Unbreakable 2005: Styles, Daniels and Joe Deliver the Match That Defines the Entire Show

Cassidy Riley and Jerrelle Clark opened the thirty-minute Unbreakable pre-show in a singles contest, but they never reached an ordinary finish. Monty Brown entered and attacked both wrestlers, prompting the referee to end the bout as a no contest after 1:56. Brown was intervening in someone else's match, not a third scheduled participant in a legitimate three-way. He used the disruption to position himself in the discussion around the Raven-Rhino world-title defense and issued a challenge for Bound for Glory. Neither Riley nor Clark secured a pinfall, submission or count-out victory.

The abbreviated match functions as a setup for Brown's later championship ambitions rather than a genuine display of Riley or Clark's abilities. The actual ending is the intrusion and stoppage, not a double pin, technical draw after a full contest or clean win for either listed opponent. The inherited D / 4.5 can still reflect the minimal wrestling and short pre-show interruption without disguising the result. SKIP for selective viewing, but keep the two legal opponents and Brown's separate interfering role explicit in the Event File.

Shark Boy met Mikey Batts in the second Unbreakable pre-show singles match. It followed a prematurely stopped Cassidy Riley–Jerrelle Clark contest and provided a conventional three-minute match before the pay-per-view card. Shark Boy used his recognizable movement and character offense against Batts rather than pursuing a championship or qualifying for the main event. This was an actual singles pinfall contest, not a no contest inherited from the preceding bout or a multi-man match expanded by other pre-show wrestlers.

Shark Boy won with the Dead Sea Drop, driving Batts' chin into his shoulder before covering him at 3:20. The brief result is supported by the event ledger, but its small duration and lack of lasting consequences limit how much detailed quality can responsibly be inferred from the score. The inherited D+ / 5.0 reflects a completed pre-show pin whose primary appeal is the recognizable finisher. SKIP unless watching the whole broadcast; do not credit Monty Brown's earlier pre-show run-in to Batts' match.

The six-man opener placed B.G. James, Konnan and Ron Killings opposite Simon Diamond, Elix Skipper and David Young of the Diamonds in the Rough. The pre-match setup had Konnan briefly acknowledge his earlier doubts about James, keeping the 3Live Kru reunion at the center of a short contest. James began opposite Skipper before Diamond and Young helped work over the opposition, and Killings contributed alongside his teammates. Unlike the two pre-show singles contests, this bout had six legal wrestlers, with Diamond and Skipper genuine opponents rather than managers stationed at ringside.

Konnan eventually entered against Diamond, struck Skipper and disrupted Young with one of his trademark shoe throws. Konnan then hit David Young with the K Factor facebuster and pinned Young for the three-count at 4:20. The decisive fall was neither a B.G. James cover nor a tag-team title defense. The inherited C / 6.0 fits a functional, brief trios win and a small 3Live Kru character beat. SKIP selectively; the final K Factor is the useful historical outcome.

Austin Aries and Roderick Strong supplied a wrestling-focused singles match before the card turned to the larger TNA feuds. The two Ring of Honor regulars exchanged holds and attempted counters, with Strong repeatedly using backbreakers and forceful throws to punish Aries' back. Aries answered with quick rope movement, forearms and counter-wrestling, and the pair worked their way through several competitive near falls. No title was defended and the match involved only Aries and Strong; their wider ROH association supplied context rather than a separate faction matchup on this card.

Aries regained control late with a dropkick and brainbuster after Strong had threatened another finishing stretch. He climbed to the top turnbuckle, landed the 450 splash and pinned Roderick Strong at the recorded 8:00. This is a direct Aries pinfall, not an escape or submission and not a later tournament result. The B / 7.8 grade recognizes the strong backbreaker-versus-aerial contrast and a clear high-risk ending. SKIM if prioritizing the card's title matches, but the eight-minute bout rewards a complete watch as an early technical highlight.

Monty Brown teamed with Kip James against Apolo and Lance Hoyt, accompanied by Sonny Siaki. Brown and James were uneasy partners, using blind tags at points while Hoyt supplied much of the opposing team's power offense. Apolo attacked with chops and a DDT, and the closing exchanges exposed the lack of coordination between Brown and James. Kip attempted a charging big boot but accidentally hit his own partner Brown, giving Apolo an opening to knock Kip down. Siaki stayed in the corner role; the official match was a standard two-on-two tag contest, not a six-man battle.

Brown recovered from the miscue and struck Apolo with the Pounce, covered him and secured the pin at 9:58. Hoyt was on the losing team but did not take the deciding fall, and Kip did not score the final pin despite being Brown's tag partner. The C / 6.4 grade captures a mostly functional supporting angle in which the finish demonstrates Brown's individual power while leaving team chemistry unresolved. SKIP on a selective rewatch; the mistimed boot and subsequent Pounce carry the story.

Chris Sabin was originally scheduled to face Shocker, his partner from the Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament, but Shocker could not appear and Petey Williams stepped in. That change created a different set of counters, with Williams repeatedly working to put Sabin into the Sharpshooter and then looking for the Canadian Destroyer. The wrestlers used 12:34 rather than a brief angle, and the match gave the undercard a decisive athletic exchange before the later title defenses. It was a singles bout; neither an absent Shocker nor managers belonged in the legal match participant list.

Late in the contest Williams tried to set up the Canadian Destroyer, but Sabin converted the attempt into Cradle Shock and pinned Williams. The recorded result is a pin, not a Canadian Destroyer by Williams or a submission to the Sharpshooter. That reversal explains the existing B+ / 8.2 assessment better than a generic claim of good pace: the two men's characteristic finishing moves directly determined the outcome. WATCH for the closing counter and the unusual substitute-opponent context.

