The 2005 Unbreakable was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) promotion that took place on September 11, 2005 at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. It was the first under the Unbreakable name, the second was Unbreakable 2019. It was also the ninth event in the 2005 TNA PPV schedule. Nine professional wrestling matches and two pre-show matches were featured on the card, three of which were for championships.
The main event at Unbreakable was a three-way match for the TNA X Division Championship, in which then-champion Christopher Daniels defended the title against the challengers A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe. Styles ended up gaining the pinfall in the bout, thus winning the title. The NWA World Heavyweight Championship was defended in a Raven's Rules match between then-champion Raven and the challenger Rhino. Raven pinned Rhino in the encounter to retain the championship. A Four Way Elimination Tag Team match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship was held at Unbreakable, in which then-champions The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens) defeated the teams of Alex Shelley and Johnny Candido, America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm), and Team Canada (A-1 and Eric Young) to remain champions. On the undercard, Abyss defeated Sabu in a No Disqualification match during the show.
Unbreakable is chiefly remembered for the three-way match for the TNA X Division Championship, which received a rare, at the time, five-star rating from wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, the first and the only such rating that the company received until 2023. The main event was ranked by TNA as the fourth greatest moment in the company's history. The match was also the first (and to-date only) time a TNA X-Division Championship match has been the main-event of a TNA PPV. Corey David Lacroix of the professional wrestling section of the Canadian Online Explorer rated the show an 8 out of 10, stating "TNA's Unbreakable PPV was an astounding buffet of action, catering to the variety of tastes among professional wrestling fans."
Production Background Unbreakable was announced in June 2005 to take place on September 11, 2005. TNA scheduled Unbreakable to be held at the TNA Impact! Zone in Orlando, Florida. TNA released a poster to promote the event featuring Raven and Rhino. A thirty-minute pre-show was slatted to take place prior to the telecast. Unbreakable was dedicated to the "unbreakable spirit of the American people."
Storylines Unbreakable featured nine professional wrestling matches and two pre-show matches that involved different wrestlers from pre-existing scripted feuds and storylines. Wrestlers portrayed villains, heroes, or less distinguishable characters in the scripted events that built tension and culminated in a wrestling match or series of matches.
The main event was a three-way match for the TNA X Division Championship, in which then-champion Christopher Daniels defended the title against the challengers A.J. Styles and Samoa Joe. Prior to Unbreakable, TNA held the 2005 TNA Super X Cup Tournament to determine the number-one contender to the TNA X Division Championship. The tournament involved eight men, with Joe and Styles making it to the final round at TNA's previous PPV event Sacrifice on August 14. There, Joe defeated Styles after interference from Daniels to earn a shot at the title. On the August 19 episode of TNA's television program TNA Impact!, TNA commentator Mike Tenay announced that Daniels would defend the title against Joe at the event. Later during the same episode, Daniels assaulted Joe until Styles came out to attack Daniels over his interference in the bout at Sacrifice. Due to Styles' actions, Daniels demanded that NWA Championship Committee member Larry Zbyszko suspend Styles. Instead, Zbyszko added Styles to the encounter on the August 26 episode of Impact!, making it a three-way match for the TNA X Division Championship at the event. This match was also promoted as the X Division "Dream Bout", as the top competitors in the division were being pitted against each other for the championship.
The predominant bout on the card was for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship between then-champion Raven and the challenger Rhino. At Sacrifice, Raven teamed with Sabu to face the team of Jeff Jarrett and Rhino. On the pre-show of the gathering, Zbyszko announced if Jarrett pinned Raven during the contest then he would earn a future NWA World Heavyweight Championship match. However, he added that if Raven pinned Jarrett during the contest then Jarrett would not have another title match for an entire year. Rhino ended up pinning Raven at the event, with TNA declaring him number-one contender on their website after the show. Tenay promoted Raven versus Rhino for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Unbreakable on the August 19 episode of Impact!.
The NWA World Tag Team Championship was defended at Unbreakable in a Four Way Elimination Tag Team match by then-champions The Naturals (Andy Douglas and Chase Stevens), who were pitted against the teams of Alex Shelley and Sean Waltman, America's Most Wanted (Chris Harris and James Storm; AMW), and A-1 and Eric Young of Team Canada. This match was the combination of several storylines. The Naturals were involved in an on-screen rivalry heading into Unbreakable with A-1, Bobby Roode, Petey Williams, and Young—collectively known as Team Canada. At TNA's Slammiversary PPV event on June 19, The Naturals defeated Williams and Young to retain the World Tag Team Championship. The Naturals then teamed with Lance Hoyt in a Six Man Tag Team match to face A-1, Roode, and Young in a losing effort at TNA's No Surrender PPV event on July 17. Afterwards, The Naturals began an alliance with AMW leading to an Eight Man Tag Team match against A-1, Roode, Williams, and Young at Sacrifice. Team Canada were the victors at the show. On the August 19 episode of Impact!, The Naturals defeated A-1 and Young by disqualification to retain the World Tag Team Championship. Following the bout, Team Canada assaulted The Naturals until AMW came to their aid, which resulted in a brawl between the two teams with The Naturals feeling they did not need AMW's help. Concurrently at this time TNA held the Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament, which involved eight randomly assigned teams. Zbyszko announced on the August 26 episode of Impact! that a Four Way Elimination Tag Team match for the NWA World Tag Team Championship was planned for Unbreakable, in which The Naturals would defend against AMW, Team Canada, and the winners of the tournament. The final round of the Tournament was held on the September 9 episode of Impact!, where the team of Shelley and Waltman defeated the team of Chris Sabin and Shocker to join the match.
