back drop for the Angle.

The Flyer was a picture of Steve Bordon that said if you see this man contact Jeff Jarrett immediately. Ok, I’ll get right on that one.

Thumb Position: in the middle, it was whatever.

Impact: None, it led to nothing.

Jeremy Borash, the quickest man on earth is now back with Rhino, Ron Killings and Team 3D. Brother Ray suggests that we forget about Destination X. Oh, if only it were that easy. Ron Killings sings his theme song, and Brother Ray asks he and D-von to teach him ebonics.

Match 3: Team Canada (Bobby Roode and Eric Young) Vs. The Naturals

At Against All Odds Team Canada were buried…I mean defeated by Team 3D while the Naturals were victorious over Austin Aries and Roderick Strong.
Apparently, the Naturals wanted this match because Team Canada cost them the world tag team titles on the episode of iMPACT that aired the night before this PPV.

Mike Tenay tries to get D’Amoore to leave ringside by telling him there is an all you can eat buffet in the back. D’Amoore was like I tried to go there but Travis Lutter was first in line so I didn’t get any food.

Bobby Roode tells the crowd he is going to break Chase Stevens’ neck. Next month at lockdown Stevens would prove he didn’t need Roode’s help.

The Naturals have been in control to a resounding chorus of apathy from the crowd. The most popular wrestler in this match is a man who wrestles under the name of USA.

Hey, I’m surprised nobody is doing that now, it is easy heat in the U.S. and on foreign soil. I should be a booker or something.

I’d say that Chase Stevens is playing Ricky Morton but I don’t think Stevens is behind on child support payments. Besides, Bobby Roode is most definitely not playing Bobby Eaton. The point of this is that Team Canada is cutting off Stevens from tagging in his partner. I’ve never seen that strategy in a tag match before, to think it took someone until 2006 to figure that one out.

USA is getting chants again, he’s over. Mike Tenay apparently has had 2 redbulls before this show. I don’t care to go back and find out why he mentioned this.

A fun fact about Andy Douglas is that once I got a message from him on MySpace telling me he was a Raiders fan, this was after I added him as a friend. Oh, sometimes I miss my Myspace account.

Roode is nearly pinned by a tornado DDT and Don West insists it should’ve been a 3 count. We’ve got all 4 men battling it out in the ring right now. The Naturals breakout a double superplex and that draws a chant of TNA. Mike Tenay is clearly chanting for the Naturals at this point as the move only draws a 2 count and he says: “Damn, just a 2 count.”

The finish comes, and you’ll never believe this, when Team Canada breaks the hockey stick over Andy Douglas’ head. What a unique and creative finish that was, didn’t see that one coming at all.

Winners: Team Canada – 12:24

Thumb Position: In the middle, it wasn’t a bad match at all but I’m not in to either team.

Impact: None, this also led to nothing and this feud lasted for all of 2 nights.

Borash is with Monty Brown. He calls this the biggest match of his and Christian’s career. He calls Christian the flavor of the minute. As he says that Christian will feel the pooounce, he gets cut off before Pooounce by Larry Zbyszko who tells him the playing field will be level tonight. Monty says he doesn’t care about the referee, he doesn’t care about TNA management or Larry and that he will level the playing field with the Pooooounce…Period!

We get a video package for my favorite feud of no-time none of my life. I am of course speaking of The James Gang Vs. LAX.

Match 4: The James Gang and Bullet Bob Vs. the Latin American Xchange

The James Gang were victorious over LAX at Against All Odds, attacked after the match and Bullet Bob made the save. That’s as close to a set-up angle as you’re going to get I’d say.

Konnan grabs the mic and says some stuff in Spanish and calls Bullet Bob “Dinosaur Bones”, Konnan hates a lot of things apparently. Well, since he didn’t ask for his dogs I am assuming that he found them between Destination X 2005 and 2006. I’ll keep you updated on this developing story.

West hopes to look half as good as the Bullet when he is 66. Mike Tenay doesn’t think he’ll ake it to 66. That was, uh, kinda gay.

