Sacrifice 2005: Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles Turn a Solid TNA Card into a Must-Watch Night

Apolo and Sonny Siaki teamed against Jerrelle Clark and Mikey Batts on the Sacrifice 2005 pre-show. The four men competed in a conventional tag match, preceding the televised six-man opener and the featured X Division and world-title programs. Apolo's size contrasted with the faster offense of Clark and Batts, while Siaki supplied the more established TNA tag-partner role. The surviving results do not warrant a lengthy invented sequence of holds or outside interference. This was a separate short contest, not another round of the Super X Cup or a title defense.

The historical result ledger identifies Sonny Siaki as the wrestler who pinned Mikey Batts to win for himself and Apolo at approximately 4:27. Clark lost as Batts' partner but did not suffer the deciding fall, and Apolo shared the team victory without scoring that pin. No verified record in the event's source pool specifies the named finishing move, so one is not assigned. The D+ / 5.0 and SKIP verdict fit the brief pre-show role while retaining the correct four wrestler identities and pinfall outcome.

Chris Sabin, Shark Boy and Sonjay Dutt opened the Sacrifice pay-per-view against Elix Skipper, Simon Diamond and David Young. Diamond presented the match as another test of his new Diamonds in the Rough group, while Sabin's team worked the quicker counters. Shark Boy frustrated Young at the outset, Dutt used dives and Skipper relied on his high-wire balance. The six men all belonged to the official match, although the tag configuration allowed changing legal partners. No pre-show title or new tournament qualification was being decided.

Skipper and Sabin exchanged several attempted covers after Sabin's Cradle Shock setup failed. Sabin flipped over Skipper in the resulting scramble and secured the pin at about 7:21, winning alongside Dutt and Shark Boy. Skipper, not Diamond or Young, took the decisive fall. The C+ / 6.8 reflects a lively but compact trios contest. SKIM the closing counter sequence and keep the pin scorer distinct from Dutt's earlier airborne attacks.

Alex Shelley and Shocker continued their singles rivalry at Sacrifice, using leg locks and repeated counters rather than an interference-based finish. Shocker worked combinations of a figure-four variation and German suplex attempts. Shelley attacked the leg, forced breaks at the ropes and responded with a tornado DDT. Their competitive exchanges made a rematch compelling even without a championship. The match was an ordinary one-on-one encounter between Shelley and Shocker, neither of whom had a separate legal teammate involved.

Shocker repeatedly tried to trap Shelley with submissions and a sunset flip, but Shelley escaped and turned a late pin attempt around near the corner. Alex Shelley pinned Shocker at approximately 8:50. A specific named finisher is not warranted here: the eyewitness account describes a rolling counter and hold for the count. The B- / 7.4 and SKIM grade reflect the leg-work and reversal chain rather than a made-up power move.

Lance Hoyt attacked Abyss aggressively despite the size disadvantage, striking him beyond the ring and hitting a flying shoulder tackle. James Mitchell accompanied Abyss but was not entered as a second wrestler. Hoyt fought off a chokeslam attempt and lifted the much larger Abyss for his own chokeslam before landing a moonsault that produced only a near fall. Mitchell's passing of a chair introduced another outside complication, with Hoyt briefly using the weapon to launch a Van Terminator from across the ring.

Abyss had already scored a near fall with one Black Hole Slam before Hoyt recovered. On the final attempt, Abyss caught Hoyt running in and delivered another Black Hole Slam to pin him after approximately 9:09. The earlier chair-assisted kick was not the decisive move and Mitchell did not win the fall. C / 6.4 and SKIM mark a supporting heavyweight match distinguished by Hoyt's improbable near falls and the final repeat of the monster's finisher.

Konnan and Ron Killings represented 3Live Kru against Kip James and Monty Brown, with B.G. James appointed special guest referee. B.G. had personal ties to both factions and the question of his loyalty was the bout's central tension. The wrestlers fought around ringside using the chaotic partnership dynamics, while Konnan and Kip traded illegal weapon attempts. B.G. was the referee, not a third 3Live Kru contestant, and his authority to count the final fall was distinct from a wrestler's right to score it.

With a chair in play B.G. stopped the wrestlers from using it, then punched Kip James himself and allowed Konnan to strike Kip with the weapon. Konnan covered Kip and B.G. counted the winning fall at approximately 7:45. Ron Killings was the other winning wrestler; Brown was not pinned. C+ / 6.8 and SKIM reflect a character-centered tag result and deliberately compromised officiating rather than a technically neutral contest.