Event + Other on-screen personnelRole:Name:CommentatorMike TenayDon WestRing announcerJeremy BorashRefereeRudy CharlesMark "Slick" JohnsonAndrew ThomasInterviewersJeremy BorashShane Douglas
Pre-Show Prior to Unbreakable, TNA held a thirty-minute pre-show. During the broadcast, TNA interviewer Shane Douglas announced the NWA World Heavyweight Championship match between Raven and Rhino was changed to a Raven's Rules match. Two bouts were held during the telecast, the first pitted Cassidy Riley against Jerrelle Clark. The encounter went to a no contest at 1 minute and 56 seconds when Monty Brown interfered in the bout attacking both wrestlers and proceeding to challenge the winner of Raven versus Rhino for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to a title defense at TNA's next PPV event Bound for Glory on October 23. Shark Boy fought Mikey Batts in the second, winning the contest at 3 minutes and 20 seconds by pinfall after forcing Batts chin into his shoulder with his signature Dead Sea Drop.
Miscellaneous Unbreakable featured employees other than the wrestlers involved in the matches. Mike Tenay and Don West were the commentators for the telecast. Jeremy Borash (for the main event only) and David Penzer were ring announcers for the event. Andrew Thomas, Rudy Charles, and Mark "Slick" Johnson participated as referees for the encounters. Shane Douglas handled the interview duties during the show. Besides employees who appeared in a wrestling role, Traci Brooks, Sonny Siaki, Matt Bentley, Jeff Jarrett, James Mitchell, and Jimmy Hart all appeared on camera, either in backstage or in ringside segments.
Preliminary matches
The gathering began with a Six Man Tag Team match between the 3Live Kru (B.G. James, Konnan, and Ron Killings) and The Diamonds in the Rough (David Young, Elix Skipper, and Simon Diamond). The duration of the bout was 4 minutes and 20 seconds. Konnan used his shoe as a weapon during the encounter. 3Live Kru won the match by pinfall after Konnan slammed Young face-first into the mat with his signature Facejam maneuver.
The second bout of the show was between two non-contracted wrestlers, Austin Aries and Roderick Strong. It lasted 8 minutes even. Aries gained the pinfall after slamming Strong head-first into the mat with a brainbuster, followed by a 450° aerial splash onto a prone Strong.
Sonny Siaki accompanied the team of Apolo and Lance Hoyt for their match with Kip James and Monty Brown next. Kip attempted to kick Apolo with a charging big boot, but accidentally hit Brown. This allowed Apolo to kick Kip in the face and cover for a near-fall. Brown then gained the win for his team after crashing into Apolo with his signature Pounce maneuver at 9 minutes and 58 seconds.
The following contest pitted Chris Sabin against Petey Williams, lasting 12 minutes and 34 seconds. The bout was originally scheduled as Sabin facing his tag team partner in the Chris Candido Memorial Tag Team Tournament, Shocker. However, Shocker was unable to attend the show and was replaced by Williams. Williams held Sabin by Sabin's legs in a Sharpshooter submission hold twice during the match, with Sabin forcing Williams to release the hold both times. Near the end, Williams went to perform his signature Canadian Destroyer maneuver on Sabin, before Sabin countered the move into his signature Cradle Shock maneuver. After lifting up and slamming Williams back and neck-first into the mat, Sabin followed with the pinfall to win the encounter. Matt Bentley—formally known as Michael Shane—returned to TNA by attacking Sabin and Williams after the bout. Bentley then announced an Ultimate X open challenge to take place at Bound for Glory.
TNA held a No Disqualification match between Abyss, who was accompanied by James Mitchell, and Sabu next. Its duration was 11 minutes and 30 seconds. This was originally promoted as Abyss versus Sabu, however, a No Disqualification stipulation was added during the event. In a No Disqualification match, weapons are legal, as well as outside interference, with a victor determined only by pinfall or submission. In the final minutes, Abyss retrieved a bag of thumbtacks which were hidden under the ring. He then poured the contents onto the ring mat before slamming Sabu back-first into the tacks with his signature Black Hole Slam maneuver.
Bobby Roode faced Jeff Hardy in the sixth encounter. Roode's fellow Team Canada member Petey Williams interfered in the contest distracting the referee, allowing Roode to attempt to hit Hardy with the a hockey stick. Hardy dodged the swing and countered with his signature Twist of Fate maneuver, forcing Roode's chin into his shoulder. Afterwards, Hardy jumped off the top of a padded turnbuckle onto both Williams and Roode at ringside. Later, Roode re-entered the ring with Hardy remaining at ringside, allowing Jeff Jarrett to attack Hardy from behind with a hockey stick. Jarrett then pushed Hardy into the ring with Roode covering for the pinfall victory at 9 minutes and 7 seconds.
Main event matches