Abyss faced Sabu in a No Disqualification match with James Mitchell accompanying Abyss. Sabu used a steel chair for springboards and airborne leg drops, while Abyss exploited his size and the furniture surrounding the ring. Sabu crashed through a table outside after a throw by Abyss and later brought a chair into an in-ring table spot. James Mitchell then intervened when Sabu appeared to have pinned Abyss, placing Abyss' foot on the rope in time for the referee to recognize the break. Mitchell was a manager and interfering presence, not the official second wrestler or a legal tag partner.

The struggle shifted to a pile of thumbtacks Abyss had poured onto the canvas. Sabu springboarded toward Abyss from the ropes, but Abyss caught him and delivered the Black Hole Slam directly onto the tacks, then pinned Sabu at 11:30. The win came by pinfall after that specific impact, not by a Shock Treatment slam or a referee decision on the earlier interrupted cover. B / 7.8 credits the sustained physical risk and the inventive chair-and-table exchanges, while SKIM reflects the intensity of a supporting feud below the main championship matches.

Bobby Roode faced Jeff Hardy on Hardy's return after several months away from TNA television. Roode tried to slow the contest with backbreakers and a series of holds, while Hardy responded with dives and a near fall after his customary Twist of Fate. Petey Williams repeatedly became involved from outside as the match progressed, pulling the referee's attention and interrupting Hardy's offense. Roode's effort was only one component of the finish: Williams and the approaching Jeff Jarrett were outside interferers, not a tag partner or an additional legal opponent.

Hardy countered a planned attack and delivered the Twist of Fate, but Williams kept drawing activity toward ringside. Jeff Jarrett then ran out and broke a hockey stick across Hardy while the referee was distracted. Jarrett rolled Hardy back into the ring, allowing Bobby Roode to cover and pin him at 9:07. The result is officially a Roode singles victory, but calling it an unassisted clean pin would omit the critical outside blow. The inherited B- / 7.4 and SKIM reflect a spirited return match whose result serves the wider Jarrett-Hardy conflict.

The Naturals defended the NWA World Tag Team Championship in an elimination four-way against America's Most Wanted, Team Canada and Alex Shelley with Johnny Candido. Shelley had expected Sean Waltman as his partner, but Waltman did not appear; Candido came over the barricade and took the partner role during the match. Eric Young rolled up Johnny Candido to eliminate that team. Team Canada then used interference by A-1 with a hockey stick, after which Young pinned Chris Harris to remove America's Most Wanted. Those were separate elimination falls, not a single simultaneous four-way finish. Jimmy Hart accompanied the champions and interfered at the end, but was not one of the eight official tag wrestlers.

The Naturals' remaining opposition was Team Canada. A-1 lifted Chase Stevens for a double-team move as Young climbed, only for Jimmy Hart to stop Young from completing the attack. The Naturals connected with the Natural Disaster on A-1, and Andy Douglas made the decisive pin to retain at 18:01. Johnny Candido's surprise participation, the two preliminary elimination pins and Douglas' final cover all belong in the result ledger. B+ / 8.1 and WATCH reflect the layered eliminations and meaningful championship retention; do not credit a pin to the absent Waltman.

Raven defended the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Rhino under Raven's Rules, giving the pair permission to fight with weapons and across the arena. A shopping cart, beer keg, trash cans, a ladder and even a staple gun entered the contest. Rhino hit Raven with the staples after both men had bled, while Raven tried to keep him grounded with an ankle lock and weapons. The physical toll made the near falls credible. Cassidy Riley approached the ring trying to help Raven but accidentally occupied the referee during a Raven Effect DDT cover, allowing Rhino time to escape. Riley was a ringside interruption, not an additional challenger.

Rhino later charged for the Gore but crashed into Raven's shopping cart rather than hitting the champion. Jeff Jarrett rushed down intending to interfere against Raven, only for Jeff Hardy to stop him. Raven then executed another Raven Effect DDT and pinned Rhino to retain at the recorded 14:28. The finish was neither a Rhino submission nor a title switch to Jarrett. The B+ / 8.3 grade captures the weapon-laden escalation, with the mistaken Riley distraction a genuine complication that precedes Raven's actual decisive fall. WATCH the finish and distinguish the outside wrestlers from the two official contestants.

Christopher Daniels entered Unbreakable as X Division champion against A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe in a one-fall three-way, not an elimination match. The changing alliances and overlapping threats let all three wrestlers interrupt each other's best offense: Styles launched an aerial attack to break up Joe's submission, Joe struck both opponents and landed the Muscle Buster, and Daniels answered with the Best Moonsault Ever and Last Rites. Styles even hit Daniels with the Styles Clash, but Joe broke the near-fall. These interruptions made the championship vulnerable without requiring someone to defeat Samoa Joe directly. The bout occupied 22:50, substantially more time than most of the card.

Joe lunged toward Daniels and went through the ropes to the floor, leaving Styles and the champion in the ring for the deciding exchange. Daniels attempted Angel's Wings; Styles countered into a backflip and bridging cradle and pinned Daniels for the three-count. Styles won the X Division Championship while Joe had neither submitted nor been pinned. The precise reversal is the important historical fact: it was not a winning Styles Clash despite that earlier near fall. A+ / 9.7 reflects the intricate sequences and decisive title change. WATCH the full three-way, especially the final reversal that protects Joe and ends Daniels' reign.