B.G. has the mic. He says that tonight is not a night for catchphrases. I’m happy to hear this, but I am not happy to hear him continue to talk. He calls LAX “punk bitches” and apparently, Blood is thicker than mud.

Mike Tenay says that Armstrong’s boots are older than half of the TNA wrestlers. They sure are making a big deal out of him being 66 years old.

I’ll say this yet again this month. The fact LAX was able to get over at all after this desasterous feud is a credit to their greatness. They got over on their own not because of anything TNA did to help them as this feud was a waste of that group.

Bullet Bob and Konnan are brawling outside the ring, as West and Tenay take turns falling over each other to praise this assault. Meanwhile, there is other stuff happening in the ring. A chair gets involved but it backfires on LAX. Homicide and Konnan are taken out of the picture and Machete eats the pin.

Winners: The James Gang and Bullet Bob - 6:38
At least this was short.

Thumb Position: down, the fact it was short doesn’t stop me from hating it.

Impact: This feud would never end or so it would seem. This was just a chapter, no iMPACT.

Borash is backstage with Young and Shelley and they are whispering. Eric Young enters the men’s room and tells Sting he’s got the whole place surrounded. The toilet flushes and AJ Styles comes out of the stall. Young asks AJ if Sting was in the stall with him. Styles wonders what Young and Shelley are doing in the men’s room…together.

Match 5: Chris Sabin Vs. Petey Williams Vs. Sonjay Dutt Vs. Puma

Puma is returning to TNA after a long absence, Petey Williams was in a 4-way X-division match at Against All Odds which was won by Jay Lethal, and Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt were defeated by America’s Most Wanted for the NWA world tag team titles on the same show. I hate it when long-standing teams are forced to fight.

The idea is that this is a World X-cup preview. Sabin represents the USA, Williams represents Canada, Puma represents Japan and Sonjay Dutt represents India. However, when it came time for the world X-cup Sonjay Dutt would represent the United States as well, so something happened between this match and the start of the tournament that caused India to disown him.

This is a preview of the world X-cup which turned in to a big headache for TNA. I’ll explain that in a future iMPACT Analysis column. Puma represents Japan in this match, but was on Team Mexico during the world X-cup. He was also apparently kicked out of his country just like Sonjay Dutt.

Tenay says TNA has no limits in terms of bringing in top international stars for the world x-cup. Unfortunately, time would prove otherwise as Mexico wasn’t exactly a star studded lineup.

Puma and Sonjay Dutt have a brief exchange, until Petey Williams blind tags himself in to the ring.

I’ll say this much, at least TNA didn’t have Elix Skipper representing the tribal nations of Africa or something.

It doesn’t take too much time before all 4 men are in the ring. Tenay talks about Sonjay Dutt saving himself, and I pray he’s not talking about for marriage. A-1 is walking around ringside, I’m surprised TNA could afford to release someone who made such a valuable contribution.

Amazingly, the all 4 men in the ring bit doesn’t last long before it is back to normal with Puma and Petey in the ring and Sonjay Dutt and Chris Sabin waiting for the tag. Sonjay blind tags himself back in and scores a nearfall on Puma.

Sabin in now and he hits the hesitation dropkick on Sonjay Dutt for a 2-count. It is like when the Megapowers exploded at WrestleMania V only without all of that pesky heat or money drawn.

Mike Tenay starts to talk about the original Tiger Mask and he does so with the same amount of affection Vince Russo talks about polls. Petey does the “Oh Canada” spot and the crowd decides to sing along. Tenay talks about how Williams and Sabin trained together and how they know each other so well. He is officially in wrestling professor mode.

We’re back to all 4 men in the ring, Sonjay teases a big dive but is cut off and the crowd is not happy about it. Sabin wipes out Petey with a suicide dive, Puma goes to join the fun but is prevented from doing so by Sonjay Dutt who takes out Puma then hits a moonsault to the floor taking out all 3 men. Attempt at a cradle shock is cut off. Sabin nails a kick to the face as it has broken down and the fans declare it to be awesome.