Christopher Daniels faced Austin Aries in a non-title singles match while already holding the X Division Championship. The newcomer Aries had been selected by fans as a challenger and brought an agile Ring of Honor style to the Impact Zone. Daniels attacked Aries' back with suplexes and repeated covers, while Aries responded with dives and swinging elbows. Aries found a path back into the contest and landed a spectacular 450 splash, but Daniels kicked out before the three-count. Neither man was defending the championship in this particular match, despite Daniels carrying the belt elsewhere on the card.

Aries continued seeking the decisive cover, but Daniels countered his final momentum into Angel's Wings and pinned Aries after approximately 9:35. The 450 splash was a meaningful near fall and not the winning move, and the result did not take the X Division title away from Daniels. The B / 7.8 and WATCH recommendation credit the fresh challenger, his aerial response and the veteran champion's successful final counter.

Jerry Lynn and Sean Waltman wrestled one-on-one after the special-referee tension of the preceding pay-per-view. Their bout opened with technical exchanges and escalated to strikes and dives through the ropes. Waltman struck Lynn's injured shoulder against the post, while Lynn responded with hurricanranas and a missile dropkick. Sonjay Dutt, Shark Boy and Chris Sabin eventually watched from the entrance, but none joined the actual singles contest. The wrestlers exchanged reversals through a long stretch in which either man could have won without an outside participant's assistance.

Waltman hit an X-Factor but Lynn's foot reached the rope; Waltman later landed a Tombstone for another two-count. Lynn scrambled up onto Waltman's shoulders and rolled through into the winning cover at approximately 15:31. The match ended with Jerry Lynn pinning Waltman, who initially acknowledged Lynn before attacking his shoulder with a chair after the bell. That assault must not be conflated with the official finish. B+ / 8.2 and WATCH reflect the longer rivalry and the surprising postmatch turn.

Team Canada's A-1, Bobby Roode, Eric Young and Petey Williams opposed the uneasy alliance of America's Most Wanted and NWA Tag Team champions The Naturals. Chris Harris and James Storm struggled to cooperate with Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens, whose own title status had already made the two pairs rivals. Jimmy Hart managed the Naturals but did not enter as a ninth legal competitor. The match required four legal members on each side, not four separate tag teams trading championships, and Team Canada benefited from the lack of unity across the opposing quartet.

Roode and his partners isolated Chase Stevens during the closing portion and Bobby Roode pinned Stevens at about 11:11, securing the victory for all four Team Canada wrestlers. Stevens, not Chris Harris or James Storm, suffered the recorded loss. The inherited B- / 7.4 describes a competitive faction showcase with a direct fall and unresolved championship-team rivalry, not an NWA title defense. SKIM for the unusual AMW-Naturals pairing.

Samoa Joe and A.J. Styles contested the 2005 Super X Cup final, the strongest pure singles attraction on Sacrifice. Styles pursued his usual aerial exchanges and counters, while Joe used a more forceful submission and striking approach. Their rivalry had not yet reached the later Unbreakable three-way with Christopher Daniels, so this tournament result should stand on its own. Styles was the only opponent in the final, and no X Division Championship changed hands merely because Joe won a tournament. The struggle moved from defensive counters into attempts to end the fight in the middle of the ring.

Samoa Joe forced Styles to submit in the recorded approximately 15:15 final, capturing the Super X Cup rather than scoring a pinfall or disqualification. Contemporary and historical result lists both identify a Joe submission, even where the exact seconds vary between accounts. The A / 9.4 and WATCH rating recognize the sustained high-level clash and the important tournament win. It belongs separately from their later championship meeting so the same achievement is not credited twice.

Jeff Jarrett unexpectedly paired with the newly arrived Rhino against champion Raven and his ally Sabu in the Sacrifice main event. The match placed four distinct wrestlers into two legal teams, with Rhino's position beside Jarrett carrying the biggest immediate storyline consequence. Raven's NWA World Heavyweight Championship was not being defended in this tag bout; the result could shape the challenger picture without transferring the singles title. Sabu supplied his high-risk style opposite the more conventional power of Rhino and the tactics of Jarrett.

Rhino pinned Raven for the tag-team victory at approximately 16:23, making the reigning champion the wrestler who took the decisive fall. Jeff Jarrett was on the winning team without claiming that cover, and Sabu did not lose by submission. The inherited B+ / 8.1 and WATCH recommendation recognize the new alliance and the direct defeat of a singles champion in non-title competition. This finish is distinct from a later championship defense and must not be reclassified as a title change.