The moves are coming fast and furious from all directions. Williams hooks Puma in a submission but Sonjay breaks it up before Puma can tap. Petey goes for the Destroyer but Sonjay counters it. Sabin breaks up the pin attempt on Petey and he and Sonjay exchange chops. Puma breaks up that pin attempt and not it is time for he and Puma to go at it. Puma gets a nearfall but Sonjay breaks it up.

A Canadian destroyer is hit by Petey on Sonjay but Puma prevents it from going anywhere. Sabin hits Puma with the cradle shock and that’s all she wrote.

Winner: Chris Sabin – 14:57
A fun spotfest that we haven’t seen in TNA for a long while and in this case that’s a shame.

Thumb Position: Up, it was a quite fun match when all was said and done.

Impact: None, this really didn’t lead anywhere either it was just a showcase of spots.

Borash is backstage with Jarrett’s team. Mitchell cuts the best promo of the 2 and AMW remains quiet. This is for the best.

Now we get a video package for the 8-man tag match which is a happy coincidence as that match is next. They play the ending from the Abyss-Rhino match at Against All Odds including where Tenay shreaks like a little girl.

Match 6: Rhino, Ron Killings and Team 3D Vs. Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, and America’s Most Wanted

Jeff Jarrett had lost his world title to Christian at Against All Odds. Team 3D defeated Team Canada at that same show while Rhino defeated Abyss in a falls count anywhere match. America’s Most Wanted defended the tag team titles against Chris Sabin and Sonjay Dutt and it was successful, while Ron Killings wrestled and defeated A-1 on the preshow. One of these things is not like the others but I’m not sure which it is, can I get a little help? Of course, Killings did come out and save 3D from an AMW/Team Canada beatdown on that February PPV.

We start out with all 8 men brawling in the ring. History suggests that the in the ring part won’t last long. In fact it lasts about 15 seconds before pairs break off to the floor for some weapons related fun. Abyss and Rhino have paired off, Killings and Jarrett paired off, and 3D and AMW pair off as well.

Don West does his best Frank Baron impression is Rhino connects with a steel chair.
Tenay makes a big deal out of the fact we actually got a tag. The fight is actually moving back towards the ring, and the crowd is loving it. Yes, the fight has completely made it back to the ring and it breaks down in to a real live tag match.

Some people don’t like wild weapons filled brawls in wrestling. My opininion is if you are going to do it, then do it. I don’t like it when you’ve got a match like this that starts out with weapons and crowd brawling and then breaks down in to an orderly tag match. At least if you go from organized match to weapons brawl it is easy to believe that a referee could lose control. It is a lot harder to think a ref can restore order when you start out wild. I guess I’m saying I wish this match had been booked differently.

Abyss and Rhino are now in the ring with the crowd firmly behind Rhino. This is when things turn bad for the face team in this bout.

AMW are now involved, and the fans seem to be indicating that they are fans of Brokeback Mountain as they work over Rhino. I guess you could say Rhino is playing Ricky Morton but I don’t know if he’s missed any child support payments either. After from some heel tag team work, Rhino finally makes the tag to Ron Killings who promptly asks what’s up?

The battle has broken down again as Mitchell passes Jarrett the guitar. Unfortunately, Rhino gores the guitar out of Jarrett’s hand but then eats Abyss’ black hole slam. It has broken down once again but they’re at least staying at the ring this time.

If the 8 men involved isn’t enough Jackie Gayda and Gail Kim have a catfight on the floor. Tenay shouting “Go Wide, Go Wide, Go Wide” makes me think of particular moments from our Destination X preview podcast. A 3D on Abyss takes him out but it leads to nothing. D-von takes the Death Sentence from AMW but Killings prevents a pinfall from taking place. Harris brings in handcuffs but somehow he ends up handcuffed to the ropes and not Killings.

A pinfall is broken up by Jarrett when he pulls the referee out of the ring. I’m not really a fan of that spot.

Jarrett hits the stroke on Ron Killings and he gets the 3 count.

Winners: Jarrett, Abyss and AMW 20:10
The psychology of this one with it starting out chaotic and then turning in to a tag match was kind of weird. I think the Jarrett-AMW Vs. Rhino-Team 3D match from Genesis 2005 was better.

Thumb Position: In the middle, again I wasn’t a fan of the way this was laid out but the crowd was in to it so I can’t say it was a waste.

Impact: Minimal, this feud would basically continue for awhile longer.

Jarrett calls out Sting and Steve Bordon and calls him a quitter. The crowd is calling for someone named Boring as Jarrett starts the 10 count. Jarrett counts to 10 and no Bordon or Sting. He stops after nine and cuts another promo before hitting 10. The crowd is not exactly going wild as Jarrett celebrates winning the war.

A video package for Ultimate X now airs. I love how the key question of this match was whether Samoa Joe was too fat to climb the cables.

Borash interviews Samoa Joe. Borash compares Joe’s winning streak to Goldberg. Joe says for him it is never about “Who’s Next”, but about “Who’s left”? Joe also said that he hasn’t slept since TNA took his belt and put it on that god forsaken contraption.

Match 7: Ultimate X – TNA X-division Title: Samoa Joe Vs. Christopher Daniels Vs. AJ Styles

This is an Against All Odds rematch which was won by Samoa Joe and that was a rematch of TNA’s Unbreakable Pay Per View from 09/11/2005 where AJ Styles was victorious.

Early in the match both AJ and Daniels make attempts to get the belt, but obviously nothing comes of it or else the match would be over. Joe’s first attempt is fine but he does fall to the mat.

After a couple of minutes of more action, the crowd chants “This is awesome”, and I am not necessarily in agreement. Joe goes to do bad things to Christopher Daniels involving a chair but AJ cuts him off.

Joe tries to set AJ up for the muscle buster on the chair but Daniels makes the save. Daniels gets some palm thrusts for his trouble.

AJ and Daniels hit a double team muscle buster on Joe. This match is foreshadowing the regular team that AJ and Daniels would become for awhile. AJ hits the Pele and Don West goes wild. AJ gets close to taking down the belt but Joe hits him with a chair knocking him down. Daniels uses the chair to his advantage kicking it in to Samoa Joe’s face. Daniels manages to grab the title and get the win. West immediately explains that Joe still has never been pinned or submitted one-on-one and is thus still undefeated. For the love of all that is holy and pure.

After the match, AJ Styles shakes hands with Daniels while Joe is very unhappy on the outside.

Winner: Christopher Daniels – 13:26
I believe this was supposed to go longer but that Joe had an eye injury and lost some vision so some spots had to be scrapped.

Thumb Position: up, but it is not a resounding thumbs up or anything.

Impact: Minimal, as Joe would regain the title a month later and this was not necessarily the end of the feud. Although, this would lead to Styles and Daniels teaming up.

Christian is with Borash. Christian declares that he got his ass kicked 3-times on his way to the arena. Well, it is a good thing that the NWA champion can get his ass kicked so easily. Christian also tells Borash that he is taking fashion tips from Ryan Seacrest. Christian says Monty’s record in NWA title matches will be the same as his record in Super Bowls. Christian is not a good babyface promo.

A highlight package airs starting off with Jarrett promising Monty the next shot after he beat Christian. Unfortunately for Jarrett it was a promise he couldn’t keep. Unfortunately for Christian it was a promise he had to keep. They show a clip of Christian asking Monty for the capital of Tyland and then informing him it was bangcock before hitting him low. They show Monty pooouncing Christian into the guardrail hurting Christian’s ribs.

Match 8: NWA World Heavyweight Title: Christian Cage Vs. Monty Brown

Christian had won the title from Jeff Jarrett at Against All Odds. Jarrett had promised Monty the first shot if he was successful in his defense against Christian and Cage kept the promise for him.

The match has taken the form of Monty working over Christian’s ribs, Christian gets a few hope spots but Monty remained in control. An example is Christian getting Monty down and going for the frog splash. Unfortunately, Christian missed the move and Monty was back on the attack.

Monty goes for the pounce but Christian hits him with a boot and gets the Unprettier and that gets him the pin.

Winner: Christian Cage – 17:11
This match suffered from the fact that it went longer than planned due to the prior match going short and due to the fact Monty Brown had a knee injury and would have surgery shortly after this show was over.

Christian gets a post-match celebration but it is cut off by Jeff Jarrett who makes his way out to the ring with a mic. Jarrett says he came to do 3 things, win the war, prove Sting’s a quitter and reclaim his title. He’s done the first 2 and wants to make Christian a transitional champion just like his brother was up north. Christian asks Jarrett if he will retire if he loses. Christian trips over the phrase Monty Brown’s ass, calling him Monty Ass. Jarrett hits the ring and he and Monty attack. Abyss also comes to the ring and he attacks as well. Rhino comes out to even up the odds again but the Canadians and Alex Shelley hit the ring to uneven the evened odds.

The crowd wants Sting, but they don’t seem to be interested in Steve Bordon. Chris Harris handcuffs Schristian to the ropes and Jarrett and the rest take turns whipping Christian with a belt.

All of a sudden, Steve Bordon hits the ring to clean house. He takes on the whole mob and he is cleaning house. Eric Young is just scared out of the ring by Steve Bordon. Sting is way easier to type than Steve Bordon. Sting has the belt and is taking some lashes out of Jeff Jarrett. Sting hooks the Scorpion on Jarrett who taps.
Scott Steiner hits the ring next and he attacks Steve Bordon. A belly-to-belly suplex puts Sting down and the rest of the group come in for a beatdown. I love me a good old-fashion heel beatdown.

The crowd chants for Goldberg to come and save the day. It is probably because of the teasing TNA did for Goldberg earlier. Steiner hooks the Steiner Recliner on Sting as the Jarrett World Order celebrates the beatdown. Jarrett brings in the guitar and cracks it over the head. Scott Steiner’s surprise appearance wasn’t a surprise to everyone as someone had theme music all ready to go for him.

Thumb Position: Down, The match was too long and the cracks in Christian’s title reign were beginning to show.

Impact: The match had no iMPACT at all really, the post match Angle though makes the iMPACT major as Scott Steiner’s introduction would set the stage for a few months worth of matches.

Overall Show Thoughts:
I liked this show a lot better than the 2005 version, but that doesn’t say a whole lot. This was one of those shows that I enjoyed enough but the score won’t be that great because outside of a couple of things it really didn’t have that big of an impact on the direction of TNA.

The Scoring:

Wrestling Quality: 5, there was some ok stuff here, only 2 matches were a thumbs down, but there was nothing blow-away either.

Backstage Quality: 4, Eric Young was entertaining and earns all 4 points on his own.

Crowd Heat: 7, they were active all night and not in the annoying way they usually are.

Announcing: 5, they had their wacky moments, and their moments of insight but they also had some creepy moments as well.

Booking: 4, the booking was ok no weird finishes, and this is the first TNA PPV I can remember in quite some time where I didn’t have to type the phrase ref bump.

IMPACT Analysis: 1.5, this point goes for the debut of Scott Steiner. No major feuds were ended and even though there was a title change it was undone shortly thereafter.

Replay Factor: 3, if you wanted to watch this show multiple times it wouldn’t be a big deal. It isn’t the first show I’d pick but it wouldn’t be the last either.

Average: 4.2

Is it worth Buying the DVD?: I can’t say yes. I would recommend the 4-way x-division bout but I believe that is on best of the X-division volume 2 as well so you’d probably be better off with that DVD. I can’t give this a strong recommendation, but I also can’t say stay away from it as though it were the plague.